Yayue (Chinese: 雅樂; lit. 'elegant music') was a form of classical music and dance performed at the royal court and temples in ancient China. The basic conventions of yayue were established in the Western Zhou. Together with law and rites, it formed the formal representation of aristocratic political power.
The word ya (雅) was used during the Zhou dynasty to refer to a form of song-texts used in court and collected in Shijing.[1] The term yayue itself appeared in Confucius' Analects,[2][3] where yayue was considered by Confucius to be the kind of music that is good and beneficial, in contrast to the popular music originated from the state of Zheng which he judged to be decadent and corrupting.[4][5]Yayue is therefore regarded in the Confucian system as the proper form of music that is refined, improving, and essential for self-cultivation, and one that can symbolize good and stable governance.[6][7] It means the kind of solemn ceremonial music used in court, as well as ritual music in temples including those used in Confucian rites. In a broader sense, yayue can also mean a form of Chinese music that is distinguishable from the popular form of music termed suyue (俗樂) or "uncultivated music", and can therefore also include music of the literati such as qin music.[8][9]
The court yayue has largely disappeared from China, although there are modern attempts at its reconstruction.[10] In Taiwan yayue is still performed as part of a Confucian ceremony, and in China a revived form also serves as entertainment for tourists. Other forms of yayue are still found in parts of East Asia, notably the gagaku in Japan, aak in Korea, and nhã nhạc in Vietnam. Although the same word is used in these countries (but pronounced differently), the music does not necessarily correspond to Chinese yayue. The Korean aak, however, preserved elements of Song dynasty yayue long lost in China.[4][11]
^Peter Fletcher (2004). World Musics in Context: A Comprehensive Survey of the World's Major Musical Cultures. Oxford University Press. p. 345. ISBN 978-0195175073.
^Cite error: The named reference musicology was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"The Analects - Yang Huo". Chinese Text Project.
^ abThe Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 2. Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Routledge; 1 edition. 2008. pp. 1201–1202. ISBN 978-0415994040.
^"The Analects – Wei Ling Gong". Chinese Text Project.
^Liora Bresler (2007). International Handbook of Research in Arts Education. Springer. p. 85. ISBN 978-1402029981.
^Dorothy Ko; JaHyun Kim Haboush; Joan R. Piggott, eds. (2003). Women and Confucian Cultures in Premodern China, Korea, and Japan. University of California Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0520231382.
^Alan Robert Thrasher (2008). Sizhu Instrumental Music of South China: Ethos, Theory and Practice. Brill Academic Publishers. p. 2. ISBN 978-9004165007.
^Isabel Wong (1991). Bruno Nettl; Philip Bohlman (eds.). Comparative Musicology and Anthropology of Music: Essays on the History of Ethnomusicology (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press. pp. 37–38. ISBN 978-0226574097.
^Cindy Sui (April 20, 2010). "Music Bridges the Political Divide Between China and Taiwan". The New York Times.
^Robert C. Provine, Jr. (January 1974). "The Treatise on Ceremonial Music (1430) in the Annals of the Korean King Sejong". Ethnomusicology. 18 (1): 1–29. doi:10.2307/850057. JSTOR 850057.
Yayue (Chinese: 雅樂; lit. 'elegant music') was a form of classical music and dance performed at the royal court and temples in ancient China. The basic...
Artistically it differs from the music of the corresponding Chinese form yayue (雅楽) which is a term reserved for ceremonial music. The prototype of gagaku...
of Korean court music. It is an imported form of the Chinese court music yayue, and means "elegant music". Aak was performed almost exclusively in state...
closely associated with yayue music, each yayue pieces may have a ceremonial or ritual dance associated with it. The most important yayue piece of the Zhou...
Gamelan music, and various styles of the court of Imperial China (see yayue for instance). Thus in the later 20th century terms such as "Western classical...
Frosted Flakes. The wooden yu used to mark the end of pieces of music in yayue, the ritual music of ancient China's Zhou dynasty, was shaped like a tiger...
China Internet Investment Fund took a golden share investment in Shenzhen Yayue Technology. The stock price of Tencent sank when news of the deal was published...
Hong Kong and Macau. System of formal music yayue established. Lyrics of folk songs recorded. Decline of yayue by the end of the Spring and Autumn period...
designated the music concerned with ritual and ideal morality as the superior yayue (雅樂; "proper music"), in opposition to suyue (俗樂; "vernacular/popular music")...
conducted musical education. For the first time in China, a system of "Yayue" (雅乐) was established for rituals and ceremonies. At the same time, the...
scholars, the guqin was also played in a ritual context, especially in yayue in China, and aak in Korea. The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing...
Zhou dynasty, a formal system of court and ceremonial music later termed yayue (meaning "elegant music") was established. The word music (樂, yue) in ancient...
(1392–1910). It was partly modelled on the court music of China, known as yayue. Korean court music also shows similarities with the court music of Japan...
dances. The important dances of the ancient period were the ceremonial yayue dated to the Zhou dynasty of the first millennium BC. The art of dance in...
early dances served important ritual and ceremonial roles and are known as yayue which continued to be performed at the imperial court until the Qing dynasty...
full of foreign music, the Yayue (雅樂, literally: "elegant music") was no longer be performed in those two sections. The Yayue music was only performed by...
Court music may refer to various music styles associated with courts: Yayue, Chinese court music Gagaku, Japanese court music Korean court music Ottoman...
king. Musicians who accompanied this dance played a form of music termed yayue. In addition to worshipping Confucius, Confucian temples also honour the...
Hokkien pop) Rock Heavy metal Hip hop Opera Specific forms Taoist music Yayue Media and performance Nationalistic and patriotic songs Regional music Anhui...
musical instruments. Aak Culture of Korea Dangak Gagaku Korean music Nhã nhạc Yayue "향악" [Hyangak]. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-04-13...
dynasty recorded in ancient Chinese texts includes the ritual music called yayue and each piece may be associated with a dance. Some of the oldest written...
Hokkien pop) Rock Heavy metal Hip hop Opera Specific forms Taoist music Yayue Media and performance Nationalistic and patriotic songs Regional music Anhui...
the early period were the ritual and ceremonial music and dances called yayue, and these dances were performed at the imperial court until the Qing dynasty...
Hokkien pop) Rock Heavy metal Hip hop Opera Specific forms Taoist music Yayue Media and performance Nationalistic and patriotic songs Regional music Anhui...
Hokkien pop) Rock Heavy metal Hip hop Opera Specific forms Taoist music Yayue Media and performance Nationalistic and patriotic songs Regional music Anhui...
musical instruments (numbering 428 in total) to the Goryeo court, this time yayue instruments, beginning that nation's tradition of aak. Emperor Huizong was...
pronunciation of two hanja characters, which indicate the equivalent form of yayue in Chinese and gagaku in Japan. Since Confucius used this term to distinguish...
Hokkien pop) Rock Heavy metal Hip hop Opera Specific forms Taoist music Yayue Media and performance Nationalistic and patriotic songs Regional music Anhui...
Global Information