Chinese Philosophy of Music

Teaching journal.

In comparison with topics on musical genres, this topic was relatively abstract and so I employed a variety of means to bring the topic to life. I focused on big ideas. First, the concept of harmony, which is important in both Taoism (music brings man and nature into harmony), and Confucianism (music brings man and society into harmony). Second, the concept of cosmic music, which I compared with the Western Music of the Spheres: in Chinese thought, the 12 pitches express qi or cosmic energy, reflecting the 12 lunar months and the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. (The next two concepts are familiar to almost anyone who lives in China, as my students do.) Third, the concept of yinyang or the cosmic balance of masculine and feminine energies, which is expressed in the two tones that can be sounded on each bell of the ancient Chinese bell set bianzhong. Fourth, the concept of wuxing or the Five Phases (metal, water, wood, fire, and earth), which is reflected in the pentatonic scale.

To prompt student to think, I divided the class into halves to debate the motion “Ancient Chinese music aesthetics has relevance today,” which got students to examine contemporary thought about e.g. music and social harmony. Students pointed out that the national song, for instance, is meant to have a unifying effect that strengthens the social order (another tenet of ancient Chinese music aesthetics) by expressing the voices of the people (ancient thinkers believed that the popular mood is reflected in folk songs, and the strength of the state is reflected in state music). I added that contemporary censorship of music reflects a belief that music has a role in maintaining social order, amplifying students’s points.