There are labor theory, sexual desire theory, social organization theory, language theory, imitation theory, game theory, witchcraft theory, emotion or entertainment theory, rhythm theory, distance theory, etc. The details are as follows:

1. Labor theory

The labor origin theory of art is the dominant theory in the literary and art theory circles in my country. This theory believes that art originates from productive labor. Since the late nineteenth century, many ethnologists and art historians in continental Europe have widely circulated the theory that art originated from "labor."

Shearne once listed a special chapter to discuss the relationship between art and labor in "The Origin of Art"; Russian Plekhanov, in "Letter without Status", through the analysis of primitive music , primitive songs and dances, and primitive paintings, supported by a large number of documents from ethnology, ethnology, anthropology and folklore, systematically discussed the origin and development of art, and came to the view that art occurs in labor.

2. Sexual desire theory

British biologist C.R. Darwin (1809──1882) believed that music originated from prehistoric animals, especially the calls of birds to attract the opposite sex. The more beautiful the music, the more attractive it is to the opposite sex. This is the beginning of the "sexual desire theory" of the origin of music. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" of my country. Midsummer Notes. "Ancient Music Chapter" also records: "The Yellow Emperor ordered Linglun to be the rhythm. Linglun came from the west of Daxia, the Yin of Kunlun, and took the bamboo in the valley...listen to the cry of the phoenix to distinguish the twelve rhythms."

3. Social Organization Theory

The important figure in this theory is the German psychologist Carl Stumpf (1848-1936). In his book "The Origin of Music", he mentioned that in order to communicate with distant places, the sounds that primitive humans made by shouting to each other became music if they were maintained for a certain period of time. When several people shout at the same time, they will produce octaves. When more people shout at the same time, they will produce consonant and dissonant intervals, thus giving rise to the concept of identifying pitches.

4. Game Theory

The representatives of this theory are the German philosopher Schiller in the 18th century and the British philosopher Spencer in the 19th century. They are called "Schiller-One" Spencer’s Theory”. This view holds that artistic activities or aesthetic activities originate from the game instinct of human beings, which is manifested in two aspects. On the one hand, it is because humans have excess energy, and on the other hand, people use this excess energy to the point where there is no need for it. In activities with practical utility and no utilitarian purpose, it is reflected as a free "game".

5. Language Theory

Some people believe that music originated from the cadence of language tones, such as: French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712─1788) and British philosopher Spin Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) believed that the exaggerated amplification of tones produced by human beings when they are emotionally excited and excited is an important factor in the production of music. From this, it can be concluded that music and language have a very close relationship. Not everyone agrees that music has evolutionary significance; some linguists simply believe that music is a derivative of language.

6. Religion (witchcraft) theory

French musicologist Jules Leon jean Conbariou (1859-1916) holds this theory. Chinese scholar Wang Guowei said: "The rise of singing and dancing is not related to ancient witchcraft?" He believes that music originated from ancient witchcraft. This doctrine apparently derives from Spenser's theory of the magical origins of art.

7. The theory of imitation

“Art originates from imitation” is the oldest saying. The main representatives are the ancient Greek philosophers Democritus and Aristotle more than 2,000 years ago. They believed that imitation is human nature and instinct, and the emergence of all art comes from human beings' "imitation" of nature.

Following the ancient Greek philosophers, Leonardo da Vinci in the Renaissance, French Enlightenment thinker Diderot, Russian writer Chernyshevsky and others all inherited and developed this idea to varying degrees. One doctrine. This theory remained extremely influential until the end of the nineteenth century.

8. Emotion or entertainment theory

This view is also called the "expression theory". Since the late 19th century, the saying that art originated from "expression" has had a great influence in the Western literary and art circles and is popular in various modern Western aesthetic trends. The main theoretical basis of Western modernist literary and artistic thought is to emphasize that art should "express itself", which shows the huge influence of this statement.

9. Rhythm theory

Wallaschek (1860-1917), a representative figure of this theory, believed that the origin of music lies in people’s impulse to rhythm, and rhythm exists in music. , also exists in movement and even visual images.

Extended information:

The origin of Chinese music:

Chinese traditional music is a combination of Central Plains music, Four Regions music and foreign music centered on the Yellow River Basin. It was formed and developed through communication and integration. Therefore, Central Plains music, Four Regions music, and foreign music are the three major sources of Chinese traditional music.

Central Plains music refers to the music developed around the Yellow River Basin. This is a music culture dominated by the Han people. Among them, the music culture of the Yin, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties is representative.

The Four Regions Music refers to the music culture of all ethnic groups in China except the music culture of the Yellow River Basin created mainly by the Huaxia people in the Central Plains. Among them, the Yangtze River Basin, Pearl River Basin and other areas are the cultural birthplace of the Chinese nation, together with the Yellow River Basin.

The exchanges between Chinese music and foreign music have a long history. In the Han Dynasty, along with the introduction of Buddhism, Hindu music and Indian music began to be introduced into China; during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, a large amount of foreign music was imported, which not only brought foreign music, but also introduced musical instruments, rhythms and scales.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia - Music History