Record of Music () is the 19th chapter of the ''

Book of Rites The ''Book of Rites'', also known as the ''Liji'', is a collection of texts describing the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou dynasty as they were understood in the Warring States and the early Han periods. The ''Book o ...

''. It constitutes the grounds for reconstruction of the lost ''

Classic of Music The ''Classic of Music'' () was a Confucian classic text lost by the time of the Han dynasty. It is sometimes referred to as the "Sixth Classic" (for example, by Sima Qian) and is thought to have been important in the traditional interpretations ...

'' 樂經. The authorship of the ''Yueji'' is a matter of debate. The ''

Book of Sui The ''Book of Sui'' (''Suí Shū'') is the official history of the Sui dynasty. It ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written by Yan Shigu, Kong Yingda, and Zhangsun Wuji, with Wei Zheng as the lead author. ...

'' ascribes it to Gongsun Nizi, a second-generation disciple of

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

, and this view was common during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. However, the present version includes reference to

Marquis Wen of Wei Marquess Wen of Wei (Wèi Wén Hóu; died 396 BCE) was the first Marquess to rule the State of Wei during the Warring States period of Chinese history (475 – 220 BCE). Born Wei Si (魏斯), he belonged to the House of Wei, one of the noble ...

and

Zi Xia Bu Shang (507 BC – 400 BC), commonly known by his courtesy name Zixia or as Buzi (Master Bu), was an ancient Chinese philosopher and a prominent disciple of Confucius who was considered one of the most accomplished in cultural learning. He was ...

's meeting which could not have occurred during Gongsun Nizi's life. Qiu Qiongsun claims another Gongsun Ni lived during the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

, authored the book, and it was later erroneously ascribed to the better-known Confucian disciple. The ''Yueji'' is mentioned in the "Yiwen zhi" chapter of the ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. I ...

'', which was built on Liu Xin's ''Qilue''. There, its authorship is ascribed to

Liu De / ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic tex ...

, a son of the Han emperor Jing, and his friends. The contents of ''Yueji'' are fully present in the ''Yueshu'' chapter of the ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

'', but, as argued by Martin Kern, this chapter is a later addition to

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

's work, probably dating by the Eastern Han period. According to Kern, this might bear on the dating of the ''Yue ji'' itself.

Kong Yingda Kong Yingda (; 574 – 648), courtesy names Chongyuan () and Zhongda (), was a Chinese philosopher during the Sui and Tang dynasty. An amorous Confucianist, who is considered one of the most influential Confucian scholars in Chinese history. H ...

(574 648) records in his ''Liji Zhengyi'' that in his editorial work Liu Xiang came across another ''Yueji'' variant, much different from Liu De's. Unfortunately, of the 23 chapters known to Liu Xiang, only 11 are known. Scott Cook's research concludes on the Warring States authorship of ''Yue ji'' as the most probable.Cook, ''Yue ji'' - Record of Music. Introduction, translation, notes, and commentary. Asian Music, vol. 26 no. 2 Spring–Summer 1995, p. 7. Material related to the ''Yueji'' can be found in Xunzi's "Yuelun", the ''

Xici zhuan ''Xici'' or ''Xi Ci'' () was a book of I Ching written during the fifth century BC. Its origins are unknown, but it is suspected of being the product of scholars who did not believe prevailing Daoist thought. Among the mythologies stressed in th ...

'' comment to the ''

Yijing The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zhou ...

'', the "Great Preface" to the '' Book of Songs'', ''

Lüshi Chunqiu The ''Lüshi Chunqiu'', also known in English as ''Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals'', is an encyclopedic Chinese classic text compiled around 239 BC under the patronage of the Qin Dynasty Chancellor Lü Buwei. In the evaluation of Michae ...

'', and other sources.

References

Confucian texts Chinese Classical Studies {{China-music-stub