子曰：「禮云禮云，玉帛云乎哉？樂云樂云，鐘鼓云乎哉？」
Confucius said: “The rites, the rites, surely there is more to them than just jade and silk! Music, music, surely there is more to it than just bells and drums!”
Confucius regarded ritual ceremonies and music as the ultimate embodiment of civilization and tradition, and urged his contemporaries to treat them with due sincerity and respect. Continue reading More than just jade and silk
顏淵問為邦。子曰：「行夏之時，乘殷之輅，服周之冕。樂則韶舞，放鄭聲，遠佞人。鄭聲淫，佞人殆。」
When Yan Hui asked how to govern a state, Confucius said: “Observe the calendar of the Xia Dynasty; ride in the chariot of Yin Dynasty; wear the ceremonial cap of the Zhou Dynasty. As for music, follow the Coronation Hymn of Shun and the Victory Hymn of Wu. Ban the music of Zheng. Stay away from smooth talkers. The music of Zheng corrupts. Smooth talkers are dangerous.”
Far from advising his favorite disciple Yan Hui to copy slavishly from the past, Confucius is telling him to adopt only the finest traditions and practices from previous dynasties. Continue reading Best of breed
子曰：「由之瑟，奚為於丘之門？」門人不敬子路。子曰：「由也升堂矣！未入於室也！」
Confucius said: “What is Zilu doing playing that type of music in my house?” The disciples began showing disrespect to Zilu. Confucius said: “Zilu may not have entered the inner chamber yet, but he has at least reached the reception hall.”
Although Confucius is irritated at Zilu for playing loud military music rather than peaceful, calming tunes, he doesn’t expect his disciples to overreact by showing their disrespect for their colleague. Continue reading Zilu rocks the house
子曰：「吾自衛反魯，然後樂正，雅頌，各得其所。」
Confucius said: “It was only after I returned to Lu from Wei that the music was reformed and the court songs and sacrificial hymns put in the proper order.”
Confucius is probably referring to the Book of Songs (詩經/shījīng), the oldest surviving collection of Chinese poetry and one of the “Five Classics” that became required reading for Chinese students for over 2,000 years. Continue reading A win-win situation
子曰：「師摯之始，關睢之亂，洋洋乎盈耳哉。」
Confucius said: “What rich and beautiful music fills my ears when Zhi, the master of music, is conducting – right from the opening passage through to the finale of the Ospreys!”
I have commented on Confucius’s love of music before. Master Zhi was a famous court musician of the state of Lu; the Ospreys is the first poem in the Book of Songs. Continue reading Rich and beautiful music
子與人歌而善，必使反之，而後和之。
When he was together with other people and someone sang a song well, he always asked him to repeat it before joining in.
Confucius’s love of music was previously noted here.
子謂韶，「盡美矣，又盡善也。」謂武，「盡美矣，未盡善也。」
Confucius described the music of the Emperor Shun as being perfectly beautiful and perfectly good and the music of King Wu as being perfectly beautiful but not perfectly good.
The Emperor Shun was the legendary sage king of ancient China in the 23rd or 22nd century BC. He reportedly ruled for nearly fifty years after the previous ruler Yao had abdicated in favor of him because of his higher virtue. Confucius therefore judged his music (said by some sources to be some kind of orchestral ballet) to be “perfectly good” as well as “perfectly beautiful” because it reflected of the emperor’s fine moral character. Continue reading Perfectly good?
子語魯大師樂，曰：「樂其可知也：始作，翕如也；從之，純如也，皦如也，繹如也，以成。」
Confucius was talking about music with the music master of Lu. He said: “We can know this much about music: It begins with everyone trying to play together; when it gets in full swing it flows harmoniously, clearly, and continuously until it reaches the end.”
Confucius regarded music as being at the very apex of human civilization. Continue reading The music master