Mei Lianqing
Only the great sages can be happy and free from worries, and have complete and unbiased rituals. The sky is high and the earth is low, and all things are scattered and different, but the ritual system is in place. The flow never stops, and they are united and transformed, and music flourishes. Spring brings growth and summer grows, which is benevolence; autumn gathers and winter stores, which is righteousness. Benevolence is close to music, and righteousness is close to ritual. Music is harmonious and leads the gods and follows the sky, while ritual is different and appropriate, staying with ghosts and following the earth. Therefore, the sages make music to respond to the sky and make rituals to match the earth. When rituals and music are clear and complete, the heaven and the earth are in order. The sky is high and the earth is low, and the ruler and the minister are determined. The high and the low have been established, and the noble and the humble have been placed. There are regularities in movement and stillness, and the small and the big are different. Things gather together according to their kind, and things are divided into groups, so their nature and life are different. In the sky, it forms images, and on the earth, it forms shapes; in this way, ritual is the difference between heaven and earth. The earth's air rises and the sky's air descends, yin and yang collide with each other, and the heaven and the earth shake, which is stimulated by thunder and lightning, excited by wind and rain, moved by the four seasons, warmed by the sun and the moon, and all kinds of changes flourish. In this way, music is the harmony of heaven and earth. If the transformation is not timely, there will be no life; if there is no distinction between men and women, chaos will arise; it is the emotion of heaven and earth. And the rites and music are the highest in heaven and coiled on earth, running through yin and yang and communicating with ghosts and gods; reaching the highest and the farthest, and measuring the depth. Music is the beginning, and rites are in the creation of things. The one that is restless is heaven, and the one that is still is earth. The one that is moving and the one that is still is the space between heaven and earth. Therefore, the sages say rites and music. In the past, Shun made a five-stringed zither to sing the southern wind, and Kui first made music to reward the princes. Therefore, the emperor makes music to reward the princes with virtue. When virtue is flourishing and teaching is respected, and the five grains are ripe in time, then he will reward them with music. Therefore, those who rule the people to work hard, their dances are long and long; those who rule the people to relax, their dances are short and short. Therefore, by watching their dances, you can know their virtues; by hearing their posthumous titles, you can know their conduct. "Da Zhang" means to make it. "Xian Chi" means to be complete. "Shao" means to continue. "Xia" means to be great. The music of Yin and Zhou dynasties is complete. The way of heaven and earth is that when the cold and heat are out of season, there will be disease; when the wind and rain are not in season, there will be hunger. Education is the cold and heat of the people; if education is out of season, it will hurt the world. Affairs are the wind and rain of the people; if affairs are not in season, there will be no success. So the music of the ancient kings is to govern by law, and if it is good, it will be a symbol of virtue. Raising pigs to make wine is not to cause harm, but when lawsuits become more and more frequent, the flow of wine will cause harm. Therefore, the ancient kings established the wine ceremony. In the ceremony of offering one offering, the host and the guest bow a hundred times, and they drink all day long without getting drunk. This is why the ancient kings prepared for the harm of wine. Therefore, wine and food are for happiness; music is for virtue; ritual is for restraining lust. Therefore, when the ancient kings had a major event, they must have a ritual to mourn; when they had a great blessing, they must have a ritual to enjoy. The distinction between sorrow and joy all ends with ritual. Music is what the sages enjoy, and it can improve the hearts of the people. It deeply touches people and changes customs, so the ancient kings wrote about it. The people have the nature of blood, qi, heart and knowledge, but they do not have the regularity of sorrow, joy, happiness and anger. They respond to things and move, and then their mind and intention are formed. Therefore, when the will is slight, the sound of killing is produced, and the people are worried. When the sound of slow and easy, complicated and simple is produced, the people are healthy and happy. When the sound of rough, fierce, vigorous and broad is produced, the people are firm and resolute. When the sound of honest, upright, vigorous and upright, solemn and sincere is produced, the people are respectful. When the sound of generous, good, smooth and harmonious is produced, the people are kind and loving. When the sound of flowing, dispelling evil and cleaning up is produced, the people are promiscuous. Therefore, the ancient kings based on the nature of emotions, checked the degree, and established the rituals and righteousness. They combined the harmony of vital energy, guided the five constants, made it yang but not scattered, yin but not dense, the strong energy not angry, the soft energy not frightened, the four free and smooth intercourse in the middle and erupted on the outside, all in their positions without competing with each other; then they established the level of learning, expanded the rhythm, reduced the literary talent, and measured the virtue. The scale of the scale is called small and big, which is used to compare the order of the beginning and the end, and to represent the conduct of things. The principles of closeness and distance, nobleness and humbleness, oldness and youngness, and men and women are all reflected in music, so it is said that "joy is deep." If the soil is barren, the grass and trees will not grow; if the water is turbid, the fish and turtles will not grow big; if the air is weak, the creatures will not be able to survive; if the world is in chaos, the rites will be corrupted and the music will be lewd. Therefore, its sound is sad but not solemn, it is joyful but not peaceful, it is easy to violate the rules, and it is easy to indulge and forget its roots. If it is broad, it will tolerate evil, and if it is narrow, it will think of lust, and it will affect the smooth air and destroy the peaceful virtue. Therefore, the gentleman despises it. All evil sounds move people, and the adverse air responds to it; the adverse air forms an image, and lewd music arises. The right sound moves people, and the smooth air responds to it; the smooth air forms an image, and harmonious music arises. Harmony has a response, turning the evil and the crooked to the straight, and each returns to its own place; and the principles of all things are moved by their own kind. Therefore, the gentleman reflects his feelings to harmonize his will and compares his actions to achieve his goals. Evil sounds and disorderly sex do not leave wisdom; lewd music and evil manners do not connect the mind. Laziness, sluggishness, evil and perverse qi are not set in the body, so that the ears, eyes, nose, mouth, heart and body can all be in harmony and practice the righteousness. Then it will be released with sound, and it will be embellished with qin and qin, and it will be decorated with feathers and flags, and it will be followed by flutes and pipes. The light of supreme virtue will be stirred, and the harmony of the four qi will be moved, so as to show the principles of all things. Therefore, the clear and bright is like the sky, the vast is like the earth, the beginning and the end are like the four seasons, and the cycle is like wind and rain. The five colors form a pattern without chaos, the eight winds follow the law without evil, and the hundred degrees get the number and have a regularity. The small and the big complement each other, and the beginning and the end are born from each other. Promote harmony, clear and turbid, and they are alternately the classics. Therefore, music is practiced and the morals are clear, the ears and eyes are smart, the blood and qi are peaceful, the customs are changed, and the world is at peace. Therefore, it is said: music is joy. The gentleman is happy with the way, and the villain is happy with his desire. If you control your desire with the way, you will be happy without chaos; if you forget the way with your desire, you will be confused and not happy. Therefore, a gentleman should reflect his feelings to harmonize his aspirations, and expand music to complete his teachings. When music is practiced and the people are in harmony, virtue can be observed. Virtue is the beginning of nature. Music is the brilliance of virtue. Metal, stone, silk and bamboo are instruments of music. Poetry expresses his aspirations, singing sings his voice, and dancing moves his appearance. The three are based on the heart, and then the music follows. Therefore, deep feelings lead to civilization, and vigorous spirit transforms the spirit. Harmony accumulates within and brilliance radiates outside, and only music cannot be faked.
