How Virtuous Music Uplifts the Mind and Nurtures the Soul (Part 1)

(Minghui.org) Music is an integral part of traditional Chinese culture. Liji (The Book of Rites) states, “Virtue is the foundation of humanity; music is the outward radiance of virtue.”

Therefore, music was created and passed down to harmonize heaven and earth, improve one’s character, and nurture the soul toward a higher realm.

Origin of Virtuous Music

The Chinese civilization began with the Yellow Emperor, who lived about 5,000 years ago. During his era, the calendar was established. People also learned to sow grains, write, and build boats and vehicles. In addition, arithmetic, medicine, and music were created during this time.

Following an order from the Yellow Emperor, the musician Ling Lun established music scales. Using bamboo pipes from Kunlun Mountain, he cut them into 12 different lengths, each producing a unique tone. After calibrating these tones to match the call of phoenixes, he cast 12 bells to serve as the standard for these tones.

After composing music, Ling directed a grand musical dance on an early spring morning. Impressed by the pure music at sunrise, the Emperor named it as Xian Chi. “The Yellow Emperor called it Xian (all) Chi (spreading) because the Tao will spread everywhere to be followed. “Everything from the divine and everything on this land is being blessed,” wrote The Book of Rites.

Our forefathers introduced music not only to cherish virtue and worship the divine, but also to pay homage to their ancestors. For example, Emperor Zhuanxu composed the music of Cheng Yun (following the cloud) to commemorate the Yellow Emperor. Similarly, Emperors Yao and Shun had the music of Da Zhang (large and bright) and Shao Yue (the music of beauty), respectively. These musical traditions were established to show gratitude for the blessings bestowed by the divine.

During the Zhou Dynasty, the Duke of Zhou established formal etiquette and enriched the art of music. In addition to showing respect for the divine, he also focused on harmonizing people with the music. “Rites regulate people’s minds, while music echoes people’s voice,” wrote Liji. To worship the divine and protect the people, he promoted virtue and implemented a comprehensive ritual system to maintain moral values.

Confucius also emphasized the importance of morality. “If a person is not kind, how would he treat rites? If a person is not kind, how would he treat music?” He believed good music helps one to express emotions in an appropriate manner. “Happiness but not excessive; sadness but not devastating,” he explained.

Although separated by approximately 500 years, the ideologies of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius were remarkably aligned. Both placed great importance on rites and music. “Shijing (The Classic of Poetry) brings inspiration, rites teach manners, and music builds character,” explained Confucius. This tradition has endured for thousands of years.

After Qin Shi Huang united China and established the Qin Dynasty, he mandated the standardization of writing, paving the way for consistent documentation and circulation of music among scholars. Emperor Wu of Han created Yuefu (The Music Bureau) to collect both court music and folk music. Additionally, music from remote ethnic groups in the Western Regions and the Northern Barbarians was included. These diverse musical traditions complemented each other, forming a sophisticated and comprehensive music system.

As a result, rites and music were deeply intertwined in ancient China. Rites were always accompanied by music, and rarely took place without it. Distinct types of music were composed for worship, festivities, and even military training. This enduring tradition spanned from the Zhou Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty.

The Choice of Music

Zixia, a devoted disciple of Confucius, continued spreading Confucianism after his teacher’s death. The following story, recorded in the Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian) recounts an encounter between Zixia and Marquess Wen of Wei.

As the founder of Wei, Marquess Wen always respected virtuous scholars and was willing to learn from them. Once he told Zixia, “When sitting up straight listening to ancient music, I am often sleepy; when listening to music from the Zheng or Wei states, I do not feel tired. Why is it?”

Zixia replied, stating that the ancient music came from the Yellow Emperor as well as Emperors Yao and Shun. That virtuous music was peaceful, solemn, and profound. “The music is harmonious and magnificent,” he explained. “They start with peace, rise with military, and resolve the chaos with peace. The entire process is swift and graceful with no vulgarity.” This is consistent with the mindset of ancient people: improving oneself, harmonizing the family, and bringing peace to the country.

However, contemporary music from the Zheng and Wei states stands apart. “Their rhythm is unsynchronized, their voice is frivolous, and the emotion is drowned in excessiveness,” Zixia continued. “Acting like clowns, they tend to blur the boundaries between men and women, and disrupt appropriate relationships such as those between father and son.”

When Marquess Wen asked about the essence of music, Zixia said it is important for heaven and earth, as well as the four seasons, to be well coordinated. “When people cherish virtue, they will be blessed with a harvest, free of illness or other disasters,” he explained. “Under these circumstances, the sages established the appropriate relation between father and son, emperor and followers. With these in place, the music scale is calibrated and virtuous music is created for commemoration.”

That is, music is the harmony between heaven and earth, while rites symbolize their order. Harmony allows all creatures to coexist in this world, and order ensures that everything has its own boundary, as noted in the Shiji. Music originates from the divine, whereas rites serve to maintain social stability.

In contrast, Zixia noted that vulgar music comes in several forms. The music of Zheng violates etiquette and indulges in extravagance, clouding one’s mind; the music of Song is obsessed with lust and compromises one’s will; the music from Wei is impetuous and spontaneous, which leads to restlessness and unease; the music from Qi arises from arrogance, resulting in carelessness and lack of control. Collectively, these four types reflect excess and undermine morality, making them unsuitable for formal settings.

Ancient Chinese music has five major tones: gong, shang, jue, zhi, and yu. “The tone of gong brings warmth and breadth; the tone of shang inspires dignity and uprightness; the note of jue brings kindness and empathy; the note of zhi teaches one to be generous; the note of yu helps one to be neat with etiquette, wrote Shiji.

“That is, etiquette disciplines a person externally while music guides someone internally. A man cannot abandon etiquette even for a short while; otherwise, he may have arrogance and other improper behavior. Similarly, a man cannot live without music in his heart for too long; otherwise, he may have ill thoughts build up,” the book continued.

“Because the lack of etiquette will lead to improper behavior, sages have brought virtuous music to our ears and brought appropriate etiquette to our eyes. With that, every step by us is taken with courtesy, and every word from us is appropriate. As a result, even if a person talks all day long, there will be no arrogance or ill thoughts in him,” wrote Shiji.

Upon hearing these words from Zixia, Marquess Wen devoted himself to promoting virtuous music and distanced himself from vulgar forms. He welcomed people with virtue and placed them in key positions, making Wei the strongest state of the era.

(To be continued)