Qin music illustrates the concept of harmony through its techniques such as the level of pressure and the speed of tempo, which symbolize Yin and Yang and the different temperature in the four seasons.
The Chinese tradition of reading into words makes it easier for the government, or "the father," who possesses more attention and respect, to pass down its wishes through songs.
[citation needed]The "Socialist Harmonious Society" concept represents a new direction of Chinese communist leadership that signified the transition between Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao.
Although on the surface, "socialist harmonious society" seems benign, many scholars believed that CCP general secretary Hu has a vision for a deeper reform of the political system in China.
General Secretary Hu's focus on stability and openness is the central model addressed in the book The J Curve: A New Way to Understand Why Nations Rise and Fall by Ian Bremmer.
"[10] In addition to attending state dinners, President Hu visited the US-China Business Council, a Chinese-owned auto parts plant in Ohio, and Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago/Confucius Institute of Chicago.
"[11] With few agendas at hand before his retirement, Hu Jintao brought to America a concept of harmony that is based on peace, cooperation and "soft power" exchanges.
[citation needed] While initially the public's reaction to the idea was positive, over the years "Harmonious Society" has emerged as a euphemism for "stability at all costs," and has garnered its share of critics[who?].
[15] China scholar Cheng Li said that Hu's failure in implementing the Socialist Harmonious Society program has been his "gravest pitfall" during his tenure.
[15] Critics cite the increased wealth gap, higher internal security budgets, and unprecedented corruption in state-owned industries as evidence that Socialist Harmonious Society has failed in practice.
In addition, the word harmonious can itself also be the placeholder verb for "to censor", most often referring to posts on a forum that have been deleted because of unacceptable content, or the censorship of stories reporting sensitive issues in the press.