What are the aspects of the culture of rites and music?

Ritual and music culture is the ancients will be "ritual" and "music" and the formation of the indoctrination system, their original meaning, but the ritual for teaching, music for teaching.

The Qing scholar Ling Tingkan said The chimes are a remarkable manifestation of the rites and music Mandarin drunk

: "the ancient kings so that the people, the latter sages are the reason for teaching the people, a "rite" word only". What I mean is that the approach of the ancient kings to governing the people, and the approach of the later sages to educating the people, can ultimately be summarized in the word "rite". The goal of the sages in governing the world is to establish a common world, which is shown in <Rites>. The sages taught the people to understand and observe the rites. Ling's insight is very insightful. Ancient times, people and beasts, "Li Ji" Qu Li "said, in order to let people know" from the beasts "and sages up," for the rites to teach people, so that people have the rites ". "To make rites to teach people" means to make rites to teach people. The rites make man consciously distinguish himself from the beasts/toward civilization. The historical merit of the sages lies in "making rites" and "teaching people". What, then, is a rite? To answer this question, one must find out the source of the explanation of rites, and this requires seeking the answer from the relevant discourses of Confucius and his disciples.　In the Analects, Confucius talks about rituals in many places, and since ritual is a concept with very rich connotations, on different occasions, Confucius refers to rituals with different emphases, which are summarized in the following themes.　The first refers to the Zhou rites, that is, the Western Zhou rites formulated by the Duke of Zhou. Confucius especially respected the Duke of Zhou, he said: "very much, I decline! It has been a long time since I have dreamed of the Duke of Zhou." (《述而》) He lamented his declining years, and actually did not dream of the Duke of Zhou for a long time! Cheng Zi said, by this sentence, we can know that when Confucius was in his prime, "awake and dreaming of the way of the Duke of Zhou". The reason why Confucius worshiped the Duke of Zhou, is a Duke of Zhou hand-created that system of civilization and perfection, he said: "Zhou supervised in the second generation, Yuyuyuuwenya! I am from Zhou." ("Eight Rows of Row") means that the Zhou rituals were formulated on the basis of the achievements and failures of the Xia and Shang dynasties, and the system of rules was splendidly prepared for the benefit of all generations, so he expressed the position of "from Zhou".　As we all know, at the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Duke of Zhou made the rites and music, which set the tone of traditional Chinese culture. This system was praised by later generations because it was established with morality as its core, thus establishing the dominant position of morality in the concept of governance, which had a profound impact on the direction of Chinese history. During the Spring and Autumn Period, due to various reasons, this system collapsed and the world was in chaos, known as the "Rites and Music Collapse". The aristocrats were at war with each other for power and profit, which is why there is a saying that "there is no righteous war in the Spring and Autumn Period". Confucius' longing for the rites of the Duke of Zhou was not only his dissatisfaction with the chaotic world of the Spring and Autumn period, but also his longing for the moral and ritual system of the Western Zhou, which is very normal, so what is there to criticize. If Confucius took the opposite attitude and praised the chaotic world of the Spring and Autumn period, saying that it was messing with the enemy, it would be a bit inconceivable.　Secondly, the rites embody the means of moral and benevolent rule. The Duke of Zhou first put forward the idea of "moral rule" and Confucius put forward the idea of "benevolence", which is of great significance in the history of thought. However, both virtue and benevolence are very abstract concepts, intangible/colorless/soundless/smellless, and may even seem vague to people with a low level of knowledge. Ritual, on the other hand, is the system or way of behavior that concretizes virtue and benevolence. In pre-Qin history, there was a dispute between the Confucians and the Legalists, and the argument centered on whether to implement the rule of rites or the rule of law. Legalists believe that the implementation of governmental orders should rely on the law, and anyone who does not follow the orders will be punished with penalties, so that the people will not dare to rebel. Confucianism, on the other hand, advocates moral education as the mainstay, and regulates and straightens out the behavior of the people through rituals. When Confucius evaluated these two ways of governing the country, he made a very famous remark: "When the Way is governed by politics and punished by punishment, the people are free from shame; when the Way is governed by morality and punished by rites, they have shame and are in order." ("The Way of Virtue, the Way of Rites, the Shame and the Grace.") He believed that the result of "the Way is based on government, and the Way is based on punishment" is that "the people are free from shame" because the people do not violate the law because they are afraid of the punishment and do not have a sense of shame. On the other hand, "to teach virtue, and to align it with rites", using rites to ensure the realization of moral goals, the result is different, because the people have a sense of shame, not only will not do bad things, but also "ge", that is, to have a sense of advancement.　Ritual is a concrete form of embodiment of virtue and benevolence, and without virtue and benevolence, ritual will not become ritual. Confucius said: "If a person is not benevolent, what is a rite? If a man is not benevolent, how is he like music?" ("Eight Rowers") How can a person who does not have benevolence and love in his heart promote rites and music? In other words, a person who promotes rites should first of all be a benevolent person, a person rich in love. It can be seen that rites and benevolence are interdependent and complementary to each other.　Thirdly, rites are a means of cultivating one's moral character. In human society, if anyone can indulge his or her behavior, then there is no difference between human beings and beasts, and there is no minimum order in society, and there is no way to maintain it any longer. Therefore, Confucianism and Legalism, despite their different political views, both believe that human behavior needs to be restrained, and the difference between the two sides lies in what exactly is used to restrain people. Confucius advocated recognizing the use of inner moral strength to restrain oneself, saying, "A gentleman who learns from the literature and is guided by the rites of the world can also carry on with his life." （As a gentleman, one should "learn from literature", study literature extensively and accumulate profound knowledge, and at the same time, one should "use etiquette as a rule", and use etiquette to constrain one's words and deeds, because etiquette is formulated according to ethical principles. As long as you have done well in these two aspects, you will certainly be able to achieve "Forshore", that is to say, you will not deviate from the Way.　Human nature has natural flaws, and everyone's character has weaknesses. Therefore, no matter what kind of character a person has, he will not be able to reach the ideal state without the help of rituals. Confucius said, for example, "To be respectful without propriety is laborious, to be prudent without propriety is insecure, to be courageous without propriety is chaotic, and to be straight without propriety is strangled." (Tai Bo) It means that a person who is respectful but does not know the rites will labor in vain. He who is prudent but does not know how to be courteous will be timid. He who is brave but does not know the rites will be rebellious. He who is frank and does not know etiquette will say hurtful things. In all fairness, respect, prudence, courage, and straightforwardness are not all bad qualities, but as long as they are not guided by etiquette, none of them will bear "right fruits".　Similar meanings can be cited. For example, according to the Xianqi (宪问), Zi Lu (子路) asked Confucius what kind of person is a "man" (成人) (a perfect person). In his reply, Confucius mentioned Zang Wuzhong, Gongchao, and Bian Zhuangzi, three of Lu's great physicians, as well as his own student Ran Qiu. Zang Wuzhong's wisdom, Gongchuo's lack of selfishness, Bian Zhuangzi's bravery, and Ran Qiu's learning were the most outstanding. Confucius said that in order to be a perfect person, it is not enough to combine the merits of these four people into one, but also to combine them with rites and music, which is the most important of all. It can be seen that ritual and music are the most important lessons for the cultivation of one's body.