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Full Version: The high stakes of popular music in ancient China
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https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/music/e...-new-music

EXCERPT: [...] In Confucianism, music is regarded as one of two cruxes for living a civilized life. The other crux is rites. These are seen as theoretically divergent: rites separate people by creating social distinctions, while music harmonizes a community to bring people together; rites keep people civil but risk alienating them from one another, while music unites people but risks turning them loose and dissolute. Both are seen as fulfilling important roles in maintaining the social order, and the Confucian ideal is a perfect balance of the two. On a practical level, however, music and rites are often joined together in the performance of ritual music, which fills the other two sections of the Classic of Poetry—odes and hymns performed at state rituals, including sacrifices made to Heaven and Earth and to ancestors and dynastic founders. This music is grave and solemn, representing grand historical events in formal, stilted language....

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