Front. Lit. Stud. China 2008, 2(3): 321–348 DOI 10.1007/s11702-008-0013-2

RESEARCH ARTICLE

FU Daobin

Village people, village music and the theoretical significance of the concept that poetry can harmonize people © Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag 2008

Abstract Xiang li 乡里 (township civil service) is the basic political and social unit of the Zhou dynasty. Village people were the nobles who occupied certain positions in political and cultural affairs. Village music was employed in social gatherings of local communities. The rites and the music reflect the attempt of the nobles in the Zhou dynasty to make their secular lives refined, poetic and artistic. Drinking rite and shooting rites were regular local activities rich in artistic implications and both showed the characteristics of early drama. Poems and music were at the core of such friendly and harmonious gatherings of local communities. These activities and the notion that “poetry can harmonize people” have exerted profound and far-reaching influences upon the mind of the Chinese people as well as Chinese literature. Keywords village people, village music, drinking rites, shooting rites, poetry can harmonize people 摘要 乡里是周代社会的基础政治构成，乡人是具有一定政治和文化地位的贵族阶 层，乡乐是周代乡党间诗乐活动的典型样式。乡党间的礼乐活动，反映着周代贵族 把世俗生活雅化、诗化和艺术化的精神追求。乡饮酒礼、乡射礼是周代乡党间经常 性的礼乐活动，具有丰富的艺术蕴含，其仪式具有早期戏剧的特征，诗乐在乡党礼 典中处于核心地位。乡饮、乡射反映着和谐友爱的乡党关系，是“诗可以群”这一 理论观念的具体体现。周代乡党间的风雅精神和“诗可以群”的理论观念，对中国 人的精神世界和中国文学都产生了深刻影响。 关键词

乡党，乡乐，乡饮酒，乡射，诗可以群

Translated from Zhongguo shehui kexue 中国社会科学 (Social Sciences in China), 2006, (2): 165–176 by WANG Hui, School of English Studies, Dalian University of Foreign Languages FU Daobin ( ) College of Literature, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China E-mail: [email protected]

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Xiang 乡 (village), also called home village or town,1 was the basic political and cultural unit in the Zhou dynasty. The liyue wenming 礼乐文明 (ritual-music civilization) in the Zhou dynasty found expression in the solemn and grand religious sacrifice in the ancestral temple of the royal family. At the same time, it was also reflected as the literary grace and artistic achievements when poetry was composed and the music was played in the cities ruled by the dukes. However, the formation of the ritual-music civilization was based on the everyday cultural activities of the village aristocrats, such as the wedding ceremony, the funeral, the dresses, the language, the drinking festivity and the shooting rite. The poetry-music represented by Shijing 诗经 (The Book of Songs) was played in the royal court, the various states and the villages. “(The poetry-music) can be used both in the villages and in the states” 2 and many important poetry-music activities were organized in the villages. The poetry-music played in the state was the folk song of the state while the music played in the village was the village music. Compared with the folk songs of the states, the educative function of the village music was more basic and commoner. In fact, the village music played the role of harmonizing the village and uniting the relatives of the same clan, so it reflected the significance of the literary concept that “poetry can harmonize people”.

1 The village aristocrats, the village music and the cultural soil for the concept that “poetry can harmonize people” Although Shijing can be appreciated from both the literary and the artistic perspectives, it must be recognized that Shisanbai 诗三百 (The Three Hundred Poems) compiled in the background of the ritual-music culture was not merely a literary classic. Instead, it was a model of the ritual music associated with the ritual-music culture. Confucius says that “poetry may serve to inspire, to reflect, to harmonize and to criticize”3 and his poetic thought could from an organic theoretical system. The practice of writing poems to convey ambitions was very popular in the Spring and Autumn Period (Chunqiu shiqi 春 秋 时 期 BCE 770–476). Shisanbai was widely used in the social life and played an important part in the sacrificial ceremonies and the diplomatic affairs. The poems provided valuable insights into the political situation and the artistic level of the state, thus the reflection function of the poetry. On the other hand, the Shisanbai could be applied to the everyday life of the village people so as to educate them. Therefore, 1

In both Zhouli 周礼 and Liji 礼记 (The Rites of Zhou and The Book of Rites), “village” and “town” mean the same. 2 Shidaxu 诗大序 (The General Prologue to Poetry). 3 Lunyu Yanghuo 论语·阳货 (“Yanghuo” of The Analects).

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the poetry could serve as the artistic way of communicating emotions and building up a harmonious relationship among different clans in the village so as to achieve the ideal state of sociability, thus the harmonizing function of poetry. Many sheep can make a flock. It is said in Shuowen jiezi 说 文 解 字 (Annotations on the Chinese Characters) that qun 群 (group) refers to the crowd of people who get together like the sheep and later the meaning of the word is extended to refer to the clan, the multitude and the collectiveness. The character qun has appeared 247 times4 in Shisan jing 十三经 (The Thirteen Classics) and originally referred to the sheep flock or the animal herd. For example, “Who said that you did not have sheep? Your three hundred sheep can make a flock”.5 “The swallow come back and the flock of birds all lay up grain for the coming winter”.6 Later, the word was used to refer to the group of people or the clan. For example, “People of the same type fall into a group and birds of a feather flock together”.7 “The people stay together all day long and they never talk about anything serious”.8 Finally, the meaning of group was extended to refer to the state that people can get along with one another and take delight in getting together. For example, it is said in Liji Xueji 礼记·学记 (“Learning Record” of The Book of Rites) that “after three years, the students not only study diligently, but also are happy about staying together with their friends”. Kong Yingda 孔颖 达 explained that “some people are willing and glad to stay together with their friends”. It is emphasized in the education thoughts of Confucius that people should be willing to help others and live harmoniously together with others, so sociability is one of the basic requirements for a superior man. The concept that “poetry can harmonize people” starts with the basic meaning of “group” and eventually arrives at the spiritual state of being willing to stay together with others. It is said in Lunyu that “writing poetry is like carving and polishing. The people who stay together can learn from one another by exchanging views”. In fact, the concept that “poetry can harmonize people” is originated from the idea that the poets who get together can discuss their understanding of poetry. In this way, the members of the society gradually adapt themselves to the practice of getting together and then a happy and harmonious interpersonal relationship is built up among them. The appearance of a spiritual phenomenon requires the cultural soil that is compatible with it. In the Zhou dynasty, village was the basic unit that is made 4

Li Bo, 1997. Shijing Xiaoya Wuyang 诗经·小雅·无羊 (“Without Sheep” of “Minor Odes” of The Book of Songs). 6 Liji Yueling 礼记·月令 (“The Game to the Moon” of The Book of Rites). 7 Yizhuan Xici shang 易传·系辞上 (the first part of “Xici” of The Book of Changes). 8 Lunyu Weilinggong 论语·卫灵公 (“The Viscount of Wei” of The Analects). 5

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up of different clans and therefore shouldered the responsibility of educating people with the ritual music. The poetry is called the village music, which penetrates into the spiritual world of the village aristocrats by way of the performances on the village stage. As a result, poetry plays an important role in the interpersonal relationship among the village people, which provides the cultural soil for the concept that “poetry can harmonize people”. 1.1 Village, as a part of the city, is the basic social formation. It should be pointed out that the village system in the Zhou dynasty were not to be understood in light of the modern concept of village, because the village belonged to the city state then. In the Zhou dynasty, there was the distinction between the “state” and the “countryside”. The former referred to the city while the latter referred to the village in the modern sense. Zheng Xuan 郑玄 said in the notes of Zhouli that “the state refers to the city and the countryside refers to the outer suburbs”. It can be seen that in the Zhou dynasty, village made part of the state or the city. Duan Yucai 段玉裁 said in the notes that “to leave the city means to leave the palace or the residence. The state and the city can refer to the same thing. It is also said that the state is bigger while the city is smaller and the state can be divided into different cities.”9 It is recorded in “Wangzhi” 王制 (“Royal Regulations”) of Liji that as for those who do not follow the teaching of the master, the ones in the right village would be driven to the left village and vice versa. The ones who still refused to repent would be driven to the suburbs. Eventually those people who resisted the teaching to the end would be driven to the wilderness. It can be seen that the basic approach for dealing with the people who defied the teaching of the master was to drive them from the center of the city to the remote place far away from the city, which showed that village was at the center of the city. The city-state was made up of a number of villages and the village aristocrats who lived in the village form their own clans according to the blood relations. In addition, the aristocrats occupied the leading positions in the city-state and they were called the country men or the village people. In Hou Wailu’s 侯外庐 opinion, China stepped into the times of the city-states from the Yin dynasty.10 After the Western Zhou dynasty and especially in the Spring and Autumn period, the Chinese city civilization enjoyed rapid developments. The newly appeared city-states not only threatened the royal kingdoms, but also gave rise to the class of ambitious village aristocrats. They were neatly dressed and indulged themselves in poetry and wine, so poetry-music was regarded as the artistic pursuits. The love for poetry-music grew out of the soil of city-states, so the concept that “poetry can harmonize people” must be understood in the context of 9

Duan Yucai, Commentary on Shuowen jiezi. Hou Wailu, 1995.

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the city-state civilization. 1.2 The village people refer to the aristocrats who enjoyed extensive civil rights. Compared with the savage people in the remote area, the village aristocrats in the city-state not only enjoyed the affluent material life, but also had the right to participate in the political activities, the right to vote and the right to receive education. The phrase “village people” appeared frequently in such classics as Zhouli, Liyi 仪礼 (The Study of the Rites), Liji, Zuozhuan 左传 (The Chronicles of Zuo) and Lunyu, which showed that the “village people” meant the same as the “countrymen”11 and both belonged to the aristocratic class in the city-state. The term “countrymen” was used in the context of the state and every countryman belonged to a particular village. Therefore, in that village, the countryman was also called one of the village people. The aristocrats in the Zhou dynasty belonged to the city-states, but they all lived in the villages. In Xiangdang tukao 乡党图考 (The Textual Research on the Pictures of the Villages), Jiang Yong 江 永 in the Qing dynasty took Confucius as an example and said that “Confucius was born in Changping village in the Lu state and then moved to another village in the southwest of Qufu. He lived in the capital city which was also a village to the royal court.”12 That is to say, Confucius first of all was the countryman of the state of Lu, but within the city-state, he belonged to the village, hence one of the village people. The village people had the rights to know and participate in the important political affairs. It is said in “Xiangdafu” 乡大夫 (The Senior Official in the Village) of Zhouli that “the opinions of the village people are solicited and then a few representatives of the village are led to the royal court to report. If the attacking army has reached the city gates, the village people will be ordered to protect their own homes. At the same time, they have to wait for the orders from the court.” Zheng Xuan 郑玄 explained that “the opinions of the village people must be asked when the state is endangered, the capital city is moved or a new king is enthroned.” 13 This is the famous rule of “three inquiries” in the city-states of the Zhou dynasty. That is to say, on some important occasions, such as the overthrow of the state, the moving of the capital city and the succession to the throne, the people of all the villages must be assembled and their opinions asked. Undoubtedly, the understanding and support of the village people were important. The village people enjoyed the right of political participation while the place for them to discuss the political affairs was called the “village school”. It is recorded in “Xianggong sanshiyi nian” 襄公三十一年 (“The Thirty-first 11

The difference of “countrymen” and “village people” lies in that a person is one of the village people in the clan while he is one of the countrymen in the city-state. 12 Jiang Yong, The Textual Research on the Pictures of the Villages. 13 The explanation of Zheng Xuan is based on “The Minor Minister of Justice” of Zhouli.

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Year of the Xianggong’s Reign”) of Zuozhuan that in the state of Zheng “there is the village school where the village people can talk about the successes and the failures of the politics”. The village school was the place for people to discuss the official businesses and reflected the spirit of the primitive democracy. The village people could express their opinions towards the politics freely and commented on the gains and losses of the political affairs. The special political and economic positions of the village people made it possible for them to accomplish great achievements in poetry-music. It was by this special class of the village people that the poetry-music was introduced to the secular life of the aristocrats in the Zhou dynasty. The poetic works written by the lower class people were also adapted to the artistic means of educating the aristocrats in the city-states. In addition, “gathering” was promoted by the aristocrats in the Zhou dynasty to enhance the interpersonal relationships. 1.3 The village music was one of the classical art forms in the ritual-music activities in the Zhou dynasty. The ritual-music activities were frequently held in the village and Shijing was also called the “village music”. The phrase “village music” often appeared in “The Drinking Rite in the Village”, “The Shooting Rite in the Village” and “The Rite of Yan” of Liyi. It is said in “The Drinking Rite in the Village” of Liyi that “here comes the instrumental ensemble. ‘The Cooing’, ‘The Ramee’ and ‘The Cocklebur’ from ‘Southern Zhou’ are played. ‘The Magpie’s Nest’, ‘Wormwood Leaves’ and ‘Picking Duckweed’ from ‘Southern Shao’ are played”. Zheng Xuan said in his notes that “the village music was the songs of the state.” It is said in “The Rite of Yan” of Liyi that “the village music was played. ‘The Cooing’, ‘The Ramee’ and ‘The Cocklebur’ from ‘Southern Zhou’ are played. ‘The Magpie’s Nest’, ‘Wormwood Leaves’ and ‘Picking Duckweed’ from ‘Southern Shao’ are played”. Zhu Xi 朱熹 said that “‘Southern Zhou’ and ‘Southern Shao’ reflect the happiness within the house and they are the village music”.14 It is thus clear that the village music refers to the folk songs of the states represented by “Southern Zhou” and “Southern Shao”. In the Zhou dynasty, the folk songs could reflect the prevailing customs of the city-states and mirror their politics and social etiquettes. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Shijing was frequently used in the cultural life of the village people and served the function of educating them by way of music. In this sense, the folk songs of the states could also be considered the village music. In the background of the ritual-music culture, the village music was popularized in the daily life and penetrated into the spiritual world of the village people so as to get them united, which proved the concept that poetry could harmonize the people. It is said at the very beginning of Maoshi xu 毛诗序 (The Prologue To Mao Poetry) that “ ‘The 14

The Collection of the Works by Mr. Zhu Wengong, Style Named Hui’an, volume 70.

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Cooing’ is a song eulogizing the virtues of the empress and the imperial concubines and comes first in the folk songs of the states. The song is popularized in the whole country and correct the behaviors of all the couples. It can be used to educate the village people and manage the state.” Thus Shijing was not only a collection of the folk songs of the states, but also the music popular in the village. The former could reflect the politics and artistic level of a state while the latter could help to cultivate the people and regulate the human relations. It is thus obvious that poetry could help to harmonize the people and develop the placid social atmosphere.

2 The concept that poetry can harmonize people and the poetic flavor in the secular life of the village people The concept that poetry can harmonize people has two implications. On the one hand, the enmity, resentment and anger brought about by the conflict of interests could be resolved by way of some poetical and musical activities. Consequently, the greatest possible harmony and love could be realized among the members of the aristocratic class. Finally, everyone was gentle, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous and the cordial social atmosphere was built up. On the other hand, the realization of the poetry-music politics demanded that all the members of the society should be accomplished in the poetry-music. Therefore, the poetry-music activities must be held universally and frequently so that the poetry could be immersed into the everyday life of the common people and then reflected in their spiritual atmosphere. It could be concluded that the concept that poetry can harmonize people required the universal participation in the poetry-music activities. In the Zhou dynasty, the poetry-music education was carried out extensively, which produced the class of aristocrats accomplished in poetry-music. In this way, the poetry-music was brought into the secular life of the village people and played a positive role in their character formation. As a result, the superior men in the villages all had the artistic pursuits. 2.1 The village education in the Zhou dynasty focused on the stringed instruments and the ritual music. There was the system of village education in the Zhou dynasty. It is said in “Learning Record” of Liji that “as for the education in ancient times, there was the private school in the family, there was a high school for every five hundred families, there was a provincial school for twelve thousand and five hundred families and there were colleges in every country.” Zheng Xuan explained that the five hundred families belonged to the village. In the Zhou dynasty, there were both imperial college and village school. The former was established in the capital city and was the place for the kings and the

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high officials to study. The latter was built up in the village so that the children from the aristocratic families could receive education. Although the village school was inferior to the imperial college in level, it played a more important role in the mass education. Basically, the focus of the village education was the ritual music. The functions and duties of the village education were recorded in “Royal Regulations” of Liji. The situ 司徒 (an official position in the Zhou dynasty) writes the six rites to perfect the human nature, clarifies the seven ethical standards to improve the moral integrity of the people and standardizes the eight administrations to prevent promiscuity. The moral standard must be unified to make sure that the same custom prevails everywhere. Everyone has the filial piety so that the aged people can be provided for and everyone has sympathy so that the orphans can be nursed. The virtuous and moral people are highly esteemed, so that the number of the unworthy people will be reduced. In this way, the evils and vices in the society will decrease. If the unworthy people refuse to mend their ways, the ones in the right village will be sent o the left village and vice versa. If they still refuse to change, they will be driven to the suburban area. Finally, they will be driven to the remote areas and never called back. The talented people in the village will be selected and promoted to the position of situ. Four skills are admired and four doctrines are established. Shijing, Shujing 书经 (The Classic of Documents), Liji and Yuejing 乐经 (The Book of Music) are taught in order to cultivate the talents. Liji and Yuejing are taught in spring and autumn while Shijing and Shujing are taught in winter and summer. It can be seen that the village education performed three functions. The first one was the moral education. The moral standard of respecting the virtuous and moral people was established among the young people in the village by teaching them the six rites, the seven ethical standards and the eight policies. Eventually, they could shoulder the historical responsibility of inheriting and imparting the culture of rites and music. Second, the political awards and punishments were carried out through the village education. The ignorant and stubborn people were punished and the talented people were selected through the village education, because in the Zhou dynasty, village was the basic unit for the selection and the punishment. The stubborn and disobedient people were driven to the remote wilderness and would never be employed. The talented and virtuous people were selected, promoted to the situ position and then sent to the imperial college. Eventually, they would become the pillars of the state. According to Zhouli, the examination for selecting the talents would be held once every three years in the

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village school.15 The third function of the village education was to promote the ritual music. The basic means of realizing the moral and political aims was to teach Shijing, Shujing, Liji and Yuejing. The four classics made the core content of the ritual-music education. The poetry was given the top priority, which characterized the Chinese traditional education. yuezheng 乐 正 (the music official) was the official in charge of the poetry-music education. The four skills and the four doctrines also referred to the four classics. In terms of space, the poetry-music education was the center of the ritual-music culture in the Zhou dynasty. In terms of time, it lasted for the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. The weather in spring and autumn was agreeable, so the students could practice the ritual music outside. It was too hot in summer and too cold in winter, so the students could read the poetry in the classroom. Playing the ritual music was a skill and the student had no books to follow. Shijing and Shujing were textbooks for the students to learn poetry. Yu Zhengxie 俞正燮 in the Qing dynasty said that “after reading through the books written by the past three generations, one can find nothing but music. One can learn righteousness and justice after reading ‘Neize’ 内 则 The Inner Regulations of Liji, but that is all. ‘Royal Regulations’ and ‘Learning Record’ by the Han people are also very limited in content.”16 Yu Zhengxie believed that the main content of the education in the Zhou dynasty was the stringed instruments and the ritual music. Therefore, he said that one could nothing but music, which was a little exaggerating. However, it was an indisputable fact that the poetry-music was the most important item in the education of the Zhou dynasty, especially in the village education. Confucius started the trend of private education in the Spring and Autumn Period and he believed that education should be for all，irrespective of their social status. From then on, education stepped out of the bright halls of the princes and dukes and into the circles of the common people. Therefore, both the offspring of the nobility and the children from the common families had access to education. The content of teaching was primarily the poetry. It is said in “Weijiangjun wenzi” 卫将军文子 (“General-chief of Wei”) of Dadai liji 大戴礼 记 (The Book of Rites by Dai De) that “I heard that Shijing was given the priority in the teaching of Confucius”. According to the classics and historical documents, Confucius attached great importance to the poetry-music education. 2.2 The poetry-music got involved in all the aspects of secular life of the village people. Wen Yiduo 闻一多 said that “poetry plays a more important social function in China than in all other countries. When poetry came into being, 15 16

“The Senior Official in the Village” of Zhouli. Yu Zhengxie, 2003, p. 65.

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it became religion, politics, education and social intercourse. It is concerned with all the aspects of social life.”17 Poetry was an overall reflection of the social life. It appeared in the important affairs of the upper class people, such as religion, diplomacy and social contact. It was also visible in the secular life of the village people, such as the talking, the eating and the drinking. The poetry-music penetrated into the secular life of the village people, so it exerted a great influence on the depth of their spiritual world. The Zhou dynasty was a state founded on farming, so agriculture was the most important thing for the people. Sometimes, the agricultural activities were accompanied with the ritual music which was usually played in the sacrificial ceremonies. The king of Zhou dynasty would hold grand religious ceremonies in the field to celebrate the plowing day while the gentlemen in the village would hold a ceremony to offer sacrifices to the God of Farmland. The ceremonies for beginning the plowing and celebrating a bumper harvest held by the king of the Zhou dynasty were described in such pieces as “Yixi” 噫嘻 (“Reverent Lord Cheng”) and “Zaishan” 载芟 (“Clearing Away the Grass”) of Shijing. Binfeng 豳风 (Songs of Bin)contained the pieces describing the ceremonies of offering sacrifices to the God of Farmland held by the common people in the village. Bin was the birthplace of the Zhou dynasty and had a long and rich cultural tradition. A complete and detailed cultural system concerned with agriculture had been established. “The ancestors have inherited the custom handed down by the emperors in ancient times, so they are all engaged in agriculture and love sowing and reaping. Therefore, many pieces in Songs of Bin are about the basics of life, such as farming, sericulture, clothing and food.”(“Annals of Geography” of The Book of the Han Dynasty) According to “Chunguan” 春官 (“Spring Ministry”) of Zhouli, the poetic works in Bin were primarily used in the ritual-music activities concerned with farming. These ritual-music activities accompanied the agricultural activities for four seasons. From spring to summer, the songs of Bin were played and from autumn to winter, the odes of Bin were played. During the sacrifice offered at end of the year, the hymns of Bin were played. Along with the agricultural activities in the four seasons, drum was beaten and flute was played. The songs, odes and hymns of Bin were sung. The ritual and rite not only played an important role in the social life, but also were involved in the periods of growth of the village people. According to “Dangzheng” 党正 (“The Magistrate”) of Zhouli, “the magistrate is in charge of the sacrificial ceremony, the funeral and the wedding ceremony. He teaches people the rites and warns them of the taboos.” The sacrificial ceremony held at the ancestral temple, the birth celebration, the funeral, the wedding ceremony and the grown-up ceremony were all held in the village. All the ritual-music activities 17

Wen Yiduo, 1956, p. 202.

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were accompanied by the village music. The adult ceremony in the clanship period evolved into the ceremony marking a man’s coming of age in the Zhou dynasty. During the ceremony, boys would wear the caps and girls the hairpins, which showed that they were grown-ups. The capping ceremony was an important cultural activity in the village and according to the “Shiguanli” 士冠礼 (“Capping Ceremony”) of Liji, after the capping ceremony, “the gentleman should wear black cap and black robe and pay visits to the local officials and masters.” That is to say, a person had the responsibility to report to the village about his own maturity. There were some poetry-music activities during the capping ceremony. Altogether, the capping would be done for three times, namely, wearing the cap made of the black cloth, wearing the leather cap and wearing the cap made of red-black cloth. During the process, three congratulatory speeches and three verses would be read aloud. Written in the poetic form and with a melodious rhyme, the six pieces not only expressed the good wishes for the children who came of age, but also were earnest teachings to them. In terms of style, they were similar to the odes and hymns in Shijing. On the one hand, the activities in the capping ceremony in the village were as grand and reverent as the sacrificial ceremony. On the other hand, the rhymed speeches and verses written for the ceremony were touched with the poetic flavor. In this way, poetry found its channel into the ritual and rite and the combination of ritual-music and poetry penetrated into the depth of the young men’s spiritual world. “The wedding ceremony is the most significant of all ceremonies” (“The Wedding Ceremony” of Liji) and Shijing, as a classic work of the ritual-music begins with “The Cooing”. It is thus evident that in the ritual-music education in the village, the wedding ceremony was considered as the basic of the human relations. Kongzi shilun 孔子诗论 (Confucius’ Commentaries on the Poetry) written during the Warring States Period (Zhanguo shiqi 战 国 时 期 BCE 476–221) has been stored in Shanghai Museum and recently the book was published. In this book, when the theme of “The Cooing” was discussed, the emphasis was put on the educational function of cultivating one’s temperament. Li Xueqing 李 学 勤 regarded “The Cooing” as the center of Shijing, and rearranged the order of the bamboo slips on which Confucius’ Commentaries on the Poetry was written. According to the interpretation of Confucius, the theme of “The Cooing” is transformation18 and the educational function of the poem should not be overlooked. In this poem, the social etiquette was taught to people by way of a love story. “The Cooing”, as the representative piece of the village music, was widely used in all kinds of ceremonies and rituals and performed the function of educating the village people and transforming the social traditions. 18

Huang Huaixin, 2004, pp. 49–50.

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Due to this reason, “The Cooing” came first in Shisanbai. The Zhou people highlighted the educational function of poetry in some grand ceremonies, such as the plowing-beginning ceremony, the sacrificial ceremony, the wedding ceremony, the capping ceremony and the dinner party. In this way, the secular life could be made refined and artistic. In addition, poetry was also introduced into the everyday life and the combination of the poetry and the music built up an artistic atmosphere for the aristocrats in the Zhou dynasty. It is recorded in “Yuzao” 玉藻 (“Jade-Bead Pendants of the Royal Cap”) of Liji that after the people took a bath and combed the hair, music would be played with the stringed instrument so that the mind could be nourished and the spirit refreshed. When a superior man walked in the royal court, he should obey the rule written in Shijing. When he walked quickly or slowly in the ancestral temple, his step should be in conformity with the melody of the ancient music. The influence that the ritual music exerted on him was demonstrated the minute he raised his hand or made a step forward. 2.3 The accomplishment in poetry-music was closely related to the character formation of the superior man in the village. The art of poetry was introduced into the social life of the Zhou people via the ritual-music civilization. Both the aristocrats and the common people considered the poetry-music as the major content in the education of the young people, so it was gradually permeating the spiritual world of the Zhou people. The elegant demeanor of the aristocrats in the Zhou dynasty betrayed their good tastes in art. According to the thoughts of literature and art of the Confucian school, “music comes out of the mind and courtesy appears in the behavior.”19 The real music flowed out of one’s inner mind while the social etiquettes and norms were external regulations for people’s behavior. Music could touch people to the depth of their hearts and transform the social custom. Therefore, the dignity and integrity of the superior man could be established with the help of the poetry-music education. The character of the village people was the same as that of the superior man in the Spring and Autumn Period and the dignity achieved by the village people was the same as that achieved by the superior man. Confucius held that the integrity and ethics of the superior man should be practiced in the life of the village people. He said that “I would know the way of the king after looking at the people in the village.”20 His confidence in transforming the social traditions and reforming the world came from the village, not from the royal court or the ancestral temple. The poetry-music was the basic in the cultivation of Zhou aristocrats. The poem was written to convey the ambition and the music was played to express 19 20

“The Record of Music” of Liji. “Drinking in the Village” of Liji.

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the emotion, which showed the artistic pursuits of the gentlemen in the Zhou dynasty. It is said in “On Music” of Xunzi 荀子 that “the superior men articulate their ambitions by striking the bell and beating the drum. They cheer their spirits by playing the stringed instruments.” The metal instruments should be put on the shelf and were not very convenient to play. Therefore, the village gentlemen preferred to carry the stringed instruments with them. Under such a cultural background, both the aristocrats and high officials and the village people were accomplished in music. The art of ritual-music added the poetic flavor to the everyday life of the common people and helped to form their refined demeanor. The artistic pursuits and accomplishments of the village people in the Zhou dynasty provided the cultural soil and space for the concept that poetry can harmonize people.

3 The artistic implication of the drinking rite and the shooting rite and the realization of the concept that poetry can harmonize people The Duke of Zhou 周公 upheld the civilization and morality, so he set up the ritual and rite and composed the music in order to build up the cultural system with the ritual music as the core. The essence of the ritual-music culture was the artistic spirit derived from the combination of poetry and rite. Confucius put forward the famous theory of the “five compasses”, saying that “the ambition is encompassed in the poetry, the poetry is encompassed in the ceremony, the ceremony is encompassed in the music and the music is encompassed in the mourning”21. The newly-published Zhanguo chuzhushu 战国楚竹书 (Bamboo Slips of Chu during Warring States Period) contained an essay called “Parents of the People”, in which the “five compasses” were talked about. The opinion in that book was very similar to that in Liji, which proved that the theory of the “five compasses” was very popular during the Pre-Qin Period (Xianqin 先秦 BCE 2000–221). The saying that “the poetry is encompassed in the ceremony” showed the supplementary relationship between the ceremony and the poetry. Shijing was not a book of literature detached from the ceremony while the ceremony was not the abstract moralizing without the poetry-music performance. The ceremony served as the channel for the poetry to enter the life of the village people while the poetry added some artistic flavor to the ceremony. The whole ceremony was permeated with the poetic imagination and the artistic flavor. A Japanese scholar Imamichi Tomonobu said, “What is ceremony? It teaches the people how to get access to the souls of God and the ancestors by 21

“Confucius at Home at Leisure” of Liji.

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way of the symbolic ideas in the poetry. That is to say, all the religious ceremonies are held in the way of the dramatic performances.”22In Imamichi Tomonobu’s opinion, the ceremony was an elegant art form and the grand ceremony was like a poetic drama of great momentum. His idea was proved by the drinking rite and the shooting rite in the villages of the Zhou dynasty. The drinking rite and the shooting rite were the important ceremonies often held in the village. They helped to realize the political aim of harmonizing and uniting the people. The drinking and shooting rites had rich artistic implications and were characterized by the features of the primitive drama. The drinking rite was made up of the four parts of welcoming the guests, toasting to the guests and dedicating the music to the guests, treating the guests with a dinner and sending off the guests. The four parts were similar to the prelude, the development, the climax and the ending of the drama and by way of this, the everyday life of the village people was incorporated with the procedures of the art.23 The first part of the drinking rite was welcoming the guests, which was the prelude of the whole ceremony. The second part was toasting to the guests and dedicating the music to the guests, which was the development. In the second part, there were the two steps of making toasts and playing the music. Making toasts included the three steps of the host making a toast to the guest, the guest returning the toast and finally an exchange of toast. Playing music included the four steps of singing, playing the wind instrument, the alternation of singing and playing and the musical ensemble. In the Zhou dynasty, the complement of the poetry to the ceremony was emphasized, so there surely would be poetry and music in the drinking rite in the village. The third part of the drinking rite was the dinner party and “the dinner party would start after the ritual music ends”.24 Treating the guests with a big dinner was the climax of the rite and included the three steps of seats arrangements, proposing toasts and music playing. After all the guests were seated, they would be persuaded to drink the wine one by one according to their ages. At this time, more and more people got involved and the rite was gradually moving into the climax. There was no limit to the amount of the wine that one drank and nobody should stop until he was drunk. At that same time, the musicians were playing music and the singers were singing songs and everyone enjoyed himself to the full. The fourth part was sending off the guests, which was the ending of the rite. The music Gai 陔 would be played when the host sent off the guests. Zheng explained that “the music Gai is a warning for all the guests. After a whole day of eating and drinking, one should restrain himself 22

Imamichi Tomonobu, 1991, p. 12. Yang Kuan, 1999. 24 It is recorded in “The First Year of the Zhaogong’s Reign” of The Chronicle of Zuo that Zheng Bo treated Zhao Meng and Shusun Bao. The banquet began after the rite was over. 23

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in case he will violate the social etiquette.” The same as the drinking rite, the shooting rite was also characterized with artistic flavor. According to “The Shooting Rite” of Liji, the procedure of the shooting rite was the same as that of the drinking rite. However, different from the drinking rite, the focus of the shooting rite was the three rounds of shooting.25 The first round was the warm-up exercise, so the score would not be recorded. The contest started from the second round and the victory and the defeat would be decided according to the scores in the shooting. The third round was different from the second round in that the music was added to it. “The Forester” from “Southern Shao” of Shijing would be played and the shooter was required to hit the bull’s-eye to the beat of the drum. The third round of shooting was done to music, therefore called the shooting with the music accompaniment. The climax of the shooting rite came at the third round, because the shooter was required to have both the consummate shooting skill and a good sense of rhythm. Therefore, in the shooting with the music accompaniment, a comprehension of music was emphasized, so it was the shooting of the highest state. A strong artistic sentiment was displayed in both the drinking rite and the shooting rite. Although the drinking and shooting activities of the clans in the villages occupied the important positions in the respective rites, the great lengths, the noble themes and the proper situations made the procedures more like the spectacular drama. This magnificent ceremony was different from the poetic drama in Greece, because in Greek drama, art was abstracted from life by way of the performance while in the ceremony, the poetic elements were added to life by way of the artistic design. Therefore, the poetic drama of the ritual-music style was more realistic and truer to life. In the western world, the opinion that “singing and dancing were originated from the ceremony” was very popular. “Harrison attached great importance to the function of the ceremony and he believed that ‘tragedy and mythology came from the ceremony instead of the other way round.’ In his opinion, the Greek tragedy was originated from the ceremony that signified the sufferings of the God of Wine and the sacrificial ceremony held for him. All the great works of literature contained the elements of methodology and ceremony, which was the opinion widely accepted by the critics in the western world.”26 Similarly, a strong artistic tendency was also revealed in the sacrificial ceremonies in China. For example, the following artistic features could be found in the drinking rite and the shooting rite.

25

“The Sport Spirits of Ancient China Reflected from the Shooting Rite and the Ceremonies” by Peng Lin is concerned with the three rounds of shooting. The essay is published in Guangming Daily, 2/10/2004, p. 3. 26 Zhang Longxi, 1986, p. 58.

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3.1 The ceremony had a theme. The primitive witchcraft was to show the piety and respect towards the gods while in the simple rites of drinking and shooting, the belief in and pursuit of the ritual-music spirit were expressed. It is said in “The Meaning of the Shooting Rites” of Liji that “in the drinking rite, the differences between the elders and the youngsters must be made clear. Therefore, the shooters should pay attention to the etiquette while moving around. He must be upright both morally and physically. Then he should carry the bow and arrow and aim at the target. During the shooting process, the moral character of the shooter should also be taken into consideration.” The drinking and shooting rites were originated from the drinking and hunting activities in the villages. Later, the moral integrity and the idea of paying respect to seniority were highlighted in these activities due to the establishment of the rites. That is to say, the ideological meaning of the rites transcended the workmanship and the accomplishments in art. 3.2 There were performances in the ceremony. In the ceremony, the common everyday life was transformed into the refined artistic life that was in conformity to the social etiquettes and norms. The transformation was realized by way of the artistic performance, so the ceremony was also considered as a performance in ancient China. For example, the plowing-beginning ceremony chaired by the king was both symbolic and artistic. The Dutch scholar John Huizinga thought that the primitive ceremony was in imitation of the law of nature. “In the grand seasonal festivals, the noble things in nature were celebrated universally. They performed the divine acts and reproduced many natural phenomena, such as the change of the seasons, the movements of the stars, the growth and reaping of the crops and the birth, the growth and the death of the human beings and the animals.” 27 The performance must be carefully designed and done by the professional staff. For example, in the drinking rite and the shooting rite, there were people helping the host with organization and coordination. There were professional singers, musicians and director responsible for dedicating the music to the guests. In addition, all the people who participated in the rites were both performers and audience and they all performed according to the social norms. The performances would be judged from both the ideological and the artistic perspectives. 3.3 The performance was for appreciation. The ceremony would be appreciated both for its moral contents and its artistic quality. Due to the artistic way of expression in the ceremony, the phrase “watching a ceremony” was used in the classics of the Pre-Qin Period to mean the appreciation of the ritual music. The 27

John Huizinga, 1996, p. 17.

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reason why the ceremony could be watched was because it was performed to express some symbolic ideas. “We look at the ordinary things, but as for something out of the ordinary, we should watch.” 28 We should watch the ceremony in order to appreciate and judge it. “Watching the ceremony” had both political significance and artistic implications. Similar usages also appeared in such classics as Liji and Lunyu, in which the artistic forms of poetry, music and dancing all could be watched. The same as the dancing and the music, poetry should be read not only for the political significance, but also for the aesthetic judgment. It is recorded in Zuozhuan that in the twenty-ninth year of the Xianggong’s reign, Ji Zha 季札 from the state of Wu appreciated all the music of the Zhou dynasty and was overwhelmed by the beauty. It can be seen that the aesthetic experience that the ritual music brought to people was highly valued.29 The rite and the music could not be separated from each other and the artistic enjoyments that the ceremony brought to people should not be overlooked. 3.4 The artistic form of ritual music was highlighted in the ceremony. There were a lot of poetry-music activities in both the drinking rite and the shooting rite. The musical pieces played in the drinking rite were as follows: 3.4.1 “The Deer”, “Four Steeds” and “In Bloom” from the Xiaoya were sung on the stage to welcome the guests, to extend the best wishes to them and to encourage them. Both the arrangement of the musical pieces and the purpose were very clear. It is recorded in “The Fourth year during the Xianggong’s reign” of Zuozhuan that Mushu 穆叔 from the state of Lu heard the three pieces of “The Deer”, “Four Steeds” and “In Bloom” in the ceremony and talked freely and enthusiastically about his feelings towards them, which could be regarded as the best commentary on the pieces from the Xiaoya. 3.4.2 “The Southern Ridges of the Field”, “The Reeds” and “The Millet” from the Xiaoya were played with the wind instrument. In Zhu Xi’s opinion, the three pieces were music without words,30 so the singing with a clear theme was replaced with the pure music in order to build up a sentimental atmosphere. 3.4.3 The singing on the stage and wind instrument playing off the stage alternated. There were both words and music in the singing while there were no 28

“The Biography of Guliang” of The Spring and Autumn Annals. Fu Daobin, “Poetry Can Be Watched—The Fashion of Poetry-watching and its Significance in the Spring and Autumn Period” in Literary Review, 2004(5). 30 Notes on “The Millet” from volume 9 of Commentary on the Collection of Poetry by Zhu Xi. 29

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words in the music pieces played with the wind instrument. The three songs of “The Fish”, “Fair Fish” and “The Nutgrass” were all followed by the music played with the wind instrument. According to Zhu Xi, the three were popular songs sung at the dinner party,31 but they had different themes. A variety of delicacies were prepared to treat the guests, the cheerful and lively music was played to entertain them and the good wishes of happiness and longevity were expressed to show respect to them. The relaxing and exquisite music played with the wind instrument helped to build up a harmonious and joyful atmosphere for the dinner, so the spiritual comfort of the poetry and music and the material comfort of the delicacies were combined together. At the same time, the theme of placidity in the poetic education was reinforced. 3.4.4 The musical ensemble was made up of the poetry-music sung on the stage and the wind instrument played off the stage. It was the climax of the poetry-music activities and the music played was the village music. According to the record of The Drinking Rite in the Village and The Shooting Rite in the Village, the poems sung in the musical ensemble included “The Cooing”, “The Ramee” and “The Cocklebur” of Southern Zhou and “The Magpie’s Nest”, “Wormwood Leaves” and “Picking Duckweed” of Southern Shao. The six pieces were considered as the representative works of the village music. It is recorded in Liyi that in the ceremony held in the Yan state, the six poems were also sung. According to the interpretation of Zheng Xuan, the village music referred to the folk song of the state. In addition, the drinking rite and the shooting rite were obviously parts of the ceremonial in the village. The reason that the Southern Zhou and the Southern Shao came respectively first and second in Shijing was because they were employed to rectify the social ills and improve the behavior of the couples. They played an important educative role in both the villages and the state. 3.4.5 A countless number of musical pieces were played. After the ritual music was played, the head musician would announce that the formal music playing was over. The drinking rite moved into the stage of free eating and drinking and there were also fewer rules to regulate the music playing. “A countless number of musical pieces were played so that everyone could enjoy himself to the full.”32 At this stage, the way of playing was freer than before and the music was more lively and cheerful. It is recorded in The Drinking Rite that the village music was 31

Notes on “The Fish”, “Fair Fish” and “The Nutgrass” from volume 9 of Commentary on the Collection of Poetry by Zhu Xi. 32 Notes on “A countless number of musical pieces” by Zheng Xuan in “The Drinking Rite in the Village” of The Study of the Rites.

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to satisfy the people’s desires, which referred to the music dedicated to host by the guests the next day. Zheng Xuan said that the music was played freely so as to entertain people and no rules were needed, which was true of the countless number of musical pieces played at this stage. 3.4.6 The music Gaixia was played to send off the guests intoxicated with drinking and also to warn them not to violate the social etiquette. Therefore, Gaixia was the music to end the drinking rite and by way of this music, the host bid farewell to the guests. The music played in the shooting rite was more or less the same as that in the drinking rite. The six pieces were also sung in the musical ensemble while Gaixia was played to send off the guests. However, the musical piece which could reflect the features of the shooting rite was no other than “The Forester”, the playing of which brought the rite to its climax. “The Forester” is from the “Southern Shao” of Shijing. “Amid the green reed sprouts, He has killed five wild sows. How well the forester shoots! Amid the lush fleabane, He has five wild shoats slain. How well the forester shoots!” The forester is the shooting official. In this poem, the masterly shooting skill is eulogized and the shooter is gloried and admired. It is said in “The Shooting Rite” of Liji that “shooting is man’s business and should be accompanied with the ritual music. The ritual music will in turn render the shooting lofty. The shooting can better improve a person’s moral integrity than all other activities, hence divine.” After the ritual music was introduced into it, the shooting was no longer an activity that emphasized the military spirit while neglecting the cultural spirit. The strong body of the Zhou people and the splendid civilization of the Zhou dynasty were perfectly combined in the shooting activity. Therefore, the shooting in harmony with the tempo of music was the ideal state pursued in the shooting rite. The poetry-music activities occupied the central positions both in the drinking rite and the shooting rite. The activity was characterized with the perfect form and the well-knit structure, therefore achieving a superb artistic level. First of all, the great popularity of poetry could be reflected in the ceremonies held by the village people. In the drinking rite and shooting rite alone, there appeared twenty poems, excluding the part of the “countless number of musical pieces”. Such musical forms as the Southern Zhou, the Southern Shao, the folk song and the ode were employed. All of these demonstrated the height of splendors of the poetry-music. Secondly, in the ceremonies held by the village people, the poems of various styles were employed and the various ways of playing included the singing on the stage, playing the wind instruments, the alternation of the two and the musical ensemble. The songs were sung on the stage, the music was played off the stage and the singing was accompanied by the music. Sometimes, the

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musicians and the guests would sing a chorus, which was well-organized and required the participation of everyone present. Thirdly, the poetry-music activities of the village people would last for a comparatively long period of time. Nineteen poems were sung at the drinking rite and if every piece took three minutes, that would come to nearly one hour. If every piece took five minutes, that would come to one and half hours. Therefore, the rite was both a grand activity of rites and customs and a magnificent stage performance. Both the drinking rite and the shooting rite were the classical ceremonial forms of the village people in the Zhou dynasty, thus reflecting the ceremonial spirit. Both the drinking and the shooting were done according to the social etiquettes, which highlighted the distinction between the higher social classes and the lower social classes as well as the respect paid to the seniority. In addition, the poetic spirit penetrated into the drinking and the shooting rites due to the fact that the poetry-music activities occupied a central position in both rites. The poems which were characterized with the perfect style and the well-knit structure reached the acme of perfection in terms of the artistic level. Finally, the spirit of harmony permeated both the rites. Due to the edifying influence of the artistic activities and the intoxication of the wine, a happy and harmonious atmosphere was built up. The violence was turned into peace and the individual merged into the group so that the political purpose of harmonizing and uniting the people was realized. The concept that “poetry can harmonize people” was perfectly demonstrated in the drinking and shooting rites, which therefore could be considered as an elaboration of the concept.

4 The theoretical significances of the saying that “it is virtuous manners which constitute the excellence of a neighborhood” and the concept that “poetry can harmonize people” Confucius promotes the concept that “poetry can harmonize people”, but he does not advocate the simple get-together which is based on the blood relations. Instead he favors the collective life which is in accordance with the idea of ritual and rite and the spirit of benevolence and which is filled with the artistic flavor. “Harmony” points out the direction of people’s thoughts and at the same time, it can be put into practice. “It is virtuous manners which constitute the excellence of a neighborhood”, which is based on the love and care among the neighbors and reflects the harmonious ethical relationship among the village aristocrats. Therefore, the concept that “poetry can harmonize people” should be interpreted under the background of the Confucian thought system and in the atmosphere of the ritual-music culture in the Zhou dynasty. Only in this way, can the rich

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theoretical implications of this concept be understood. 4.1 The concept that “poetry can harmonize people” is based on the principle of benevolence. From the perspective of philology, benevolence and harmony are closely related to each other. It is said in Annotations on the Chinese Characters that the Chinese character ren 仁 (benevolence) means the family members. Therefore, ren means two people or a group of people. It thus can be seen that ren was a neutral word originally and “kindheartedness” is the extended meaning. Originally, a lot of people made the ren and a lot of animals made a group. According to the Confucian thinkers, human beings should live in groups and the survival and development of every individual is based on the survival and development of the whole group. “It is impossible to associate with birds and beasts, as if they were the same with us. If I do not associate with these people, with whom shall I associate?”33 The individuals who are separated from the group cannot survive, so everyone should learn how get along well with others. What is more, he should learn to be kindhearted and sociable during the social intercourses. Therefore, harmony and benevolence are people’s abilities, which are essential to their developments. According to the Confucian thought, harmony starts with benevolence. Confucius said in “The Viscount of Wei” of Lunyu that “The superior man is dignified, but does not wrangle. He is sociable, but not a partisan.” On the one hand, Confucius maintains that people should have the work ethic and be sociable, so they feel delighted while getting together with others. Therefore, people should establish their self-identities and at the same time, they should be able to identify with others in the same group. According to the explanation made by Kong Anguo 孔安国, “I certainly should live together with the human beings. How can I associate with the birds and the animals?” On the other hand, harmony does not mean that we should defend the people of our won faction and attack others. It does not mean we should form a clique to pursue selfish interest either. Instead, harmony means the mutual love and affection among the members in the society, which is “to love all men”.34 Benevolence means that the rulers and the common people are close to each other.”35 “The superior man is sociable, but not a partisan.” “He makes friends with those who have interest in literature and their friendship will in turn enhance his virtues.”36 Therefore, “benevolence” means a group of people with high ethics and morality. Village is the basic unit in a state, so the Confucian idea of “benevolence” should be 33 34 35 36

“The Viscount of Wei” of Lunyu. “Yan Yuan” of Lunyu. “Explanations of the Classics” of Liji. “Yan Yuan” of Lunyu.

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implemented first of all in the villages. Confucius stressed that it is virtuous manners which constitute the excellence of a neighborhood. In his opinion, the harmonious and affectionate relationship among the neighbors has not only the moral, political and ethical significances but also the artistic, aesthetic and poetic implications. It is said in “The Excellent Neighborhood” of Lunyu that “It is virtuous manners which constitute the excellence of a neighborhood. If a man does not select his residence from the neighborhood where the virtues prevail, how can he be considered as wise?” “It is virtuous manners that constitute the excellence of a neighborhood,” and it is an important idea in the Confucian thoughts. It contains the following implications. First of all, according to Confucius, the construction of ritual-music culture should begin with the villages. The individual people cannot separate themselves from the villages and a village is the most basic group that is formed by the people. The harmonious relationship among the clan members is the basis of the harmonious interpersonal relationship in the city-state. It is recorded in “Yung” of Lunyu that Yuan Si 原思 was made governor of his town by the master and the master gave him nine hundred measures of the grain, but Yuan Si declined. Confucius told him to help the village people with the grain. That is to say, one should give financial help to the needy village people so as to build up the harmonious relationship. When Confucius talked freely about his ideal with his disciples, he said that “I would like to give comfort to the aged, trust to my friends and nurturance to the young.” The ethical order of the aged, the friends and the young is not the same as the relationship of absolute obedience between the ruler and his subject. Instead, the order reflects the ideal state of affection and harmony in the village. According to the ideal of Confucius, the village people should have the noble character of the superior men. In order to realize the rule of the superior man, one should “be filial to his relatives and fraternal to his fellow villagers.”37 A man’s character can be seen both in the clan and in the village. Secondly, the harmonious and affectionate relationship among the village people is not only moral but also aesthetic. According to the explanation of Zheng Xuan, neighborhood is where people live and it is nice to live in one where everyone is virtuous. A strong ethical tendency is revealed in the aesthetic theories of Confucius. The harmonious and happy village atmosphere and the refined and courteous village people constitute the aesthetic state highly commended by Confucius. Thirdly, the ethical beauty with benevolence as the core idea can be designed and chosen. The excellent neighborhood is made not by one particular individual, but by the whole clan. However, one person can exert limited influence on the environment, so one has to choose a harmonious and affectionate neighborhood to live in. Confucius thinks that it is unwise and 37

“Zi Lu” of Lunyu.

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even stupid of one to choose a bad living environment. 4.2 The concept that “poetry can harmonize people” is realized through the ritual and rite. According to Confucius, people can identify with others in the same group, which is different from the chaotic state where human beings and animals were mixed together. The purpose of the ritual and rite is to form groups. It is said in Liji that “the wise people designed the rites to educate people. Therefore, people are courteous and different from birds and animals.”38 To form the groups is the inevitable destiny of human beings, but the people are vastly different from one another. Therefore, the social etiquette must be obeyed in order to organize the people of different interests, different characters and different classes into the social groups. That is to say, people should be educated with poetry-music so that they can behave according to the etiquettes. It is said in “On the Regulations of a King” of Xunzi that “in physical power they (human beings) are not so good as an ox and in swiftness they do not equal the horse; yet the ox and horse can be put to their use. Why is that? I say it is because humans alone can form societies and animals cannot. Why can man from a society? I say it is due to the division of society into classes. How can social divisions be translated into behavior? I say it is because of humans’ sense of morality and justice.” In Xunzi’s 荀子 opinion, the reason why human beings can control such animals as a horse and an ox is because they can form a harmonious and orderly society. However the people in the same group are vastly different from one another in terms of intelligence, classes and identities. Therefore, the etiquette, morality and justice must be observed so as to form the groups. The purpose of holding the rite is to show respect to people. Both the drinking rite and the shooting rite are the important ceremonial activities, which teach the people to be sociable. Therefore, gentleness and respectfulness prevails the rites and in addition, an affectionate and pleasant atmosphere is built up. The shooting rite originates from the hunting of the ancient times, which showed the ancient people’s emphasis on the military affairs. However, in the shooting rite, the military emphasis has given way to the social etiquettes that promote gentleness and respect. It is said in “The Eight Rows of Pantomimes” of Lunyu that “in archery, going through the skin is not the principle thing, because people’s strength is not equal. That is the old way.” The shooting that does not go through the skin is the ceremonial shooting, in which the training and the rules of proprieties are emphasized. Different from “the shooting that goes through the skin” 39 , the ceremonial shooting is more like an artistic performance. The 38

“The Rite of Qu” of Liji. In “the shooting that goes through the skin”, the animal skin is spread to serve as the target. The shooters are trying to hit the target and the victory is highly valued. 39

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meaning of ritual-music education is highlighted. It can be seen that the shooting competition is transformed into an artistic performance which can reveal a person’s morality.40 The five standards to evaluate the shooting rite are recorded in “The Senior Official in the Village” of Zhouli. There are three rounds of shooting in the shooting rite and the first round and third round are respectively a drilling and an artistic performance. In the second round, victory and defeat are judged, but the scores of the two teams instead of the scores of every shooter are measured. The purpose is to emphasize the coordination and cooperation in the team. In the ancient times, the rules of proprieties and the spirits of the ritual and rite, which are helpful to the group-forming, permeate the ritual-music activities of the village people. 4.3 Poetry can harmonize people so that an ideal and peaceful state is achieved. The Confucian thinkers propose that people should form groups. During the process of group-forming, the principle of benevolence and the rules of proprieties must be obeyed. In this way, a large number of individuals gather together to form the organic groups, then a harmonious interpersonal relationship is established and finally the state of harmony is achieved. The so-called state of harmony does not mean that all the principles can be abandoned and people are not distinguished from one another. Instead, the state of harmony is the assembly and fusion that can accommodate the differences in people’s characters and values. Confucius approves of harmony and is opposed to uniformity. It is said in “Zi Lu” of Lunyu that “the superior man aims at harmony, but not uniformity. The mean man aims at uniformity, but not at harmony”. Harmony refers to the fusion of the superior men who recognize and reserve the differences, not the conspiracy of the mean men who defend those who are to their own faction and attack those who don’t. The debate between the difference and the uniformity is one of the important propositions in the Chinese classical philosophy. In the late Western Zhou dynasty, Shi Bo 史伯 proposed the famous idea that “harmony in diversity generates and uniformity stifles the vitality”.41 When the things that are opposite to each other, such as the heaven and the earth, the yin and the yang, the up and the down, the being and the nothing and the man and the woman, are combined together, new things and new lives can be given birth to. When the things that are the same with one another are gathered together, the number can be enlarged, but no new things or new lives can be produced. The harmony in the inter-personal relationships proposed by Confucius is based on the philosophical idea that “harmony in diversity generates and uniformity stifles the vitality”. When judging the characters of the village people, he also advocates the 40 41

“The Shooting Rite” of Liji. “Discourses of Zheng” of Discourses of the States.

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harmony in diversity while opposes the uniformity and monotony. Therefore, he looks down upon the people who echo what other says. Zi Gong asked him, “What do you think of a man who is loved by all the people of his neighborhood?” The master replied, “We should not approve of him because of that.” “And what do you say of him who is hated by all the people of his neighborhood?” The master said, “We should not conclude that he is bad because of that. It is better than either of these cases that the good in the neighborhood love him, and the bad hate him.”42 According to Confucius, the person should not be deemed to have the ideal character even though he is praised by all of the people in the village, because the unanimous praise of the village indicates uniformity, not harmony. In the opinion of Confucius, the character of the village people should be judged according to the multi-standard which includes the idea that the good in the neighborhood love him, and the bad hate him. Justice will be damaged and conscience will be sacrificed if all the people are to be pleased. Therefore, harmony not only means the people in the group are united, but also indicates that everyone should keep his dignity and integrity. The inter-personal relationship based on this kind of harmony can serve as the precondition for the “getting-together”. Zhu Xi 朱熹 explains “group” as “upholding harmony but pushing not for uniformity”43, which shows him to be a man of great insight. Harmony refers both to the united group and to the gentle character. According to the thinkers in the Zhou dynasty, the heaven and the earth, the yin and the yang, and the man and the woman can make up a world of diversity because they are all combined together in a neutral and harmonious way. Therefore, they are opposed to the idea that the two opposites should be set against each other and advocate that one should grasp the opposites while stand in the neutral position. It is said in “The Record of Music” of Liji that “the music is for producing happiness, which is indispensable to human beings…Therefore, the music is played in the ancestral temple and the king and his subjects listen to it together, so everyone is made respectful. The music is played in the villages, so everyone is made gentle. The music is played in the family and the father and sons listen to it together and they are made close to each other.” The thinkers in the Zhou dynasty consider music as the happiness coming from the depth of the spiritual world. The formation of the harmonious society is based on this happy feeling. The Confucian thinkers stress that the happiness originating from the depths of the heart should be popularized. In this way, the harmony and reverence in religion can be turned into the harmony and gentleness in the village and then into the harmony and affection in the family. This ethical relationship with harmony at its center is the same as the ideal state advocated by 42 43

“Zi Lu” of Lunyu. Zhu Xi, The Commentary on Lunyu, volume 9.

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the Confucian thinkers, who believe that everyone should be social and happy about getting together with other people. In terms of the inter-personal relationship in the group, Confucius stresses that “people should form groups, but not factions” and that “people should live in harmony, but not in uniformity”. Actually these two points are the two sides of the same problem, because the faction indicates uniformity while the group requires harmony. The ideal inter-personal relationship in the group should be based on harmony. 4.4 The concept that “poetry can harmonize people” is realized primarily through the artistic form of the poetry-music. The purpose of group forming is achieved by means of poetry. The noble sentiment can be nurtured by way of the artistic pursuit so that the inter-personal relationship both in the village and in the city-state can be improved. Therefore, such activities as writing poetry and singing songs frequently appeared in the ceremonies held in the villages. “The Southern Zhou” and “The Southern Shao” are the typical music in the village and are often employed to educate the village people. The ritual-music education promoted by Confucius started with the village, so he paid special attention to “The Southern Zhou” and “The Southern Shao”. “The man who has not studied ‘The Southern Zhou’ and ‘The Southern Shao’ is like one who stands with his face right against a wall.”44 Some scholars have pointed out that “The Southern Zhou” and “The Southern Shao” reflect “the harmonious and warm relationships between the husband and the wife, the father and the sons and the king and his subjects. Confucius believes that a person can learn how to deal with the social and ethical relationships and how to cooperate with others by studying these poems. That is to say, poetry can harmonize people. On the contrary, the one who does not study these poems would be an isolated person who stands with his face against the wall. He does not know the way of the world and never associates with people, hence a lonely person. Confucius disapproves of those people who isolate themselves from others. Instead, he thinks that everyone should have the sense of responsibility and the sense of duty and people should grow along with the development of the society.”45 The poetry that can harmonize people will not only have the moral and ethical significances, but also contain the aesthetic elements and the artistic spirit. “The Cooing” is frequently employed in the ceremonies because of its rich cultural implications. What is more, “The Cooing” is “expressive of enjoyment without being licentious and of grief without being hurtfully excessive”.46 “The poem is so

44

“Yang Huo” of Lunyu. Li Zehou, Liu Gangji, 1984, p.129. 46 “The Eight Rows of Pantomimes” of Lunyu. 45

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magnificent that it delights the ears.”47 Therefore, poetry can harmonize people, whose realization is not only for the political reason but also for the aesthetic and artistic purposes. The concept that “poetry can harmonize people” leads us to the realization that the purposes of using poetry in the ceremonies in the Zhou dynasty are to highlight the idea of benevolence, stress the rule of propriety and achieve the state of harmony. Therefore, the tradition of poetry-music was established in the Zhou dynasty and poetry singing spread from the village to the royal court and from the central plains to the barbarian areas. The poetry-music helped to harmonize the inter-personal relationship, edify people and form the special cultural landscape of the Zhou dynasty. That is to say, the village music was no longer confined to the world of literature. On the contrary, it permeated the entire social life and was employed to educate people to be gentle and kind-hearted. In this way, the concept that “poetry can harmonize people” exerts great influence on the Chinese literature and the spiritual life of Chinese people.

References Hou Wailu (1955), Zhongguo gudai shehuishi lun 中国古代社会史论 (The Social History of Ancient China), Beijing: Renmin chubanshe. Huang Huaixin (2004), Shanghai bowuguan cang zhanguo chuzhushu shilun jieyi 上海博物馆 藏战国楚竹书〈诗论〉解义 (Commentary on the Bamboo Slips of Chu during Warring States Period Stored in Shanghai Museum), Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe. Imamichi Tomonobu (1991), Jiang Yin, trans. Dongfang de meixue 东方的美学 (The Oriental Aesthetics), Beijing: Sanlian shudian. John Huizinga (1996), Youxi de ren 游戏的人 (The Game players), Beijing: Zhongguo meishu xueyuan chubanshe. Li Bo.(1997), Shisanjing xin suoyin 十三经新索引 (The Index to The Thirteen Classics), Beijing: Zhongyang guangbo dianshi daxue chubanshe. Li Zehou, Liu Gangji (1984), Zhongguo meixue shi 中国美学史 (The History of Chinese Aesthetics), Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe. Wen Yiduo (1956), Shenhua yu shi 神 话 与 诗 (Mythology and Poetry), Beijing: Guji chubanshe. Yang Kuan (1999), Xizhou shi 西周史 (The History of the Western Zhou Dynasty), Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe. Yu Zhengxie (2003), Guisi cungao 癸 巳 存 稿 (Manuscript Written in the Gui-si Year), Liaoning jiaoyu chubanshe. Zhang Longxi (1986), Ershi shiji xifang wenlun shuping 二十世纪西方文论述评 (Commentary on the 20th Century Western Literary Criticism), Beijing: Sanlian shudian.

47

“Tai Bo” of Lunyu.

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Notes on contributor Fu Daobin was born in 1960 and graduated from Huazhong Normal University with a doctor degree in 1998. He is now a professor and doctor supervisor in Harbin Normal University. From the year 1990 on, he published many prestigious works, such as Commentary on the Chinese Culture of Reproduction Worship, The Bell Rings in the Late Tang Dynasty, The Singers’ Paradise and The Criticism on the Chinese Literature from a Cultural Perspective. In addition, he also published more than twenty essays in such authoritative magazines as Chinese Culture and Cultural Studies. His works reveal his open horizon, in-depth study and great achievements in the field of Chinese literature and culture. His theories and opinions are highly praised and followed in the academia. Besides, he is very active in politics and he is a standing member of the CPPCC of Helongjiang Province and a deputy to the National People’s Congress in Nangang District.

Notes on translator Wang Hui was born in Liaoning Province in 1975 and graduated from Dalian University of Foreign Languages with M.A. degree in Linguistics and Literature in 1998. In 2007, she graduated from Dongbei University of Finance and Economics with a doctor degree in management. She is now a teacher in the School of English Studies in Dalian University of Foreign Languages and is engaged in the studies of English literature and forensic linguistics.