Philosophy of Music

Confucius(551-479 B.C.) on music ( Analects) 3.1 孔子谓季氏：“八佾舞于庭，是可忍也，孰不可忍也！” Confucius said of the head of the Ji family, “He had eight rows of pantomimes in his area. If he can bear to do this, what may he not bear to do?” 3.3 子曰：“人而不仁，如礼何！人而不仁，如乐何！” The Master said, “If a man be without virtues, what has he to do with propriety (ritual)? If a man be without the virtues, what has he to do with music?

3.23 子语鲁太师乐，曰：“乐其可知也。始作，翕如也。从之，纯如也，徼如也，绎如也。以成。” Cofucious said to the music official of Lu, “How to play music may be known. At the commencement of the piece, all the parts should sound together. As it proceeds, they should be in harmony, severally distinct and flowing without break, and thus on to the conclusion 3.25 子谓韶：“尽美矣，又尽善也。”谓武：“尽美矣，未尽善也。” The Master said of the Shao that it was perfectly beautifu and also perfectly good. He said of the music of Wu that it was perfectly beautiful but not perfectly good.

7.14 子在齐闻韶，三月不知肉味。曰：“不图为乐之至于斯也。” When Master was in Qi, he heard the music of Shao, and for three months did not know the taste of meet. “I did not think,” he said, “that music could have been made so excellent as this.” 8.8子曰：“兴于诗，立于礼，成于乐。” The Master said, “It is by the Poetry that the mind is aroused. It is by the Rules of Propriety that character is established. It is from Music that the finish is received.”

《高山流水》 为中国十大古曲之一。传说先秦琴师伯牙在荒山野地弹琴，樵夫钟子期竟能领会这是 描绘“巍巍乎志在高山”和“洋洋乎志在流水”。伯牙惊道∶“善哉，子之心而与吾心同。”钟子期死后，伯牙痛失知音，摔琴绝弦，终身不操。 乐谱最早见于明代《神奇秘谱》（朱权成，1425年），解题有：“《高山》、《流水》二曲，本只一曲。初志在乎高山，言仁者乐山之意。后志在乎流水，言智者乐水之意。”

The Taoist philosophy of music Laozi, 41.大方无隅；大器晚成；大音希声；大象无形；道隐无名。 The largest square doth yet no corner; the greatest talent is the slowest made; the greatest sound is soundless; the greatest image is shapeless. The Tao is hidden, and has no name.

Zhuangzi (369-286 B.C.) 天地有大美而不言。（《知北游》） The heaven and the earth have the great beauties, yet never they speak. 无言而心悦，此之谓天乐。（《天运篇》） A pleasure in the heart yet never spoken out, it is called the music of heaven.

兽面纹鼓 湖北崇阳汪家嘴 高75.5长49

宴乐攻战纹铜壶 藏故宫博物院

宴乐攻战纹铜壶摹本 藏故宫博物院

曾侯编钟 湖北随县擂鼓墩

Yue Ji [ Record of Music, Warring States (475 BC - 221 BC)] All the modulations of the voice arise from the mind, and the various affections of the mind are produced by things. The affections thus produced are manifested in the sounds that are uttered … The combination of those modulated sounds, so as to give pleasure, and be in harmony with them of the shields and axes, and of the plumes and ox-tails, constitutes what we call music.

乐者，音之所由生也，其本在人心之感于物也。是故其哀心感者，其声噍以杀；其乐心感者。其声哗以缓，其喜心感者，其声发以散；其怒心感者，其声粗以历；其散心感者，其声直以廉；其爱心感者，其声和以柔。六者非性也，感于物而后动。 Music is thus the production of the modulations of the voice, and its source is in the affections of the mind as it is influenced by external things. When the mind is moved to sorrow, the sound is sharp and fading away; when it is moved to pleasure, the sound is slow and gentle; when it is moved to joy, the sound is exclamatory and soon disappears; when it is moved to anger, the sound is coarse and fierce; when it is moved to reverence, the sound is straightforward, with an indication of humility; when it is moved to love, the sound is harmonious and soft. These six peculiarities of sound are not natural; they indicate the impressions produced by things.

《十面埋伏》 中国十大古曲之一。乐曲创作年代迄今无一定论。又名《淮阳平楚》。现存乐谱最早见于1818年华秋萍编的《琵琶行》。乐曲描写公元202年楚汉战争垓下决战的情景。汉军用十面埋伏的阵法击败楚军，项羽自刎于乌江。明末清初，《四照堂集》的“汤琵琶传”中，记载了琵琶演奏家汤应曾演奏《楚汉》一曲时的情景：“当其两军决战时，声动天地，屋瓦若飞坠。徐而察之，有金鼓声、剑弩声、人马声……使闻者始而奋，继而恐，涕泣无从也。其感人如此。”

故礼以道其志，乐以和其声，政以一其行，刑以防其奸。礼、乐、刑、政，其极一也，所以同民心而出治道也。 And so ancient kings instituted ceremonies to direct men's aims aright; music to give harmony to their voices; laws to unify their conduct; and punishments to guard against their tendencies to evil. The end to which ceremonies, music, punishments, and laws conduct is one; they are the instruments by which the minds of the people are assimilated, and good order in government is made to appear.

凡音者，生人心者也。情动于中，故形成于声。声成文，谓之音。 Music springs from the minds of men. When the feelings are moved within, they are manifested in the sounds of the voice; and when those sounds are combined so as to form compositions, we have what is called music.

声音之道，与政通矣。宫为君，商为臣，角为民，徵为事，羽为物。五者不乱，则无怗懘(tie chi)之音矣。宫乱则荒，其君骄。商乱则陂，其官坏。角乱则忧，其民怨。徵乱则哀，其事勤。羽乱则危，其财匮。五者皆乱，迭相陵，谓之慢。如此，则国之灭亡无日矣。 There is an interaction between the principle of music and that of government. Gong represents the ruler; shang, the ministers; jue, the people; zhi, affairs; and yu, things. If there be no disorder in these five notes, there will be no want of harmony in the state. If gong be irregular, the tune is wild and broken; the ruler of the state is arrogant. If shang be irregular, the tune is jerky; the offices of the state are decayed. If jiao be irregular, the tune expresses anxiety; the people are dissatisfied. If zhi be irregular, the tune expresses sorrow; affairs are strained. If yu be irregular, the tune is expressive of impending ruin; the resources of the state are exhausted. If the five notes are all irregular, and injuriously interfere with one another, the state will at no distant day meet with its extinction.

乐者为同，礼者为异。同则相亲，异则相敬。乐胜则流，礼胜则离。合情饰貌者，礼乐之事也。 Similarity and union are the aim of music; difference and distinction, that of ceremony. From union comes mutual affection; from difference, mutual respect. Where music prevails, we find a weak coalescence; where ceremony prevails, a tendency to separation. It is the business of the two to blend people's feelings and give elegance to their outward manifestations.

礼义立，则贵贱等矣。乐文同，则上下和矣。好恶著，则贤不肖别矣。刑禁暴，爵举贤，则政均矣。仁以爱之，义以正之，如此则民治行矣。 Through the perception of right produced by ceremony, came the degrees of the noble and the mean; through the union of culture arising from music, harmony between high and low. By the exhibition of what was to be liked and what was to be disliked, a distinction was made between the worthy and unworthy. When violence was prevented by punishments, and the worthy were raised to rank, the operation of government was made impartial. Then came benevolence in the love (of the people), and righteousness in the correction (of their errors); and in this way good government held its course.

乐由中出，礼自外作。乐由中出故静，礼自外作故文。大乐必易，大礼必简。乐至则无怨，礼至则不争。揖让而治天下者，礼乐之谓也 Music, coming from within, produces the stillness (of the mind); ceremonies, coming from without, produce the elegancies (of manner). The highest style of music is sure to be distinguished by its ease; the highest style of elegance, by its undemonstrativeness. Let music attain its full results, and there would be no dissatisfactions (in the mind); let ceremony do so, and there would be no quarrels. When bowings and courtesies marked the government of the kingdom, there would be what might be described as music and ceremony indeed.

暴民不作，诸侯宾服，兵革不试，五刑不用，百姓无患，天子不怒，如此则乐达矣。合父子之亲，明长幼之序，以敬四海之内，天子如此则礼行矣。 Violent oppression would not arise; the princes would appear submissively at court as guests; there would be no occasion for the weapons of war, and no employment of the five punishments; the common people would have no distresses, and the son of Heaven no need to be angry - such a state would be an universal music. When the son of Heaven could secure affection between father and son, could illustrate the orderly relation between old and young, and make mutual respect prevail all within the four seas, then indeed would ceremony be seen as power.

礼者，殊事合敬者也。乐者，异文合爱者也。礼乐之情同，故明王以相沿也。故事与时并，名与功偕。 The occasions and forms of ceremonies are different, but they express the same feeling of respect. The styles of musical pieces are different, but they promote the same feeling of love. The essential nature of ceremonies and music being the same, the intelligent kings, one after another, continued them as they found them. The occasions and forms were according to the times when they were made; the names agreed with the merit which they commemorated.

乐者，天地之和也；礼者，天地之序也。和，故百物皆化；序，故群物皆别。乐由天作，礼以地制。过制则乱，过作则暴。明于天地，然后能兴礼乐也。 Music is the harmony between heaven and earth; ceremonies reflect the orderly distinctions of heaven and earth. From that harmony all things receive their being; to those orderly distinctions they owe the differences between them. Music has its origin from heaven; ceremonies take their form from the appearances of earth. If the imitation of those appearances were carried to excess, confusion would appear; if the framing of music were carried to excess, it would be too vehement. Let there be an intelligent understanding of the nature and interaction of heaven and earth, and there will be the ability to practice well both ceremonies and music.

广陵散 十大古曲之一。至少在汉代已经出现。其内容说法不一，一般是将它与《聂政刺韩王》琴曲联系起来。后者描写战国时代铸剑工匠之子聂政为报杀父之仇，刺死韩王，然后自杀的悲壮故事。 今存曲谱，最早见于明代朱权编印的《神奇秘谱》(1425年)，谱中有关于“刺韩”、“冲冠”、“发怒”、“报剑”等内容的分段小标题。 无怪嵇康如此酷爱《广陵散》旋律的激昂慷慨。