Confucian music theory fully affirms the role of music in social life. Confucius believed that the beauty of simplicity, simplicity, and implicitness in the aesthetics of thought is the blend of nature and human heart, and advocated maintaining a "harmony" emotional attitude in music aesthetics. Confucius once commented that "Guanyong" is "happy but not obscene, sad but not sad". He believed that the emotional attitude and expression in music aesthetics should be moderate and moderate, which is consistent with his "golden mean" philosophical thought. Xunzi believed that music can inspire soldiers on the front line to fight bravely in turbulent times, and it can also make people behave politely in a peaceful environment. In terms of music content and art form, Confucian music theory puts the "goodness" and "harmony" of the content first, while the beauty of the art form comes second. Traditional Chinese music aesthetics centers on "harmony" and has a profound impact on the development of musicians in our country. Confucian music theory also regards the musician's art as a way to understand the truth.

"Yue Ji" is a representative work of Confucian musicians' aesthetic thoughts. "Legends of Music" discusses the origin of music: "The origin of the world comes from the human heart: the movement of the human heart is caused by the use of things. It is moved by things, so it is shaped by sound." Music is composed of time, and its roots are It is because people's thoughts and feelings are excited by external things, and the "animal mentality" is the viewpoint of the original materialist reflection theory. "Music Notes" puts forward his own thoughts on music aesthetics. For example, it is written in the book: "Therefore, virtue comes first, art comes next, conduct comes first, and deeds come last." ("Legends of Music"). That is to say, the ideological content of the work is important, the skills are secondary, the cultivation of moral character is primary, and the completion of the work is secondary. This gives us a revelation: in contemporary music teaching, professional music talents are of course It is necessary but more important to cultivate and expand musical quality through music education and to have a certain degree of artistic accomplishment.

Confucius (511 BC - 479 BC) was a great thinker, politician and educator in the Spring and Autumn Period. As the founder of the Confucian school, Confucius was an important representative figure in the history of Chinese music and culture. one. His musical thoughts are mainly concentrated in "The Analects of Confucius". Confucius advocated "politics with virtue" in politics, advocated "rule by etiquette", emphasized the political role of etiquette and music, and emphasized that music can influence people morally. He once said: "No one is good at music when changing customs, and no one cares about etiquette when it comes to governing the people." Confucius believed that the ideological and artistic nature of music are "good" and "beautiful". Those who conform to the so-called benevolence are considered good, and those who express peace and moderation are considered beautiful. This formed one of the earliest musical aesthetic standards in human history. He praised "Shao", which was about praising Shun's literary virtues, as a perfect art, and "Dawu", which showed King Wu's defeat of Zhou, as a perfect but not perfect art. Confucius believed that musicians should be restrained in reflecting people's pain and joy, and should not exceed the theoretical principles of the golden mean. Emphasis on the unity of form and content, admiring the elegant music that is "happy but not obscene, decaying but not hurtful", and does not like the passionate or rebellious folk music "Zheng and Wei's voice", and "dislikes the chaotic elegance of Zheng's voice", which leads to There is the political prejudice of the feudal ruling class.

Xunzi (approximately 313 BC - 238 AD) philosophically advocated the theory of "evil nature" and believed that people's bad habits must be educated to become good, because he emphasized the importance of ritual and music education. Sex is an inevitable need of human beings. He advocates that music should be based on reality and develop and change with the progress of the times, but there is still a tendency to admire elegance and depreciate vulgarity in music thought.