The music officials of the State of Lu scattered to various places: Grand Music Master Zhi went to the State of Qi; Yafan Gan went to the State of Chu; Sanfan Liao went to the State of Cai; Sifan Que went to the State of Qin. Fang Shu, the drummer, fled to the Yellow River region; Wu, the rattle-drum player, went to the Han River basin; and Yang, the Assistant Music Master, along with Xiang, the stone-chime player, fled to the shores of the East Sea.
Note
This seemingly plain, chronological record is actually one of the most historically tragic scenes in The Analects. From a side perspective, it profoundly reveals the cruel reality of the “collapse of rituals and music” in the late Spring and Autumn period:
- The Complete Collapse of the Ritual and Music System:
In ancient times, music officials were not only artists but also the core executors of the state’s ritual and music system. The mass exodus of the Grand Music Master and officials of various ranks from Lu signifies that the ritual and music system maintaining social order in Lu – the state that originally valued Zhou rituals the most – had completely disintegrated, and the state had lost its cohesion and centripetal force. - A Microcosm of an Era Without the Way:
Confucius once said, “When the Way prevails in the world, rituals, music, and punitive expeditions proceed from the Son of Heaven.” The scattering of the music officials is the most intuitive manifestation of “there is no Way in the world.” When politics are dark and the court is chaotic, the elite class possessing culture and etiquette can only choose to flee from disaster. - Confucius’ Cultural Compassion:
By specifically recording the names and destinations of these music officials in The Analects, Confucius reveals deep regret and heartache between the lines. This is not only a lament for the decline of Lu but also a profound compassion for the drifting of the traditional rituals and music of Chinese civilization in a chaotic world. This chapter provides the most painful historical background for the hermits’ seclusion and Confucius’ repeated setbacks mentioned in previous texts.
The core of this thought lies in “the collapse of rituals and music and the elegy of the era.” It reminds later generations that when the moral and institutional bottom lines of a society are breached, the cultural elites who sustain civilization are usually the first to be lost.
Further Reading
Confucius, speaking of the Ji clan, said, “They have eight rows of dancers performing in their courtyard. If this can be tolerated, what cannot be tolerated?”
Confucius said, “When the Way prevails in the world, rituals, music, and punitive expeditions proceed from the Son of Heaven. When the Way does not prevail in the world, rituals, music, and punitive expeditions proceed from the feudal lords.”
A madman of Chu, Jieyu, walked past Confucius’ carriage singing, “Phoenix! Phoenix! How has your virtue declined?… Those in government are in peril!”
These chapters collectively depict the grand historical tragedy of the “collapse of rituals and music” in the late Spring and Autumn period. Whether it is Confucius’ anger at the feudal lords usurping the ritual system (eight rows of dancers in the courtyard), his theoretical summary of an era without the Way (rituals and music proceeding from the feudal lords), the collective flight of the music officials (Grand Music Master Zhi going to Qi), or the hermits’ despair over those in government (those in government are in peril), their core logic is highly consistent: They jointly prove that the old social order and moral norms had completely disintegrated. The scattering of the music officials is a tangible manifestation of this era’s tragedy, while the different choices of Confucius and the hermits (engagement and seclusion) are precisely two completely different responses when facing this cultural catastrophe.
大師摯適齊，亞飯干適楚，三飯繚適蔡，四飯缺適秦。鼓方叔入於河，播鼗武入於漢，少師陽、擊磬襄，入於海。
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