The ritual and music system came into being in this complex environment. Just like a horse can become a mount after being tamed, the people who have been educated by the ritual system will become kind and easy to accept rule. Mobilization of classes. The princes and nobles need the restraint of a model and use the etiquette system to establish an exemplary standard and moral role model.
As a ruling tool, the reason why the ritual and music system was able to coordinate the feudal system and the patriarchal system to consolidate the rule of the Zhou Dynasty was because the expressions of "ritual" and "music" played an important role in stabilizing social order and stabilizing social order. It played a positive role in the self-restraint of the people. Under the ritual and music system, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the princes and nobles also performed their respective duties. The Zhou Dynasty also became a model of "etiquette" for previous dynasties. It is said that to kill people, you must first kill the heart. The ritual and music system undoubtedly focuses on controlling people's hearts, and more importantly, it allows them to achieve self-restraint within the constraints.
So the ritual and music system was a system that was created because there were many class divisions in society at that time in order to ease the social contradictions between the minority ruling class and the majority of the ruled classes. The author believes that the ritual and music system was ostensibly to distinguish between relatives and distinguish right from wrong, but the purpose of its establishment and the social background at that time determined that its most important nature was to maintain rule, because the norms it established for scholar-officials were for the Zhou Dynasty. Absolute obedience, that is, "the king wants his ministers to die, and the ministers have to die" has been discussed later. Yue Fei is undoubtedly a typical image. 3. The future development trend of the ritual and music system
At the beginning, the ritual and music system developed along the path envisioned by the rulers, and it indeed played a great role in resolving various social conflicts. , the level of social etiquette standards is also rising slowly. In a short period of time, the ritual and music system has indeed played a positive role. However, new problems will always arise. The accumulation of quantitative changes has reached the point where the old system cannot be adjusted. As time goes by, social conditions are constantly changing, and the ritual and music system is no longer applicable.
At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, as the power of the princes and ministers increased and they were no longer content to bow their heads to the emperor, the social order began to become chaotic and a situation of "collapse of etiquette and music" appeared. On the surface, this is just a case of fighting against each other among feudal states, but from the perspective of the ritual and music system, this is a disregard for the original social order.
It is recorded in "Zuo Zhuan" that the Emperor of Zhou once sent an envoy to the State of Lu to ask for funeral expenses and carriages and horses for traveling. It was originally the duty of the State of Lu to pay tribute, but it developed to the point where the Emperor had to send an envoy to "beg for money". Want", from this we can know that Emperor Zhou no longer had real power at that time. At first, the collapse of rituals and music was only manifested in the princes' small oversteps and listening to ditties that only the emperor could listen to. Later, as the princes' strength continued to grow, the society became divided among the heroes, and the whole society was in chaos. This chaos has continued It was not until Qin completed its unification in 221 BC that things calmed down.
In this chaos, due to the collapse of the ritual and music system, social order was chaotic. Under this situation, many people with lofty ideals chose to retreat from the people and wait for the changes, allowing the country to fend for itself. It is even expected that a country of rituals and music will reappear after the country's demise. In this way, the princes abandoned the ritual and music system, the emperor also abandoned the ritual and music system because he was unable to resist, and even the hopeful literati also abandoned the ritual and music system.
In this situation, Confucius became the clear leader among them. Not only did he stubbornly refuse to give up, he even devoted his life to re-supporting Zhou rites. Although he encountered obstacles in his life, he left a lasting reputation. As big as when he hears that a country is about to launch a war, he will go there to dissuade them. Small as small as he insists on treating ordinary people with no status around him with courtesy. He is obsessed with rituals and music.
Confucius set out from the state of Lu throughout his life and went to the states of Wei, Cao, Song, Zheng, Chen, Cai, and Chu to promote his philosophy of benevolent government. However, the form of society destined him to face obstacles everywhere in his life. In the age of war, paying attention to etiquette is tantamount to letting others slaughter. Confucius's way of strengthening the country is not impossible, but in the era of war, the rewards of Confucius's plan for governing the country are too slow. No monarch is willing to accept his ideas, even Even many literati did not understand him. His life of traveling around seemed to have achieved nothing in this war-torn era.
But when the smoke cleared, we were thankful that there was one person whose persistence allowed the system of rituals and music to be carried forward and passed on by himself during the war without the support of the monarch. , after this, the ritual and music system seemed to be linked to Confucius again. In the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty listened to Dong Zhongshu's suggestion and followed the Western Zhou Dynasty's practice of domesticating the people with etiquette, and implemented the practice of "deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone." From then on, Confucian thought became the unified thought of China for thousands of years, and the ritual and music system relied on Confucianism Culture continues to multiply. 4. Comment on the contemporary importance of the ritual and music system
The ritual and music system not only played a role in regulating social order and people's behavioral activities not only in the Western Zhou Dynasty, but also in subsequent dynasties. In ancient music On the other hand, it has laid the foundation for the entire music pattern. (Yi, Shi, Shu, Li, and Yue are all ritual and music cultural classics based on this system.) It must be said that the ritual and music system is the most important in China. occupies a particularly important position in history.
Whenever the three kings teach their sons, they must use rituals and music. Music is about cultivating the inside; etiquette is about cultivating the outside. Ritual and music are intertwined in the middle, and the shape is outside, so it is also respectful and gentle. ——"Book of Rites. Prince Wen"
In modern times, the ritual and music system still occupies a very important position in people's hearts, but for these cultures, we tend to take the essence and discard the dross. We praise the attitude of making friends with "courtesy" and treating others with trust; abiding by laws and regulations in life, performing their duties, and committing to the construction of a harmonious society. Therefore, the ritual and music system helps educate and guide people in today's society to regulate their behavior. Only by cultivating both internal and external rituals and music can we develop a gentle and indifferent temperament and cultivate our sentiments. Therefore, etiquette and joy for people focus on nourishing the heart, and etiquette and society focus on order.