郑声 – Chinese philosophy and culture

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zhènɡshēnɡ 郑声

The Music of the State of Zheng

指与“雅乐”相对的民间通俗音乐。原指春秋战国时期郑、卫地区的音乐,又称“郑卫之音”。较之雅乐的庄重、大气、规范,郑声曲调自由、富于形式变化,歌词内容多写男女之情。孔子认为这些作品放纵个人情感,思想不够纯正,有损礼乐教化,应该加以排斥。后世学者多以“郑声”指代低俗文艺,亦有学者认为它们应该属于民歌等通俗文艺范畴,是艺术创新的源头及对高雅艺术的一种补充。

This refers to popular folk music in history, as opposed to formal ceremonial music. The term, originally “the music of Zheng and Wei,” referred to music from the states of Zheng and Wei during the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods. Unlike stately, grand and highly structured classical music, the music of Zheng featured free-flowing melodies and a wealth of variations, with lyrics that often spoke of the love between men and women. Confucius felt that works of this sort gave free rein to personal emotions and lacked purity in ways of thinking, that they were not conducive to educating people through etiquette and music, and should therefore not be permitted. Many scholars subsequently used “the music of Zheng” to refer to lowbrow arts, but others considered these tunes to be folk songs which were a form of popular culture, a source of artistic creation and a complement to highbrow arts.

引例 Citations:

◎放郑声,远佞人。郑声淫,佞人殆。(《论语·卫灵公》)

(抛弃郑国的音乐,远离花言巧语的小人。郑国的音乐淫糜,花言巧语的小人危险。)

Cast aside the music of Zheng, and keep your distance from smooth-talking petty men. The music of Zheng is seductive, and smooth-talking petty men are dangerous. (The Analects)

◎《韶》响难追,郑声易启。岂惟观乐?于焉识礼。(刘勰《文心雕龙·乐府》)

(虞舜时的《韶》乐难以企及,而淫靡俗乐却很容易流行。难道季札当年只是为了想听鲁国的音乐?他是想通过音乐了解礼的兴衰啊。)

Classical music from the era of Yu and Shun is hard to grasp, whereas the crass and seductive music (of Zheng) can easily become popular. Do you think Jizha only wanted to listen to the music of the State of Lu? He wanted to understand, through music, the decline of rites and etiquette. (Liu Xie: The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons)

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