Investigation of the judgment on the function of music in the musical thought of Xun-tzu

Hou Yunlong

Xun-tzu's musical thought advocates the use of music to guide people, to make them move from evil to good, which is somewhat different from Mencius's thoughts; advocates promoting military campaigns through music, so that "the army is strong, the cities are fortified, and the enemy does not dare to attack even a baby", which is somewhat different from the thoughts of Confucius; advocates for the interaction of ritual and music to govern people and country. His musical and aesthetic thought still belongs to the Confucian tradition. This article analyzes from a logical point of view the way of understanding the function of music in the musical thought of Xun-tzu. This proves that Confucian musical-aesthetic thought reached maturity only under Xun-tzu.

Keywords:Xun Tzu, ancient music of China, judgment