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Being Mild and Gentle, Sincere and Broadminded 137

music of a great nation! I suppose it is about the state of Jiang Taigong (姜太公/姜
子牙 dates uncertain) that can be an example to the states along the East Sea. Its
fortune is really unlimited!” When the musicians sang the Ballads from the State
),
Bin (《豳风》 he said, “Beautiful! How candid! Joyful but not indulgent. I suppose
this is the music about the Duke of Zhou during his eastern expedition!” (Ruan,
2009, pp. 4355–4357)
These illustrate that The Book of Songs was perfectly integrated with music
through performance, evoking wonderful feelings in the mind of the admirer. The
two complemented each other. What Ji Zha perceived when he commented on
music was diligence without complaint, sorrow without distress, enjoyment
without licentiousness, worry without disloyalty, resentment without being
outspoken, uprightness without arrogance, submission without subservience,
being close without being threatening, distance without being alienating, varia-
tion that is not excessive, repetition that is not tiresome, sorrow without being
stressed, joy without indulgence, all of which represent the beauty of harmony.
This is the same with the idea of being mild and gentle, sincere and broadminded;
they belong to the same aesthetic category. Therefore, “Yuefu” of The Literary Mind
and the Carving of Dragons (《文心雕龙 · 乐府》states that:
)
From this, we can see that poetry is the core of music, and melody and rhythm are the form of
music. Since the form of music involves melody and rhythm, musicians must adjust their
instruments well; since the core of music lies in poetry, the scholars should write fine verses.
A line in the Ballads from the State Tang (《唐风》) advocates “Enjoyment without indul-
gence,” which Ji Zha approved as visionary. A line in the Ballads from the State Zheng reads,
“Men and women flirt with each other,” which Ji Zha regarded as an omen for the perish of
Zheng (郑). This shows that when Ji Zha listened to the performance of The Book of Songs, his
attention was not merely on its melody and rhythem. (Liu, 1958, p. 102)
The statement “poetry is the core of music, and rhythm is the form of music”
summarizes the relationship between poetry and music, that is, poetry is the soul
of music, and rhythm is the form of music, so only well-written lyrics and well-
adjusted instruments can make music elegant and beautiful, and the most
important thing is elegant and correct lyrics, that is, elegant and concise poetry.
The statement that “when Ji Zha listened to the performance of The Book of Songs,
he did not merely pay attention to the tone of its sound” is the same as what Liu Xie
(刘勰 ca.465 B.C.E.–?) said: “As for the later Yuefu poems (乐府诗), they are about
the intimate relationship between men and women or their separation because
their hatred for each other. How can good music be produced based on these
lascivious works?” Since poetry is the soul of music, the pursuit of elegance and
harmony in music is based on elegant and appropriate poetry, and lascivious
works can become a hindrance to good music.