Philosophy of Music Education in Early China

Abstract This chapter presents an account of the philosophy of music education in early China, focusing in particular on Confucian perspectives, including the ideas of Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi. From the historical origins of rites and music (liyue 禮樂) education in the Zhou dynasty (1046‒256 BCE) to its disintegration after the Qin Han Period (221 BCE‒220 CE), this chapter presents an array of associated philosophical ideas, including the Order of Heaven (tianming天命), moral enhancement (jingde敬德), harmony (he 和), and the Confucian Theory of Human Nature. It concludes by highlighting how, from the late Western Zhou (1046‒771 BCE) to the early Han era (206 BCE‒220 CE), music activities in society were increasingly freed from the restrictions of liyue.