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Form of classical Chinese music and dance

Yayue 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. The term yayue itself appeared in Confucius' Analects, 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. 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. 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. The court yayue has largely disappeared from China, although there are modern attempts at its reconstruction. In China and 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.

According to tradition, yayue was created by the Duke of Zhou under commission from King Wu of Zhou, shortly after the latter's conquest of Shang. Incorporated within yayue were elements of shamanistic or religious traditions, as well as early Chinese folk music. Dance was also 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 dynasty were the Six Great Dances, each associated with a legendary or historical figure – Yunmen Dajuan (雲門大卷), Daxian (大咸), Daqing (大磬, or Dashao 大韶), Daxia (大夏), and Dahu (大濩), Dawu (大武). The Book of Rites records a number of situations where yayue might be performed. These included ceremonies in honour of Heaven and Earth, the gods or the ancestors. There were also detailed rules on the way they were to be performed at diplomatic meetings. Yayue was also used in outdoor activities, such as aristocratic archery contests, during hunting expeditions, and after the conclusion of a successful military campaign. Yayue was characterised by its rigidity of form. When performed, it was stately and formal, serving to distinguish the aristocratic classes. It was sometimes also accompanied by lyrics. Some of these are preserved in the Book of Songs. With the decline of the importance ceremony in the interstate relations of the Spring and Autumn period, so did yayue. Confucius famously lamented the decline of classical music and the rites. Marquess Wen of Wei was said to prefer the popular music of Wey and Zheng to the ancient court music, listening to which he may fall asleep. Much of the yayue of the Zhou dynasty continued into the Qin dynasty. However, some pieces appeared to have been lost or were no longer performed by the Han dynasty, and the content and form of yayue was modified in this as well as the succeeding dynasties. For example, the terrace ensemble (dengge) in yayue involved singings but not string instruments in the Han dynasty, and in Sui dynasty, singers and string instruments were added to the court ensembles. During the Tang dynasty components of popular music were added to yayue. However, the dominant form of music in the Sui and Tang court was the entertainment music for banquets called yanyue (燕樂), and the term yayue became reserved for the music of Confucian rituals used in temples of the imperial family and the nobility as well as in Confucian temples. During the Song dynasty, with Neo Confucianism becoming the new orthodoxy, yayue was again in ascendancy with major development, and a yayue orchestra in this era consisted of over 200 instrumentalists with many instruments added to the orchestra. Two important texts from the Song dynasty describing yayue performances are Zhu Xi's Complete Explanation of the Classic of Etiquette and Its Commentary (儀禮經傳通解) and Collection of Music (樂書) by Chen Yang (陳暘). In 1116, a gift of 428 yayue instruments as well as 572 costumes and dance objects was given to Korea by Emperor Huizong upon request by the Emperor Yejong of Goryeo. As a result, elements of Song dynasty yayue music such as melodies are still preserved in Korea. Some forms of yayue survived for imperial ceremonies and rituals until the fall of the Qing dynasty when the imperial period of China came to an end. Yayue however was still performed as part of a Confucian ritual in China until the Communist takeover in 1949 when it completely disappeared. There has been a revival in yayue in Confucian ritual in Taiwan since the late 1960s, and in mainland China since the 1990s. A major research and modern reconstruction of yayue of the imperial court was initiated in Taiwan in the 1990s, and in mainland China a performance of yayue music in 2009 by Nanhua University's yayue music ensemble in Beijing also spurred interest in this form of music.

The court yayue orchestra may be divided into two separate ensembles that may represent the yin and yang, a smaller one (the yin) that was meant to play on the terraces of a building and called dengge (登歌), and a larger one (the yang) that performed in the courtyard called gongxian (宮懸). The smaller ensemble consisted of mainly chordophones (such as qin and se zithers) and aerophones (such as the dizi and xiao flutes, and panpipes), as well as singers. The larger ensemble was primarily instrumental and contained all the categories of musical instruments with the musicians arranged in five directions (four points of the compass and the center) in the courtyard. The wind instruments occupied the center, and the bronze bells and stone chimes (known collectively as yuexuan 樂悬) at the four sides, while the drums occupied the four corners. The dances are divided into two types: Civil dance and Military dance. In Civil Dance the dancers hold a yue flute (籥) in their left hand and a feather plume (羽) in their right, while in Military Dance the dancer may hold a shield (干) in the left hand and a battleaxe (戚) in the right hand.

In Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, the Chinese characters yayue ('雅樂) are pronounced differently. The form and content of yayue in these countries may differ in significant aspects.

Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial court for several centuries. It differs in form and content from the Chinese yayue, and consists of native Shinto religious music and folk, a Goguryeo and Manchurian form, called komagaku, and a Chinese and South Asian form, called togaku.

In Korean, Yayue is called '아악' (Aak — 아=雅, 악=樂). It was brought to Korea in the 12th century and it still preserves some of the music of the Song dynasty.