Happiness comes from the heart, and etiquette is expressed from the outside. Because happiness comes from the heart, honesty is not disguised; Because the etiquette is expressed from the outside, the quality of the culture is polite. The highest level of music must be gentle, and the most solemn ceremony must be simple. When happiness penetrates into the hearts of the people, resentment will be eliminated; When the rites are carried out, strife is eliminated. The reason why the ancient holy kings were able to govern the world in an orderly manner with humility and courtesy was precisely because of the role of etiquette and music. There is no disturbance among the people, the princes are subservient, the military revolution is not used, the punishment is not used, the people have nothing to worry about, and the Son of Heaven has nothing to dissatisfaction with. Within the four seas, the relationship between father and son is close, the order of the eldest and youngest is clear, and everyone respects the Son of Heaven.

The noblest happiness is like the harmony of heaven and earth, and the most solemn ceremony is like the difference between heaven and earth. Because of harmony, everything has its place; Because of the difference, it is necessary to sacrifice to heaven and earth. There are rituals and music in the world, and there are ghosts and gods in the underworld. In this way, we will be able to respect and love each other within the four seas. Etiquette teaches mutual respect through different rituals; Music teaches people to love each other through different rhythms. The social function of ritual music is the same, so the wise kings of the past have also gained and benefited in addition to inheritance. Therefore, the rites should have the characteristics of the times, and the name of the music should also be consistent with the merits of the Son of Heaven.

Therefore, bells, drums, pipes, chimes, feathers, and birds are instruments of music; The action of bending, stretching and pitching, opening and closing, slow and fast, is the expression of music. The bean stick, the system article, is the instrument used for the ceremony; Lifting up and down, circumferential attack, is the manifestation of etiquette. Thus, those who understand the social function of liturgical music can create new liturgical music, while those who merely remember the manifestations of liturgical music can only retell the old liturgical music. Those who can create are called saints, and those who can repeat are called Ming. The so-called Ming and Sheng, refers to retelling and creation.

Music embodies the harmony between heaven and earth; Rites embody the order between heaven and earth. Because of the harmony of music, all things can coexist in harmony; Because of the order of rituals, all things are different. Happiness is made in imitation of God, and etiquette is made in imitation of the earth. The production of rituals will cause chaos if it destroys order, and the production of music will lead to extremism if it destroys harmony. Understand the relationship between ritual music and heaven and earth, and then make ritual music. The lyrics and songs are well coordinated, which is the truth of music. It is the function of music to make people happy and like. Righteousness and innocence are the essence of etiquette. It is the function of etiquette to make people respectful and obedient. As for the use of musical instruments such as bells and chimes to make sounds, to worship the shrines of the temples, and to worship the ghosts and gods of the mountains and rivers, in this respect, it is the same from the Son of Heaven to the people.

The founder of a dynasty only formulates music after it has been completed, and formulates rituals after the society is stable. The greater his merit, the more complete the music he makes; The more stable his politics were, the more perfect his rituals became. Only the martial arts dance of the hand can not be regarded as a complete joy; Sacrifice with cooked meat is not considered a salute. The five emperors were not at the same time, so they did not copy the music of the previous generations from each other; The three kings are of different generations, so they do not copy the gifts of the previous generations. Expressing the ultimate happiness will make people indulge in the sorrow of going back and forth; Shoddy etiquette sometimes misses the essence of righteousness and innocence. As for those who can be happy but do not indulge in the worries of going back and forth, and who have perfect etiquette but do not lose the essence of righteousness and innocence, there are probably only great saints.

From the point of view of the phenomenon, the heavens are above, the earth is below, and all things are scattered everywhere and different, so the ritual of difference comes into being. From the point of view of nature, all things in this heaven and earth are in a state of constant flow, interconnected and mutually influencing, so the joy of harmony came into being. Spring is born and summer is long, reflecting the spirit of benevolence; Autumn harvest and winter storage, embodying the spirit of righteousness. The spirit of benevolence is close to happiness, and the spirit of righteousness is close to propriety. Joy emphasizes harmony, following God and imitating Heaven; Rites emphasize the difference, following the demons and imitating them. Therefore, the saints make music to follow the heavens, and make rituals to match the land. In this way, it can be said that heaven and earth have fulfilled their due duties.

Tianzun is above, the earth is low, and the relationship between the monarch and the minister is determined in turn. The high is the mountain, the low is the sawa, and the position of the noble and the low is established in turn. The sky is moving and the earth is quiet, and there is a routine, and it is different from big or small. If the parties gather like and the things are divided into groups, their lives will not be the same. In the sky, there are different phenomena such as the sun, moon, stars, wind, thunder, etc., and on the earth, there are different forms such as mountains, rivers, grass, trees, birds, and beasts. The saints made rituals according to rituals, and it can be seen that rituals reflect the difference between heaven and earth. The earth rises, the weather falls, yin and yang rub against each other, heaven and earth stir each other, thunder comes to agitate, wind and rain come to moisten, the four seasons alternate cycles, the sun and the moon shine day and night, and all things are born. The saints made music according to this, and it can be seen that music is the embodiment of the harmony of heaven and earth. Happiness is precious to harmony, but if it does not change according to the season, things will not be born; Etiquette is different, so there will be chaos if there is no difference between men and women. This is the nature of heaven and earth.

When it comes to the function of ritual music, it reaches the heavens and descends to the earth, it can be yin and yang, it can be through ghosts and gods, no matter how far away, there is nothing that is not missing, and everything is meticulous. Music shows the heaven that created all things, and rites embody the earth that forms all things. It is the sky that shows that it is in motion, and it is the earth that shows it that is still and does not move. One movement and one stillness creates everything in heaven and earth. Therefore, when a saint rules the world, his mouth will be called ceremonial music.

In the past, Shun made a five-stringed qin to play the "South Wind", and kui began to make music to reward the princes. From this point of view, the music of the Son of Heaven was used to reward virtuous princes. As a prince, if virtue is prosperous, respect and education, and the grain is abundant, only when these things are achieved can you be given happiness. Therefore, whenever the people under the rule are in need, the dance team rewarded to him is scarce; Wherever the people under the rule are happy, the dance team that is rewarded to him is numerous.