Wei Bing Xu
Duke Wen of Wei asked Zixia, "When I listen to ancient music with my crown on, I am afraid of falling asleep; when I listen to the music of Zheng and Wei, I do not feel tired. May I ask: Why is ancient music like that? Why is new music like this?" Zixia replied, "Now, ancient music is advancing and retreating, harmonious and upright, and broad. Strings, gourds, shengs, and reeds are combined, guarded, and drums are played. At the beginning, it is played with elegance, and chaos is restored with force. Chaos is controlled with the minister, and the rapidity is investigated with elegance. Gentlemen talk about the ancient times, cultivate themselves and their families, and make the world equal. This is the origin of ancient music. Now, new music is advancing and retreating, and the sound of evil is heard. The music is so excessive that it cannot stop. When there are dwarfs and children mixed together, they do not know the difference between father and son. Music cannot be discussed in the end, and the ancient music cannot be mentioned. This is the emergence of new music. What you are asking about is music, and what you like is music! Music is similar to music but different. "Wen Hou asked, "May I ask how it is?" Zixia replied, "In ancient times, the heaven and the earth were in harmony and the four seasons were in order. The people were virtuous and the five grains flourished. Diseases did not occur and there were no evil omens. This is called the great order. Then the sages established the relationship between father and son, ruler and minister, and made it a rule. When the rules are correct, the world will be great. Stable. When the world is stable, then the six musical notes are corrected, the five tones are harmonized, and the music is sung with strings and poems. This is called the sound of virtue; the sound of virtue is called music. The Book of Songs says: "There is no sound of virtue better than this. His virtue is clear. He is able to be clear and kind, to be superior and to rule the country, and he rules this great country. He is able to obey and to be gracious, and he has been gracious to King Wen. His virtue is unrepentant. He has received the emperor's blessing and passed it on to his grandson. "This is what it means. What you like now is the music of indulgence?" Wen Hou said: "May I ask where the music of indulgence comes from?" Zixia replied: "The music of Zheng likes to indulge in lewdness, the music of Song likes to indulge the women of Yan, and the music of Wei likes to be lewd. The four are all indulgent and harmful to virtue, so they are not used in sacrifices. The Book of Songs says: "The sound of the bells is solemn and harmonious, and the ancestors listen to it." Solemnity is respect; harmony is harmony. If you are respectful and harmonious, what can't be done? A ruler should be careful about what he likes and dislikes. If the ruler likes it, the ministers will do it. If the ruler practices it, the people will follow it. The Book of Songs says: "It is very easy to lure the people." This is what it means. "Then the sages made drums, gongs, cymbals, cymbals, and chisels. These six are the sounds of virtue. Then the bells, chimes, flutes, and harps were used to harmonize them, and the halberds, shields, and flags were used to dance with them. This is how sacrifices are made to the temples of the ancestors, how offerings are made, how the officials are ranked according to their proper positions, and how the order of seniority and juniority is shown to future generations. The bells sounded loud, and the loudness established the order, the order established the horizontal, and the horizontal established the military. When a gentleman hears the sound of bells, he thinks of military officials. The sound of stone chimes is like chimes, chimes are used to establish judgment, judgment leads to death. When a gentleman hears the sound of chimes, he thinks of officials who died for the frontier. The sound of silk is sad, sadness is used to establish integrity, integrity is used to establish ambition. When a gentleman hears the sound of zither and qin, he thinks of officials with ambition and righteousness. The sound of bamboo is loud, loudness is used to establish meetings, meetings are used to gather people. When a gentleman hears the sound of 竽, 笙, 箫, and 管, he thinks of officials who gather people. The sound of drums and cymbals is loud, loudness is used to establish movement, movement is used to advance the people. When a gentleman hears the sound of drums and cymbals, he thinks of officials who are generals. When a gentleman listens to music, he does not just listen to the clanging of guns, but also has something to match.
