Abstract: 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.

Key words: SHEN Li, The Ceremonial Officer's Memorial to the Throne, the intellectual trend of restoring traditional rites, ritual and music, the late Ming Dynasty