Yayue
The word ya (雅) was used during the Zhou dynasty to refer to a form of song-texts used in court and collected in Shijing.
[4][5] Yayue is therefore regarded in the Confucian system as the proper form of music that is refined, improving, and essential for self-cultivation, and one that can symbolize good and stable governance.
[10] In Taiwan yayue is still performed as part of a Confucian ceremony, and in China a revived form also serves as entertainment for tourists.
Other forms of yayue are still found in parts of East Asia, notably the gagaku in Japan, aak in Korea, and nhã nhạc in Vietnam.
The Korean aak, however, preserved elements of Song dynasty yayue long lost in China.
The most important yayue piece of the Zhou dynasty were the Six Great Dances, each associated with a legendary or historical figure – Yunmen Dajuan (雲門大卷), Daxian (大咸), Daqing (大磬, or Dashao 大韶), Daxia (大夏), and Dahu (大濩), Dawu (大武).
Yayue was also used in outdoor activities, such as aristocratic archery contests, during hunting expeditions, and after the conclusion of a successful military campaign.
[19] Two important texts from the Song dynasty describing yayue performances are Zhu Xi's Complete Explanation of the Classic of Etiquette and Its Commentary (儀禮經傳通解) and Collection of Music (樂書) by Chen Yang (陳暘).
[23] There are however questions over the authenticity of these revived and recreated yayue music and dances, especially the use of modern forms of instruments and various substitutions rather than the more ancient and original forms, nonetheless some argued that such music and dances have always changed over time through succeeding dynasties, and that any changes introduced in the modern era should be seen in this light.
[23][24] The court yayue orchestra may be divided into two separate ensembles that may represent the yin and yang, a smaller one (the yin) that was meant to play on the terraces of a building and called dengge (登歌), and a larger one (the yang) that performed in the courtyard called gongxian (宮懸).
[19][20][25] The smaller ensemble consisted of mainly chordophones (such as qin and se zithers) and aerophones (such as the dizi and xiao flutes, and panpipes), as well as singers.
[22] The music performed in the courtyard are accompanied by dances, and the number of dancers varies strictly according to the rank and social status of the patron.
In Confucian rituals the six row dance (六佾舞) was originally performed as appropriate for the status of Confucius, later the eight row dance (八佾舞) was also performed as Confucius had been granted various posthumous regal titles, for example the title of King Wenxuan (文宣王) that was granted by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang dynasty.
