China as a nation. The concept of an ancient established kingdom and its claim to the land. The cultural revolution. Removing the past (Four Olds: Old Ideas, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Customs). Encouraged vigilantism.
I read about Yayue, meaning (elegant music), a form of classical music and dance that was performed at the royal court in ancient China. The philosopher Confucius considered yayue to be beneficial music and good, whereas he saw the popular music of the day, termed suyue (uncultivated music) to be decadent and corrupting. Yayue was seen as refined, improving and essential for self-cultivation and symbolised good and stable governance. In Confucius tradition the Guqin, a seven stringed zither, is seen as the instruments of the scholar-official class.
This made me of Jacques Attali’s Noise: The Political Economy of Music and the concept of sound/music in regards to authority and power. Has much really changed in the way we see music?
In some circles, classical music is seen as having a sort of superiority over popular music, is this a result of the perpetuation of the educatated ruling class enforcing what is ‘elegant’ and what is ‘uncultivated’? Perhaps a better word for uncultivated would be uncensored. If the same emotions are felt from 2 different pieces of music, popular and classical, is one seen as more valid than the other, is the value equal?
Western ‘classical’ music is an interesting field for me, from a social standpoint. I do not come from a background of classical musicianship and neither do members of my family. My Dad listens mostly to rock, and my Mum more Alternate/Indie rock. Classical music is seen as something of an sophisticated and intellectual category, as well as elitist. I suppose the same thing can be thought about regarding jazz. Maybe it’s because while the working class labour, the elites dictate what is music and what is not. However, I do enjoy classical music. In my childhood I had compilation of Tchaikovsky that I would listen to in order to fall asleep. Maybe my Mum got me the cd after reading something about the controversial ‘Mozart effect’ of listening to classical music making children smarter, that is no doubt regaled by elitist institutionalists. I didn’t really get into classical music until I started listening to Debussy and Satie, what then introduced me to ‘modern’ composers such as Arvo Part, John Cage, Morton Feldman and the minimal music movement.
The ancient philosopher Mozi denounced anything that was seen as divisive based on the concept of consequentialism. This meant the entire condemnation of music as an extravagance and indulgence, something that serves no useful purpose and may be harmful. This is a stance that I have not come across before due to its intense utilitarianism in regards to the material, but little regard for the pleasures of the individual.
The Taoist branch of philosophy has an emphasis on Tao (“the way”) balance and harmony with nature. Taosim is an interesting mix of philosophy and spiritual tradition, though I would argue that philosophy and religeon/spirituality are much in the same thing. Rooted in folk tradition, Taoist music is seen as a way to bring Yin and Yang into balance during ceremonial rites, and as a way to speak to the gods, to pray for the dead. Yin tones are seen as soft, female, dark, cold and negative while Yang tones are seen as hard, male, light, warm.