Abstract
The discussion between Mencius and the King Xuan of Qi on music was aimed at political benevolence, and "the music of today derives from the music of antiquity" was not Mencius's deliberate theorization. As this concept has no further elaboration in its original context, it has caused intellectual controversies for later generations. Basically, scholars of the Song dynasty denied the notion from historical and Neo-Confucian perspectives, while those of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties accepted it by justifying the value of "the music of today." Among the supporters, there were two different voices, that is, to consider "the music of today" as a revival of "the music of antiquity" and to value "the music of today" for its own sake. While the former signified post-Song Confucian's mainstream opinion on literature and art, which is substantially consistent with the previous denials of "the music of today," it was the latter that laid theoretical foundations for the independent development of "the music of today" ever since. Under the influence of these two concepts, Mencius's idea of "the music of today derives from the music of antiquity" has been not only pronounced among critics but also extensively cited as argument in art studies.
First Page
130
Last Page
138
Recommended Citation
Chen, Miaodan. 2019. "The Receptive Dimension of "The Music of Today Derives from the Music of Antiquity"." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 39, (4): pp.130-138. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol39/iss4/20
