The Relationship between Ancient Chinese Intellectuals and Traditional Musical Instruments
Scholar music is a traditional music created or participated in by intellectual classes with cultural cultivation throughout history in China, which is improved, and passed down. It is a musical and artistic expression of the noble beliefs of intellectuals, a valuable observation and evaluation of heaven and earth, life, and society by intellectuals, and an artistic reflection of their mood and soul. It mainly includes two aspects: piano music and melody music.
The ancient Chinese intellectuals music is represented by the art of guqin, therefore, guqin culture enjoys a noble position in the traditional Chinese intellectuals music world, and has always been regarded as a symbol of intellectuals.
Scholar music is mainly influenced by Confucianism and Taoism. In terms of music, Confucianism advocates that music must give moral standards to the eyes and ears, to prevent the phenomenon of the senses being blinded by material desires, artificially pursuing the satisfaction of emotional desires, and losing their spiritual pursuit beyond material desires. It can be seen that Confucianism has endowed various types of music with humanized beauty and goodness. For Taoism, the emphasis is on great music has the faintest notes. In terms of music, it emphasizes the relationship between emptiness and reality, the relationship between existence and nothingness, the relationship between distance and closeness, the relationship between depth and lightness, and the relationship between movement and stillness. Taoism regards music as "harmony between great music and heaven and earth", emphasizing the realm of freehand brushwork.
For thousands of years, countless Chinese intellectuals have heard the stirring of their own hearts and seen the vicissitudes of life and the coolness of the world in this melodic sound. In this holy world of intellectuals music, they have found their own living space, improved their personality, and explored their journey under their feet. May today's you and I also have insights and growth in the works of our ancestors.
