张居正没，朱翊钧亲政，最初也颇励精图治；而一代典礼沈鲤，也以锐意复古、抑奢禁浮、力振颓风为己任。然而，以立储事件为契机，不过四年，便沈鲤去朝而万历荒怠。一篇《典礼疏》痛陈"世教衰、古礼废"，遂成为万历一朝士人心态的缩影。从锐意复古到不得其时，沈鲤与朱翊钧君臣之间的遇合，也正是万历朝局纷繁复杂的一种折射；可以说，晚明礼乐之大变，即宫廷俗乐之大兴与在野曲学之兴起，几乎都可以追溯至此。

After ZHANG Ju-zheng's death,Emperor Wanli (whose name is ZHU Yi-jun)began to take the throne and he worked hard to rule the state at the beginning. At that time,the great ceremonial officer SHEN Li made vigorous efforts to restore traditional rites,eliminate luxurious customs and encourage frugality. However,only 4 years later,with the issue of designating the crown prince,SHEN was resigned and the Emperor became delinquent in political affairs. In his "Ceremonial Officer's Memorial to the Throne",SHEN stated the "decline of traditional teachings and rites" in a miserable manner,which reflected the common attitudes of official scholars during the reign of Emperor Wanli. SHEN attempted to vigorously restore traditional rites but became unfavorable later, in which the change of the monarch-subject relationship between SHEN and Emperor ZHU reflected the complex state of Emperor Wanli's reign. The great change of ritual and music in the late Ming Dynasty,that is,the flourishing of court folk music and the dramatic poetry,can date back to SHEN's experience.