Chapter 12 6. Reinstall the system

Ritual and music were not invented by the Zhou Dynasty, they existed in the Yin and Shang Dynasties, and also in the Xia Dynasty.Moreover, the merchant's gift is extravagant, and the merchant's music is also gorgeous, and even pay special attention to the beauty of music.Tang Wang's hymn "That" sings like this—— Great and numerous, Beat the tambourine. The drums are booming, Happy my ancestors. clear wind music, Neat footwork. The sonorous bell chime, Wan Wu in high spirits. Hehe, they might have a choir. That being the case, why do you still say "Zhou Gong made rituals and music"?

Because Zhou Gong reborn the rituals and music that Xia Shang also had.He copied its data, formatted its hard drive, and installed another system according to his needs, and the result was something completely new. So, what is the difference between Zhou's rites and music and Yin Shang's? Shang is Yi (ceremony), Zhou is Zhi (system). What is "ritual"?What is "joy"?According to the characters in oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions, li is a ritual vessel, and music is a musical instrument.Therefore, rites and music are sacrifices and music and dance.This is of course good, but also can not do without.But in Duke Zhou's view, rituals and music should not just be rituals and music and dances, but should be a tool to consolidate the regime, stabilize the society, maintain order and calm people's minds.

◎ "Li" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions (A 3629). ◎ "Li" (He Zun) in bronze inscriptions. Both Wang Guowei and Guo Moruo believed that "Xiang Eryu is in the shape of a vessel", so "ritual" first refers to a ritual vessel. ◎“Music” in Oracle Bone Inscriptions (Continued from 3·28·5). ◎The "music" (郘钟) in bronze inscriptions. Xu Shen thinks that "elephant drums" (drums), Luo Zhenyu thinks it is "the image of a harp", in short, it is a musical instrument. Specifically, the function of ritual is to maintain order, and the function of music is to calm people's hearts.When people's hearts are stable, order can be maintained; when order is in order, society will be stable; when society is stable, political power can be consolidated.This is an interlocking complete system engineering.

Why can ritual and music play such a role? Because etiquette should be manifested as ritual, and ritual should be manifested as order.For example, in the sacrificial ceremony of inviting the gods to eat, there must be a sequence for the gods, the earth, the ancestors and the ancestors who receive the salute and worship, who sits as the "chairman" and who counts as the "non-voting attendees"; "Officer", whoever counts as "deacon" must also have a sequence.Only in this way can we "behave like a ritual". Obviously, the essence of ritual is sequence and order.

The order that deals with the relationship between man and God can of course also be used to deal with human relations.This is the "ritual" of Duke Zhou.Its significance is no longer just "worshiping gods and ancestors", but more about "identity".To put it more clearly, everyone has their own status, such as monarch and minister, father and son, husband and wife brothers; they also have their own rights and obligations, such as monarch benevolence and minister loyalty, father kindness and son filial piety.As long as this point is made clear and everyone keeps their own place, there will be no chaos.

Therefore, it must be identified as a system, that is, "ritual system". It must be applied to politics, that is, "rule by ritual". It must become a universal education, that is, "ethics". But there is a problem here. In fact, according to this system, except for the Son of Heaven "Supreme", everyone else is definitely humble, at most they have relative respect.This is unbalanced.yes!All people are born equal, why should some be honored and some be humbled? In this regard, Zhou Gong and the others have their own rhetoric.It's a pity that these rhetoric may not be convincing, let alone pleasing, so it must be reconciled with "joy".Music is music and happiness.Music is "the movement form of musical tone", and the characteristic of musical tone is "difference".Different musical tones have different pitches, durations, strengths, and timbres.But put together, it sounds great.It sounds good because of harmony, and harmony is because of diversity and unity.The common feature of rites and music is that they are both diverse and unified.Distinguish differences in etiquette and unify music.If there is courtesy and music, and the rituals are harmonious, a "harmonious society" can be built.

This is the Duke of Zhou's "making rituals and making music". Only those built according to this system are the so-called "Chinese Ritual and Music Civilization". Of course, such a complex system engineering is difficult to explain in one word, but the clue is clear - because "the monarchy is granted by heaven", it must be "people-oriented"; because it is people-oriented, it must be "ruled by virtue"; order, and music assures harmony." Heaven is the banner, people are the program, the rule of virtue is "one center", and rituals and music are "two basic points".

Starting from such a whole set of ideological system, the Zhou people established four major systems-well fields, feudalism, patriarchal clan, and ritual and music.Jingtian is an economic system, feudalism is a political system, patriarchal clan is a social system, and rites and music are a cultural system.Ida "cares about the people's livelihood", feudalism "follows the people's will", patriarchal clan "adheres to folk customs", and rituals and music "peaces the hearts of the people".So far, the system software of Zhou Culture and Zhou System has been installed.

So let's go through them one by one. When the princes from all walks of life accepted the entrustment of Zhou Tianzi, A stable feudal order and a broad united front were established. Killing three birds with one stone is a kind of wisdom.

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