Abstract
When we look into the classical Confucianism for its interest in art and aesthetics, what immediately comes to our attention is its emphasis on music and poetry, as shown in the fact that both the lost Yuejing 樂經 (Classics of Music) and the Shijing 詩經 (Classics of Poetry) were regarded as belonging to the six fundamental Confucian Classics, liujing六經. It is also confirmed in the recently unearthed Kongzi Shilun 孔子詩論 (Confucius on Poetry) and the Xing zi ming chu性自命出 (Nature comes from Mandate). This chapter will focus on the philosophical issues of music (yue) as discussed in the recently unearthed Xing zi ming chu, in reference to the Yueji樂記 (“Record of Music”) chapter in the Liji禮記 (Book of Rites).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
The Liji has been translated by James Legge, titled as Li Chi: Book of Rites (Legge 1967b).
- 2.
In the compilation of the Five Classics of Confucianism, the theory of music was arranged in the Liji (Book of Rites). According to the explanation of guwen scholars, it was due to the disappearance of the Yuejing (Classics of Music) after Qin’s fire. Nevertheless, according to jinwen scholars’ understanding, a book on the theory of music never existed before. What have really existed were the documents on the rules of music sound. Since there is not enough documentary evidence to certify the original source of the texts in the Yueji, some scholars claimed that the Yueji was created by Han scholars and falsely attributed to Pre-Qin Confucians. Others claimed that the writer of Yueji was named Gongsun Ni 剬孫尼, a Confucian scholar in the Spring and Autumn period. For detail see Cook 1995: 3–10.
- 3.
The word intertextuality was used by Julia Kristeva to explain the transposition in textual system. Cf. Kristeva, Julia. 1969. “Le mot, le dialogue et le roman.” Recherches pour une sémanalyse. Paris: Éditions du Seuil. P. 146. English translation as “Word, Dialogue and Novel.” The Kristeva Reader, edited by Toril Moi. Oxford: Blackwell. 1986.
- 4.
The owner of the tomb was presumably related to Chen Liang 陳良, a Confucian scholar, recorded in the Mencius.
- 5.
According to the annotation by Li Ling, here “dao si shu 道四術” should be understood as consisting in four arts, say, art of mind, art of poetry, art of history and art of ritual music; whereas “san shu” (three arts) means, respectively, shi (poetry), shu (history), and liyue (ritual music). For the coherence of meanings, the two characters “liyue 禮樂” should be read together as one way/art, instead of being read separately as two different arts: art of li and art of yue (Li Ling 2002: 70).
- 6.
According to the commentary of Dong Zhongshu 董仲舒 (179–104 BC), quoted by Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (127–200) in his annotations on Liji, the meaning of dezhe 德者 could be understood as the person capable to perform. Here I follow Zheng Xuan’s commentary that understands the yuede 樂德 as a way of music performance.
- 7.
Cf. “Spring Ministry with the Overseer of Ritual Affairs” (Chunguan Zongbo 春官宗保) in the Zhouli(1815).
- 8.
Cf. “Royal Regulation” in the Book of Rites, “The son of Heaven sacrificed to Heaven and Earth; the princes of the states, to the (spirits of the) land and grain; Great officers offered the five sacrifices (of the house)” (Legge 1967a: 225).
- 9.
Cf. “Spring Ministry” (Chunguan) in the Zhouli (1815).
- 10.
I translate this passage in reference to Confucius’ words about Shao and Wu in the Analects translated by James Legge: “the Master said of the Shao that it was perfectly beautiful and also perfectly good. He said of the Wu that it was perfectly beautiful but not perfectly good.” (Analects 3.25; Legge 1960: 164).
- 11.
In the Qin Cao 琴操 (a collection of ancient tunes of qin), Cai Yong 蔡邕 (132–192 CE) noted that Confucius composed the Yilan Cao 猗蘭操 (Tune of Elegant Orchid) to convey his poetic mood, on the returning road from Wei to his native state Lu, when he passed a hidden vale and observed a fragrant orchid flourishing alone (see Cai Yong 2002: 147). In the Analects, Confucius played the qing 磬 (a sounding stone) while traveling in Wei. It is read, “The Master was playing, 1 day, on a musical stone in Wei when a man, carrying a straw basket, passed door of the house where Confucius was, and said, “His heart is full who so beats the musical stone” (Analects 14. 40).
- 12.
Confucius said, “I returned from Wei to Lu, and then the music was reformed, and the pieces in the royal songs and praise songs all found their proper places” (Analects 9.15).
- 13.
Confucius said, “It is by the odes that the mind is aroused. It is by the rules of propriety that the character is established. It is from music that the finish is received” (Analects 8.8). In answering Zilu’s question about a complete person, Confucius said, “suppose a man with the knowledge of Zang Wu-Zhong, the freedom from covetousness of Gong Chuo, the bravery of Bian Zhuang Zi, and the varied talents of Ran Qiu; add to these the accomplishments of the rules of propriety and music; such a one might be reckoned a complete man” (Analects 14.12).
- 14.
Before the discovery of the unearthed bamboo slips, “The Record of Music,” complied in Western-Han as a document of Confucian lineage, has been considered as the unique clue to the understanding of Confucian thought on music. For example, Xu Fuguan, in his Zhongguo yishu jingshen (On Spirit of Chinese Art), contributed a chapter to investigate the spirit of Confucian thought on art through music, where he claimed that the theory of music in the “Record of Music” transmitted the legacy of Confucian thought on music that highly valued the relation between morality (Xu Fuguan 1966: 12).
- 15.
This story can be found in the Han Feizi jijie 韓非子集解 (The Collected Annotations of Han Feizi) juan12: 33 “Waichu Shuo Zuo Xia 外儲說左下” (Wang Xiangshen 1896: 465).
- 16.
With different translation on the text of this passage, Michael Puett makes a comment with pedagogical meaning of the learning the san shu: “The sages took the worthy traditions from the past, organized them, patterned (li) their qing, and thereby made them available to educate the latter-born” (Puett 2004: 50).
- 17.
“What are the feelings of men? They are joy, anger, sadness, fear, love, disliking, liking. These seven feelings belong to men without their learning them” (Legge 1967a: 379).
- 18.
It is read in the “Rectifying Names”(Zhengming 正名) chapter in the Xunzi: “The likes and dislikes, delights and angers, grieves and joys of the nature are called emotions” (Watson 1963: 139).
- 19.
“While there are no stirrings of pleasure, anger, sorrow, or joy, the mind may be said to be in the state of Equilibrium. When those feelings have been stirred, and they act in their due degree, there ensues what may be called the state of Harmony” (Legge 1960: 384).
- 20.
“Qing arises from xing (qing sheng yu xing 情生於性)” (Guodian: 179).
- 21.
Cf. Sima Qian 1967: Book 47: “Confucius studied [the tunes of] qin from Shi Xiangzi. For 10 days [Confucius] did not advance. Shi Xiangzi said, you may go on studying more. Confucius said, I have learned the qu 曲 (melody) [of this tune] but I haven’t get the shu數 (mathematic structure). Later [Shi Xiang Zi] said, you have learned the structure you may go on. But Confucius said, I haven’t learned the zhi 志 (ideal/poetic meaning). Later [Shi Xiangzi] said, you have learned the ideal/poetic meaning, you may go on. But Confucius said, I have not yet got the demeanour of the author. Later, getting a feeling of a person characterized by majesty with profound thoughts, a gentle, venerable person but with lofty ideal, [Confucius] said, I learned the demeanour of the author, it was someone of very dark appearance, large in size and looking far off at the sea, like the king of four countries. If it isn’t Wen Wang, who else could it be? Shi Xiangzi stood up, bowed and said, the tune you were talking is exactly the Wen Wang Cao 文王操.” This narrative can be read also in Hanshi waizhuan, juan 5 and in Kongzi Jiayu 孔子家語 (The school sayings of Confucius) Chap. 35 Bianyue 辯樂解 (Explanation about Music). The Jiayu has been proved as authentic rather than pseudographic after the unearthed documents excavated in China since 1970s. For example, see Li Xueqin (1987).
- 22.
“When you hear singing and chanting, you will feel jovial. This is excitement. When you listen to the sounds of the lute and zither, you will feel stirred. This is distress. When you watch the Lai and Wu dances, you will feel confrontational. This is being incited. When you watch the Shao and Xia dances you will feel focused. This is frugality” (Guodian: 180; translation in Brindley 2006b: 25, 28–29).
- 23.
“In general the difficult thing about learning is ‘seeking one’s heart-mind.’ If one follows from what one has done, one is close to obtaining it, but it is not comparable to the speed with which music achieves the same end” (Guodian: 180; translation in Brindley 2006a: 248).
- 24.
The discussion on the primary value of sadness in the aesthetics of Chinese music, see Egan 1997: 5–66.
- 25.
The Hanshi waizhuan 韓詩外傳, attributed to Han Ying 韓嬰 (active. 200–130 BC), was one of the four schools (Mao 毛, Lu 魯, Qi 齊, Han 韓) of Odes learning in Han dynasty. The Hanshi waizhuan was the longest surviving document of the Odes interpretation outside the tradition of the Maoshi 毛詩.
- 26.
Cf. Hanshi waizhuan, juan 1: 18. This paragraph has been literally translated by James Robert Hightower: “Confucius said, ‘The superior man has three worries: That he does not know—can he not but worry? That he knows but does not study [what he knows]—can he not but worry? That he studies but does not practice what he has studied—can he not but worry? The Ode says: When I have not yet seen the superior man,/My sorrowful heart is very sad” (Hightower 1952: 26).
- 27.
Concerning the studies on the problem of the authorship and the time of composition of the Yueji, see Scott Cook (1995: 3–10).
- 28.
James Legge translated this passage with a different interpretation: “In music we have the expression of feelings which do not admit of any change” (James Legge 1967b: 114).
References
Barthes, Roland. 1981. Theory of the text. In Untying the text, a post-structuralist reader, ed. Young Robert. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Brindley, Erica. 2006a. Music and ‘Seeking One’s Heart-Mind’ in the ‘Xing Zi Ming Chu.’ Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 5.2: 247–255.
Brindley, Erica. 2006b. Music, cosmos, and the development of psychology in early China. T’oung Pao 92: 1–49.
Cai, Yong 蔡邕. 2002. Qin cao 琴操. Xu xiu si ku quan shu, vol. 1092. Reprint. Shanghai: Shanghai Guji chubanshe.
Cai, Zhongde 蔡仲德. 2003. Zhong guo yin yue mei xue shi 中国音乐美学史 (History of Aesthetics of Chinese Music). Beijing: Renmin yinyue chubanshe.
Cook, Scott. 1995. Yue Ji 樂記 – Record of music: Introduction, translation, notes, and commentary. Asian Music 26(2) (University of Texas Press): 1–96 (English translation of the Yue Ji with embedded commentary by the author).
Egan, Ronald. 1997. The controversy over music and ‘Sadness’ and changing conceptions of the Qin in middle period China. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 57(1): 5–66 (An aesthetic study on the concept of music and it’s relation with qin 琴 in Classical Chinese culture).
Guodian Chu mu zhu jian 郭店楚墓竹簡 (Guodian Chu Tomb Bamboo Slips). 1998. ed., Jingmen Shi Museum. Beijing: Wenwu Chubanshe (Unearthed documents for both early Confucianism and Daoism).
Heidegger, Martin. 1971. The origin of the work of art. In Poetry, Language, Thought (trans: Hofstadter, A). New York: Harper & Row.
Hightower, James Robert, trans. 1952. 韓詩外傳 Han Shih Wai Chuan. Han Ying’s illustrations of the didactic application of the classic of songs. An annotated translation. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Kristeva, Julia.1969. Le mot, le dialogue et le roman. In Recherches pour une sémanalyse. Paris: Éditions du Seuil.
Kristeva, Julia. 1986. Word, Dialogue and Novel. In The Kristeva reader, ed. Toril Moi. Oxford: Blackwell.
Legge, James. 1967a. Li Chi: Book of rites. Part 1, Reprinted. New Hyde Park: University Books.
Legge, James. 1967b. Li Chi: Book of rites. Part 2, Reprinted. New Hyde Park: University Books.
Legge, James, trans. 1960. The Chinese classics, Vols. 5, Reprinted. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Li, Ling 李零. 2002. Shang bo Chu jian san pian jiao du ji上博楚簡三篇校讀 (Records of Proofreading on Three Pieces of Chu Bamboo Slips Published by Shanghai Museum). Taipei: Wan juan lou Publisher.
Li, Xue Qin 李学勤. 1987. Zhu jian jiayu yu Han Wei Kongshi jiaxue 竹简〈家语〉与汉魏孔氏家学. Confucius Studies 孔子研究 2:60–64.
Puett, Michael. 2004. The ethics of responding properly: The notion of Qing 情 in early Chinese thought. In Love and emotions in traditional Chinese literature, ed. Eifring, Halvor. Leiden: Brill (A general survey on the concept of qing 情 in Chinese thought).
Sima, Qian 司馬遷. 1967. Shiji, Reprint. Taipei: Donghua Shuju.
Tang, Yijie 汤一介. 2003. Emotion in pre-Qin Ruist moral theory: An explanation of ‘Dao Begins in Qing’ (trans: Brian Bruya and Hai-ming Wen.) Philosophy east and west 53(2). Hawai‘i: University of Hawai‘i Press (One of the first philosophical interpretations on the concept of “Dao shi yu qing” in the Xing zhi ming chu).
Wang Xiangshen 王先慎, ed. 1896. Han Feizi Jijie 韓非子集解, Reprint. Taipei: Yiwen Yinshuguan, 1983.
Watson, Burton, trans. 1963. Hsun Tzu. New York: Columbia University Press.
Xu Fuguan 徐復觀. 1966. The spirit of Chinese art 中國藝術精神. Taipei: Xuesheng Shuju (Comprehensive study on philosophy of Chinese art).
Zhouli 周禮. 1815. In Shisanjin zhushu 十三經注疏. Comp. Ruan Yuan 阮元 (1764–1849), Vol. 3, Reprint. Taipei: Yiwen yinshuguan, 1963.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Liu, J. (2014). Art and Aesthetics of Music in Classical Confucianism. In: Shen, V. (eds) Dao Companion to Classical Confucian Philosophy. Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2936-2_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2936-2_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-2935-5
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-2936-2
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawPhilosophy and Religion (R0)