[citation needed] The Six Arts were practiced by scholars and existed before Confucius, but became a part of Confucian philosophy.
It evidently overlaps with the Six Arts, since the qin epitomized music, chess (Go, a board-game known by its Japanese name) related to military strategy, while calligraphy dealt with the aesthetics of writing and character cultivation (the rites).
[citation needed] The emphasis on the Six Arts bred Confucian gentlemen, or Junzi, who knew more than just canonical scholarship.
This tradition receded after the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), when neo-Confucianism underscored the importance of the Analects over the other arts and technical fields.
Western astronomical expertise (see Jesuit China missions) was welcomed as an aftermath of Chinese interest in astronomy and mathematics, partially formulated in the classical Six Arts agenda.