Ritual and music system
The part of ritual mainly divides people's identity and social norms, and finally forms a hierarchy.
[2] The system developed from older shamanic traditions[9] and was seen as having cosmological significance,[10] it was seen as representing the balance between Yin and Yang[10] and the Five Elements.
[10] The regulations on ritual and music strengthened people's concept of hierarchy, played a symbolic role in establishing authority, alongside standardizing rule across the civilization.
Excavations in Jiahu Village in Wuyang County, Henan found bone flutes dated to 9,000 years ago, and clay music instruments called Xun thought to be 7,000 years old have been found in the Hemudu sites in Zhejiang and Banpo in Xi'an.
[12] The earliest Chinese character for "dance", , appears in the oracle bones and represents a dancer holding oxtails in each hand.
[13] According to the Lüshi Chunqiu (compiled around 239 BC): "In former times, the people of the Getian clan (葛天氏) would dance in pairs [or threes] with oxtails in hand, stamping their feet and singing eight stanzas.
The rain dance (舞雩, wǔyú) platform is mentioned in many ancient texts including the Analects of Confucius.
Yayue was also used in outdoor activities, such as aristocratic archery contests, during hunting expeditions, and after the conclusion of a successful military campaign.
[20][21] Confucius, faced with the social chaos of the Spring and Autumn period, strongly advocated the restoration of the Ritual Music System of the Western Zhou, and advocated "restoring rituals to oneself" and to social problems, and to be able to realize a harmonious society in which the world is "righteous.
Legend has it that he asked Laozi about rituals and became so obsessed with music that he "did not know the taste of meat for three months".
Rites serve as the starting point for each individual and that these sacred social functions allow each person's human nature to be harmonious with reality.
The Shijing serves as one of the current Confucian classics and is a book on poetry that contains a diversified variety of poems as well as folk songs.
[27] In the Analects, Confucius described the importance of the art in the development of society:[28] The Master said, "My children, why do you not study the Book of Poetry?
"[28] In ancient China the social status of musicians was much lower than that of painters, though music was seen as central to the harmony and longevity of the state.
[1] 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).
[36] 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.
