 After this initial establishment of the Way based on understanding the patterns inherent in the world and human nature, more conventional norms still proved necessary. All of the particular manifestations of culture were then created by various sages, including the well-known Confucian concepts li 禮 (ritual) and yi 義 (appropriateness). The first stage of construction of the Way required the coordination of the sage and the patterns of the world—the sage had to make known and usable these patterns. After this, a more “antirealist” conception was offered—more conventional moral and political norms still had to be created from this more basic and abstract conception of the Way. The sages thus established ritual (li 禮) and appropriateness (yi 義). Through the sages’ construction of institutions and social systems, as well as their moral and political instruction, they helped people to follow the Way.