One Thread of Sima Guang’s Aesthetics of Ritual and Music: On Sacred Time, the Temporal System of Ritual Customs, and the Appropriate Time and Frequency of Ritual and Musical Activities

Liu Yanshun

Abstract： Sima Guangs aesthetics of ritual and music was centered on creating and maintaining the system of ritual and music at the state level. He expounded on how to customize the state system of ritual and music in a top-down manner， so as to bring about changes in social customs， and how to ensure ritual and musical activities be carried out at the appropriate time. First， in order to cope with the drastic unfairness and class difference in the distribution of aesthetic perception and wealth as well as the crisis in filiality and thus also in loyalty caused by the broken ties of blood relations， Sima spared no effort to embellish and deify the Heavenly mandate of the sovereign in the state system， to endow the sovereign with an absolute and atemporal form of supreme authority. By making time divine and sacred， he hoped to consolidate the temporal system of ritual and music. Second， aiming to develop the system of ritual and music into a form of autonomy and habituation among the ordinary people， Sima tried to change social customs and morals by virtue of the authoritative state system of ritual and music centralized on the sovereign and placing an emphasis on ritual propriety and music in the selection of imperial officials. Third， in Simas aesthetics of ritual and music， when zhonghe （appropriateness and harmony） was concerned， zhong referred to the appropriate time in relation to the ritual life of the community， in other words， that a community sharing a common ritual life could act and stop at the appropriate time while its members could communicate smoothly， while he meant both or many sides synchronically recognizing and performing their differences. As for the concept of zhongyong （appropriateness and constancy）， yong denoted the temporal frequency of appropriate ritual life， such that if ritual life was performed appropriately， it would have a quality of constancy and high frequency.

Keywords： Sima Guang， aesthetics of ritual and music， sacred time， temporal system of ritual customs， appropriate time of zhonghe， temporal frequency of zhongyong

We cannot rely on todays artistic aesthetic approach to interpreting the traditioanl aesthetics of ritual and music， especially when its aesthetic objects are confined to merely artistic works， nor count on social and political aesthetics. The reason is that neither of these approaches include humans themselves， pleasures coming from interpersonal relationships in particular， as one of the vital categories or components of aesthetic life. The state， as an embodiment of interpersonal relationships， brought about the sense of order， the most typical and representative form of aesthetic perception. The Chinese system of ritual and music that had lasted for thousands of years was aesthetically embodied in the sense of order， which gave expression to an extremely unfair distribution of wealth–aesthetic perception and an exaggerated class difference in the ancient state system of ritual and music.

The main content of Sima Guangs 司馬光 （1019–1086） aesthetics of ritual and music was the system of ritual and music at the state level. Obviously， his aesthetics was a rather pure idea of statecraft as adopted by the upper echelons of the ruling class. This statecraft played its role in a hidden， cunning way， and changed itself expediently. In this sense， Sima not only applied this statecraft to his historiography， but also elevated it into an absolute form of abstract thinking and an atemporal philosophical grammar. As a consequence， there were immanent contradictions and conflicts between the state system of ritual and music and the other four systems of ritual and music in ancient China. In a word， there were contradictions and conflicts between the natural， appropriate systems and the unnatural， inappropriate， or less appropriate systems.

The State System of Ritual and Music and Sacred Time

[Refer to page 54 for Chinese. Similarly hereinafter]

The system of ritual and music was the most fundamental traditional system of time in China. The present author proposes three points regarding the connotations of the temporal system. First， people performed appropriate ritual and musical activities at a relatively fixed time. Second， people performed ritual and musical activities based on an appropriate situation that was changing constantly. Third， the emperor was the deified grantor of time and the highest ruler in the pyramid consisting of the emperor， bureaucrats， and common people， which reflected class differences in the temporal system. It should be noted that the religious character of traditional Chinese culture was not particularly prominent， and it played a much less significant role in Chinese society. China was not a religious state， no religions become socially dominant or gain a ruling position in China， nor there were no religious wars in the country. Where Buddhism and Daoism were concerned， both existed in the framework defined by the fundamental political institutions that were based on Confucian culture and the system of ritual and music. Nevertheless， the present author argues that the worship of the emperor-god and the sage always existed in Chinese culture and that such worship was certainly religious. It was from this worship that the sacred time in the state system of ritual and music originated. Therefore， the present author concludes that the teachings of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius represent the most orthodox and original form of Confucianism. The system of ritual and music that was developed and carried forward by these two Confucians was precisely the ideal system of sacred time. If the system or aesthetics of ritual and music was biased toward the emperor， this lay precisely in its divinized system of time; and if it was biased toward Confucius as a sage， this lay precisely in its canonized system of time.

The traditional Chinese system of ritual and music contained five parts， which lay respectively at the levels of individual， family， society， state， and world under Heaven. Sima briefly discussed this as follows：

How great li 禮 （rites， ritual propriety） are！ If we apply them to ourselves， our behavior will be well regulated and all that we do will be appropriate. If we apply them to the family， close and distant relatives will be distinguished and all clans will harmonize with each other. If we apply them to the community， elders will be superior to youths and social customs will be refined. If we apply them to the state， rulers and ministers will be well ordered and governance will be perfected. If we apply them to the world under Heaven， all feudal lords will be obedient and law and order will be well maintained worldwide. How could ritual be confined to simply making a family or community orderly？

Among the five systems of ritual and music， the state system had a strongly class-based character. This was embodied in the clear social hierarchy and the opposition to usurpation of differences existing in social stratification or social classes. Furthermore， the state system of ritual and music laid the foundation for the basic political system. Fundamentally and originally， the ritual-state political system was an expansion of the familial ritual system， on the grounds that the unfair， pyramidal power configuration involving the people， ministers， and the sovereign was actually embodied in the people and ministers loyalty to the sovereign， and， in fact， loyalty was a hidden transformation of filiality. Within a family， a son should show filial obedience to his father. In the same vein， when it comes to the royal court， ministers must remain loyal to their sovereign. Loyalty and filiality formed an integral whole. Nevertheless， in order that the truth that a sovereign and his ministers did not share any blood ties could be made more conspicuous， filiality had to be designated as loyalty. Ultimately， loyalty and filiality could not be separated from each other in terms of interpersonal relationships. But at the same time， a distinction was intentionally made between loyalty and filiality in terms of philosophical or aesthetic grammar. The broken blood ties interconnecting filiality and loyalty gave impetus to the deification of the sovereign. This not only prepared the basis and scheme of legitimacy for the sovereigns absolute governance， but also laid the foundation stone of the endeavor to bring about changes to popular customs with the system of ritual and music as sacred temporal system. Herein lay the nucleus of Simas aesthetic thinking centered around the state， ritual and music.

As mentioned above， the state system of ritual and music had a strongly class-based character. The reason for this was that it implied a distinctly unfair distribution of aesthetic perception and wealth， or rather， the allocation of yue 樂 （literally， music; metaphorically， the intangible wealth of pleasure）. The emperor was not only the most prestigious consumer but also the creator and the most ideal practitioner of the system of ritual and music. Furthermore， the emperor was the only grantor of Heavenly time that was intrinsic to the system of ritual and music. All these distinctly indicated that the emperor was exclusively paramount. Where yue was concerned， in a narrow sense， it referred to music; but in a wide sense， it denoted everything pleasurable such as artworks， commodities， food and drink， spatial environment， and human beings， all of which could be physically perceived and aesthetically appreciated. The fundamental goal of the state system of ritual and music was the control and allocation of human sensory pleasure， with an extreme unfairness between social classes as the result. Further， it was in the course of experiencing pleasure that people， especially the main constituent of the lowest echelons of the social classes， that is， peasants， were ready to accept and submit to a rigorous social hierarchy. What played the greatest role in this phenomenon was precisely yue. As for Simas perception of the state system of ritual and music， he， treated this system as the most fundamental polity and political institution， and asserted that this polity and political system was Heaven-given and inviolable. Meanwhile， Sima subtly explicated yue as yang 陽 and ritual as yin 陰 and thus reinterpreted the relationship of ritual and yue in a novel manner. Simas innovative discourse here offers much food for thought， and reads as follows：

Yi 易 （the changes） emerged before the birth of Heaven and only reaches its end after the end of Heaven. Yi is so comprehensive that everything can be contained therein; so vast that it can embrace all; so profound that everything can be realized through it; and so broad that it can incorporate all the myriad things. Only sages are able to inquire into it and make reverse inferences through it， so that the ordinary people can grasp its origination and ultimate end-result. Yi is none other than the Way of nature. Do you think yi was produced by [the sagacious] Fuxi 伏羲 living in great antiquity？ Some may venture to ask： Does yi relate to heavenly affairs or to human affairs？ The answer is that yi is the Way， through which the myriad things are created. What is Heaven？ What is humanity？ Therefore， we can say that yi is the changes between yin and yang and the transformations of the Five Phases. All these changes and transformations emerge from Heaven， are applied to humanity， and bring advantages to the myriad things， all of which possess the Way of yin-yang and the Five Phases. Hence yang is incarnated as the sovereign， father， yue， and virtue， yin as the minister， son， ritual， and punishment， and the Five Phases as the five basic affairs， Five Constant Virtues， and five sensory organs.

The first half part of above quotation intensively discusses the absoluteness of yi， just as Sima said “Yi emerged before the birth of Heaven and only reaches its end after the end of Heaven.” Contextually， “before” and “after” are not adverbs of time but rather an expression of absolute perpetuity or perpetual present. Clearly， Simas innovative interpretation of “the Way of yi” was a distortion of the Way of yi. Specifically， the sovereign became deified and fully independent of human fate， and was rather a product of divine command or the Mandate of Heaven. Of course， the starting point of Simas interpretation of yi was that he attempted to divinize the temporal system of ritual and music intrinsic to absolute emperorship and the consolidation of class oppression brought about by the system of ritual and music.

The root of Simas unconventional interpretation of yi lies in his belief that， whenever the affection between parents and children and between husband and wife， all of which existed within the family， went beyond the blood relation binding together family and clan as well as the relatively equal， interpersonal interactions of courtesy involving friends and social members， and instead entered the hierarchized domain dominated by the supreme emperor， it would inevitably be faced with a want of significance and opportunity. In this case， since the only key was the kindness–filiality originating from the affection between parents and children or the spiritual and sensual love resulting from the conjugal relation， these two types of affection originating from strong instincts would surely evaporate. Thus， it could be concluded that the peoples need for a state， based on factors such as security， stability， order， and good governance， were not positive nor spontaneous but rather passive. Precisely because of this， Sima had yue juxtaposed with the sovereign， father， and virtue， all of which could play a positive， granting role. This juxtaposition meant that， whenever a father of the dual father–son filiation that served as one of the linchpins in the system of ritual and music became a sovereign， he would immediately transform into the paramount leader of the state， who was also the person possessing the greatest quantity of yue， that is， aesthetic perception and wealth. Therefore， Sima put ritual， minister， son， and punishment， all of which were passive and belonged to yin， in the same class. In a word， this conception of ritual was created to correspond to yue as an embodiment of the difference existing in the possession of aesthetic perception and wealth. The key of “ritual differentiating [social groups or classes]” at the level of the state system was to cope with the unfair allocation of aesthetic perception and wealth as well as class difference. In the meantime， the nucleus of “yue helping [social groups or classes] to harmonize” was to make class difference completely acceptable to the middle and lower echelons of people under the system of ritual and music， since Sima believed that this difference was the absolute and timeless will of Heaven. In the final analysis， this was an obscurantist policy， by which officials and the ordinary people in particular could be led to willingly enjoy a minimal quantity of aesthetic perception and wealth and perform ritual and musical activities in strict accordance with the divinized system of time.

The highly hierarchized state system of ritual and music formulated by Sima was of course by no means uncommon. Even so， the comparative assertion that the upper classes nobility and the lower classes lowliness were preordained was clearly too overt and exaggerated， going against the Confucian benevolent love for all people， as well as erring from the basic spirit of the aesthetics of ritual and music. For example， Simas well-known Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government [資治通鑒] commenced with the following words：

The nobles command the humble and deprived commoners， who in turn accept the directives imposed by their superiors. The relationship between the sovereign and his subjects can be likened to ones mind and heart controlling the movements of ones limbs or to the roots and trunk of a tree regulating the functions of its leaves and branches. The subjects serve their superiors as if they were limbs protecting their mind and heart， or like branches and leaves providing protection to the trunk and roots of a tree.

Furthermore， the commoners or ordinary people did not have any status at all in Simas system of ritual and music， even though the people were nominally mentioned therein. As a matter of fact， the people were no more than the flock of sheep that were to be shepherded by the emperor or Son of Heaven. It was in their own systems of ritual and music that the three major social classes， that is， the sovereign， ministers， and commoners， peacefully enjoyed their allocated aesthetic perception and wealth. This arrangement was embodied in the temporal system of ritual and music， which gave expression to the drastic difference existing between the rich and poor and between superiors and inferiors.

The State System of Ritual and Music and the?Temporal System of Ritual Customs [56]

The nucleus of the state system of ritual and music was the endeavor to maintain the drastic class difference existing in the allocation of aesthetic perception and wealth. This difference was， first， embodied in the huge difference between economic interests. Specifically， the tremendous number of people that were taken as a domesticated flock of sheep by the upper echelons of the ruling class did their best to prepare everything on which their rulers feasted. Thereupon， the political system maintaining this class difference was created and immediately followed by machines of violence such as law and the military that could be used to protect the political system. Generally， ritual and music were juxtaposed with law and punishment in the ancient Chinese Confucian aesthetics of ritual and music. In many cases， rites， rituals and music were the roots， and law and punishment the branches. Both interacted with each other， complemented each other， and supported each other. Neither could be neglected. In this regard， Sima explicitly stated： “The reason why a state can be established is that there is law. Therefore， for those who govern a state， the ritual–music and legal systems are indispensable to his endeavor， just like those who produce artworks must be dependent on the square， compass， and line marker.” The indispensability of ritual–music and laws to statecraft was precisely Simas general conception respecting ritual–music and law. However， on the other hand， some Confucians developed institutional formulations of ritual–music and law that were evidently superior and made a more appropriate choice between them.

Confucius， for instance， said， “Guide them with government orders， regulate them with penalties， and the people will seek to evade the law and be without shame. Guide them with virtue， regulate them with ritual， and they will have a sense of shame and become upright” （Analects 2：3）. According to Confucius， although law is indispensable to governance， being utterly dependent on forcible measures such as laws and punishments resulted in a situation in which damages could not be recovered and， more importantly， human nature still lacked a sense of shame and was unable to change itself fundamentally， so crimes would occur as before. Under these circumstances， the state had to pay a very high cost to achieve good governance， yet at the same time it could by no means reduce crimes effectively， let alone eliminate them entirely. By virtue of the system of ritual and music however， human beings could be morally taught and nurtured to the extent that， touched by their deepest instincts， feelings， and senses， they acted on their own initiative and submitted themselves to the social hierarchy based on the distinction made between superiors and inferiors and between the noble and the lowly， while at the same time being gladly convinced to put into practice the established system of ritual and music. As the foregoing discussion has shown， the basic goal of the state system of ritual and music was to maintain the allocation of aesthetic perception and wealth. If this goal was fulfilled， the cost of governance would significantly decrease and damage could be reduced to a minimum. “Them” in the above citations from Confucius precisely referred to the commoners who had been successfully morally taught and transformed. This was a perfect embodiment of the endeavor to bring about a basic change in morals and mores.

One of the main characteristics of these social customs was the temporal system， which was a sensory temporal institution based on the senses. The present author contends that the system of ritual and music was not so much a restriction of sensory desires by means of rational norms as a compliance with sensory desires， in which humans， complying with the hedonic nature of sensory desires， would recognize what they should do within the system of ritual and music and content themselves with their allocation of joy. By doing so， the self-management and self-restriction of the hedonic nature of sensory desires could be effectively practiced. Basically， the self-management and self-restriction of the system of ritual and music were not based on reason but rather on sensory desires own initiative. Confucius grasped this， and so did Sima. Simas assertion that the entire world was morally transformed referred precisely to the system of ritual and musics acting on the sensory desires of subjects， rather than to abstract thinking， conceptualized language， and compulsory ethical rules. Successful moral transformation meant that， in light of their own sensory desires， subjects recognized and identified with the role they played within the system of ritual and music and thus realized the self-management and self-restriction [of sensory desires]. In summary， in the established state system of ritual and music， the common people were willing to donate aesthetic perception and wealth to their nobles and superiors and enjoyed only a minimum level themselves， the bureaucrats obediently recognized that their role was superior to the people and inferior to the emperor， enjoying aesthetic perception and wealth that could not be equated with that of the emperor but that went far beyond that of the common people， while the emperor， as the sovereign， not only played a leading role in deciding the system of ritual and music but also enjoyed the greatest aesthetic perception and wealth， such as artworks， commodities， food， women， services， buildings， and mausoleums.

Therefore， the relationship between ritual and yue in the system of ritual and music should not be generally and indistinctly described as tools for making things distinct from each other or helping things harmonize with each other respectively， but rather investigated in the light of different systems of ritual and music. For example， the differences existing within the family and between friends and social members did not give expression to class antagonism or exploitative relationships regarding aesthetic perception and wealth， whereas in the state system of ritual and music， these differences perfectly reflected class antagonism and exploitative relationships， indicating that the foundation stone of the system of ritual and music was the absolutely unfair distribution of power. In the state system of ritual and music， the connotations of the relationship between ritual and yue miniaturized this system. Where the connotations and function of yue were concerned， there were two aspects. First， yue， which was the object of an unfair distribution of aesthetic perception and wealth， originally denoted the privileged and hierarchized enjoyment of musical works in a narrow sense， and later， it extended to all types of art and all kinds of enjoyable things. Second， yue in a narrow sense could be applied to all ritual institutions， sites， and circumstances， on the grounds that this type of yue， that is， instrumental musical works， which were extremely abstract in terms of materials and media， did not itself express any specific feelings or emotions but instead was able to resemble the most universal feelings or emotions. For Sima， this ability to influence was exactly the ability to bring about changes in morals and mores.

As far as social customs were concerned， these referred to peoples everyday activities that had been made habituated and autonomous. The characteristics of social customs were threefold. First， they could help people to complete their ritual and musical activities very proficiently and adroitly without expending much mental energy or attention. Characteristically， a high requirement in regard to ritual and musical activities was that “in the rites， time is of utmost importance” （Book of Rites， “Rites in the Formation of Character” [禮器]）. In other words， with the help of social customs， whenever there was a circumstance in which a certain ritual or musical activity must be performed， people could respond and finish quickly and agilely by starting and stopping in a timely and smooth manner. Second， social customs were practiced without overt intentions， because they were everyday activities that were performed inevitably and frequently on a daily basis. For instance， inasmuch as people always lived with their parents， brothers， or sisters in families， kindliness， filiality， and fraternity constituted the ritual and musical activities that were the most routine and frequent in the five-fold system of ritual and music. Another two examples were schools and the imperial court. In schools， the sense of propriety between masters and students had already become routinized， and in the same vein， the sovereigns benevolence and ministers loyalty were performed everyday in the court. Third， in general， social customs were not practiced consciously and methodically， but instead were subconsciously and spontaneously put into force. On this point， Confucius said， “The common people can be made to follow a course， but cannot be made to understand why they should do so” （Analects 8：9）， words that shed light on how the system of ritual and music could transform into social customs. Sima also tried his best to help the system of ritual and music play a decisive role in the course of making peoples everyday activities habituated and autonomous. He said，

I personally hold that the root of good and bad governance lies precisely at ritual and whether the social customs are good or evil is dependent on habits. When infants are crying， their sound is not greatly different from one another but almost the same. When these infants have grown up， they speak very different dialects and have very different foods. In some cases， they can never help each other as long as they are living. The reason is none other than their different habits. It is the same for past and present. For example， those who wear ancient hats and clothes may shock their fellow townspeople.

At first， everyday activities such as speaking and eating were shaped gradually and attentively. Once these activities became autonomous and habituated， they could hardly be changed. For this reason， the highest authority of the system of ritual and music， which originated from the emperor， as well as the educational system selecting talents for the state， became indispensable.

In order that the system of ritual and music could successfully transform into customs and mores， Sima enthusiastically advocated the top-down role that paragons and education could play. Specifically， Sima suggested that the emperor always adhere to ritual codes and not allow his own mind and body to depart from the codes even momentarily， as well as advising the imperial court to stress ethics and morality in selecting talents. From the perspective of the temporal system， the suggestion respecting the emperor was related to the divinized system of time， while respecting the court was related to the canonized system of time. Simas suggestions gave expression to the supreme emperorship in ancient Chinese society， in which the emperors acts would definitely set an example and be extended in a top-down way via the highly power-centralized state system of ritual and music. On this point， Sima said，

Therefore， just like the wind， superiors set an example and it is followed by inferiors; just as in transformation， people can be morally and progressively nurtured; just as food turns sour， people can successively sink into degradation and become dispirited; and just like customs， popular feeling can compose itself autonomously and effectively. If morals and manners have degraded and bad customs prevail， people can neither be admonished nor prevented from acting improperly， regardless of wise and strong-minded governors. Even handsome rewards and severe punishments could not work. In these conditions， only if a sage descends to the world and works hard for over a hundred years could the situation be fundamentally changed.

Hence， we can see that， once the system of ritual and music was removed from social customs， it would be difficult for it to make a comeback.

Where the ritual and musical criteria applied to the state selection of talents were concerned， Sima always attached the greatest importance to virtue， while in fact giving the practice of virtue and exoteric ritual and musical activities joint top priority， and stressing that by doing so state governance would naturally lead the system of ritual and music to be incorporated into social customs. He discussed this， saying：

It is said that the key to best governance is the selection of talented officials， the best way of appointing officials is the selection of most appropriate candidates， the best method of making candidates morally upright is education， and the most effective way of rectifying education is the right choice of practical methodology. These indicate that the selection of talented candidates not only plays a pivotal role in the creation of good or bad governance but also lays the foundation stone of social customs.

As foregoing discussions have shown， education in the above citations worked like the wind in nurturing the people ritually and morally in a top-down manner. As for the customs mentioned above， this referred to the habits of inferiors or the ordinary people. Inasmuch as the bureaucracy in a certain society and state consisted of elites， these elites did play a trend-setting role in shaping this state or societys popular etiquette and customs.

Zhonghe and Zhongyong： The Appropriate Time and Temporal Frequency of Ritual and Musical Activities [59]

In Confucian philosophy， zhonghe 中和 （appropriateness and harmony） and zhongyong 中庸 （appropriateness and constancy） were intensively discussed. The key idea respecting zhonghe and zhongyong emphasized that ritual and musical activities not only start and stop at an appropriate time and continue constantly and purely， but also are persistently put into force. Herein lay Simas propositions about appropriate time and temporal frequency in his aesthetics of ritual and music. In terms of the appropriate time of ritual and musical activities， the proposition laid stress on timeliness and moderateness. When it came to the temporal frequency， the proposition highlighted constancy.

The concept of zhonghe gave the appropriate time top priority. In other words， if a ritual and musical activity had already been perfected， it would be bound to smoothly start and stop at the appropriate moment as soon as it resorted to its intrinsically temporal expression. In short， ritual and musical activities could be performed in exactly the right manner. Sima treated zhonghe as the root of the system of ritual and music， and rongsheng 容聲 （literally， hearing the sound） as its only manifestation. To put it another way， inasmuch as zhonghe as the root of the system of ritual and music could only be embodied in each specific ritual and musical activity， each activity was spontaneously performed in accordance with the appropriate time of this system. Sima set this forth， writing：

Ritual and music have their own root and branch. Zhonghe is the root and rongsheng the branch. Neither can be downplayed. Sage kings in the past adhered to the root of ritual and music and never abandoned it even momentarily. When they resorted to the branches of ritual and music， they would never allow themselves to be disobedient.

Not only did Sima note that zhonghe laid the foundation stone of ritual and music， but he also shed light on the routineness of the system of ritual and music as a temporal system， namely that humanity should never depart from ritual and music even momentarily.

In the conception of zhonghe， zhong 中 in its connotations denoted timeliness and not compromise or unvarying evenhandedness. Sima went further， saying：

Those who are good at doing things reduce redundancies， make up for deficiencies， place restrictions on the excessive， and improve things that are falling short [of the standard]. Essentially， their endeavor is to fulfill zhonghe. . . . The Zhongyong says， “Zhong is the great root from which grow all the human action in the world， and he 和 is the universal path which they all should pursue. Let the states of zhonghe exist in perfection， and a happy order will prevail throughout Heaven and Earth， and all things will be nourished and flourish.” Thus it can be seen that humanity should never depart from zhonghe even momentarily.

The aforementioned conceptual formulations such as “the excessive” and “things falling short of the standard” were vital in understanding the appropriate time or timeliness. The present author contends instead that “excessive” did not mean to go too far but rather a situation in which something that should stop chose not to stop; and that “things falling short” referred to early termination and not deficiency. Therefore， “excessive” and “things falling short” were actually temporal terminologies. That which lay between these two was precisely the appropriate time. To put it another way， the beginning and end of ritual and musical activities were to be neither too early nor too late but exactly at the appropriate moment. The meanings of the system of ritual and music must not be abstract but rather concrete and appropriately arranged in time. The appropriate temporal arrangement applied to the system of ritual and music was absolute， on the grounds that any ritual and musical activity was unique and spontaneous. To be specific， an appropriately arranged ritual and musical activity must give expression to the time consciousness having a beginning and an end and represent itself as the subject and tense of time consciousness. In terms of the tense of ritual and musical activity， it could only be the present progressive. But when it comes to the subject of ritual and musical activity， the activity itself must be carried out smoothly. Herein lay the ideal characterization of the state of time consciousness that manifested itself when zhong was being implemented in ritual and musical activities.

He （harmony） in the conceptual complex zhonghe was produced by the ritual and musical community， which was also known as the community whereby people gathered together and harmoniously appreciated beauty in ritual life. It was in this community that parents， children， friends， brothers， and sisters identified with each other and the differences existing between them were fully displayed. In other words， the entirety of the members of this community recognized the arrangement and order of the system of ritual and music. From the perspective of the state system of ritual and music， this meant that people were happy to recognize the extremely unfair distribution of aesthetic perception and wealth between the emperor and his subjects. Nevertheless， Sima treated such a voluntary recognition as he， contending：

The role that music plays is none other than he; when it comes to rites， it is obedience. Not only do music and rites benefit governance but both also contribute to the nourishing of life. For example， although a person has grasped this， he may fail to put it into practice， because he is sick all the time. Now in his twilight years， such a person still studies [music and rites] hard， in the hope that the remainder of his life may be enriched. I sincerely expect that Jingren 景仁 （Fan Zhen 范鎮(zhèn)， 1007–1088） practice the Way [of music and rites]， by which he will be able to explore the essential rather than the superficial， grasp the root rather than the branches， acquire inner harmony via music， and achieve obedience with the outer world via rites.

Contextually， he referred to a harmonious， cheerful feeling respecting the differences between people. Simas assertion that the role rites played was obedience meant that rites were able to lead people to be obedient to the established system of ritual and music. The meanings of his assertion that the role music played was harmonization were twofold. First， music itself was a type of aesthetic perception and wealth and would be distributed within the state system of ritual and music. Second， in the system of ritual and music， the basic characteristic of music， which delights human sensory organs， enabled the difference existing in social classes and social stratifications to conquer human organs and lead people to accept the system instinctively and joyfully from the heart.

He was not only a connotation of the system of ritual and music that was incarnated as specific affairs or behaviors， but also the ideal form of ritual and musical activities manifesting themselves. Simply put， he was the smoothness of ritual and musical activities. In this regard， Sima said， “The talented people are intelligent， strong， and brave; the good deed is based on loyalty， trustworthiness， filiality， and fraternity; virtue is composed of uprightness and zhonghe; and the Way manifests itself in profundity and loftiness.” Thus， he was precisely the temporal subject， which smoothly performed the four ritual and musical activities based on loyalty， trustworthiness， filiality， and fraternity.

As far as the composition of zhonghe was concerned， the normal sequence of this terminology should be hezhong， in which he was subject and zhong predicate. In other words， the ritual and musical community created by the system of ritual and music was somewhere in which not only did two or more sides live together joyfully and harmoniously and peacefully recognize and practice differences between them， but also every act could be carried out at the appropriate moment. In short， zhong was the timeliness of he. Placing zhong， the predicate， in front of he made the perfect state of the subject， in which ritual and musical activity was smoothly carried out at the appropriate moment， more outstanding. In addition， it is worth noting that the meanings of zhong were twofold， too. First， zhong was the ritual and musical activity being carried out at the appropriate moment. Second， zhong was the state of mental power before the beginning of ritual and musical activity. On this point， Sima said，

In all actions such as movement， standing still， speaking， and silence， as well as the activities of daily life such as eating， drinking， and sleeping， what is really important is whether they meet the standard of zhong. Metaphorically， although a variety of things and affairs converge therein like the pattern of carriage wheel， they all will be appropriately arranged just as all spokes are well connected to the hub at the very center of wheel.

He went further， asserting： “Going beyond and falling short are both disastrous. For this reason， all actions must accord with the standard of zhong and only by doing so can there be he， from which the myriad things are created.” How wise Simas assertion was！ To arrange ritual and musical activities at the appropriate time was a kind of ability. But at the same time， this ability did need to be transformed into truly spontaneous ritual and musical activities. It was in the smooth performance of ritual and musical activities that this ability manifested itself. It could only be done in this way.

Confucius said， “The virtue embodied in zhongyong is of the highest order. But it has long been rare among people” （Analects 6：29）. In this quotation， zhongyong was precisely the unity of timeliness and perpetuity. In other words， it was an integration of the appropriate time and temporal frequency of ritual life. Liu Baonan 劉寶楠 （1791–1855）， a Qing scholar， set forth this， noting：

In many cases， the Master discussed the substance of zhongyong in the light of the Commentaries on the Book of Changes. In the terminology zhongxing 中行 （due medium）， xing 行 equals yong 庸. As for shi 時(shí)， it means appropriate time. Whenever the appropriate time is realized， there will be harmony， which can be practiced by people constantly.

Sima specially penned a treatise entitled “Discourse on Yong” [辨庸]. Yong in Simas treatise was not mediocrity or ordinariness but constancy and perpetuity. Relevant discussions in this treatise read：

Some tell me： “Your discussion sounds very ordinary. Even the ordinary people are able to do a similar job. It is not even worth mentioning， right？” I humbly answer： “Thats true. I have diligently studied the Way of sage kings living in the past for quite a long time. It is a pity that， because I am not so intellectually enlightened， I inevitably fall into mediocrity， even though I do dedicate myself to the study.” Even so， I venture to ask： “Are Heaven and Earth in the past different from those of the present？ Are the myriad things in the past different from those of the present？ And， are the human feelings and emotions of the past different from those of the present？ Heaven and Earth do not change at all and the sun and moon remain unchangeable. The myriad things are all the same as they were. Human feelings and emotions continue as before. So， for what reason would the Way alone have changed？ When you regard the Way， you are frequently fond of the new and tired of the constant， just like travelers who do not go south but move north in spite of craving for the region of Chu and those who go west instead of moving east despite their true destination of Qi. What you believe is distinct from the masses. What you obtain is so inappropriate that your original goal has been lost. The more diligently you act， the more distant you feel from your goal. Alas！ It is of course not uncommon to hear discussions of filiality， kindness， benevolence， righteousness， loyalty， trustworthiness， rites， and music， all of which have been intensively discussed since the emergence of humankind. For people like me， we worry that we cannot be an embodiment of yong. Is it so wrong to be yong？”

In the original Chinese text， Sima called himself yufu 迂夫 （a stubborn man）. The word yu 迂， precisely and vividly， revealed the persistent， stable， and perpetual role that yong played in the performance of ritual and musical activities. In Simas own words， the ritual and musical activities were performed diligently and frequently at a certain time， and furthermore， these activities would be performed throughout a persons life， the system of ritual and music thereby being put into force at the appropriate time.

In comparison with the word-building of zhonghe， in which subject was placed behind predicate， the subject and predicate of zhongyong were normally positioned. For this reason， adjectives such as long， diligent， frequent， and constant were used to modify the ritual and musical activities that were carried out smoothly and regularly. On this point， Sima stated，

The mind of superior man is none other than zhongyong， because the passionate feelings such joy， anger， sorrow， and happiness that are not yet aroused are all preserved in zhong. Yong is constancy， which can be equated with zhong. Whenever these passionate feelings are aroused， they must be restricted by zhong. As a consequence， the feelings are all well regulated. As soon as feelings are well regulated， there is he. In this sense， zhong and he are the same thing. Nourishing the mind is zhong; and regulating the aroused is he. It thus can be concluded that zhong is the root bolstering the entire world and he the Way benefiting the entire world. The wise take cognizance of this， the benevolent adhere to this， and the ritually proper practice this; musicians enjoy this， politicians rectify mistakes made by others through this， and those in charge of punishments intimidate those who disobey this. Pooling together all these makes the Way manifest. The Way is shared by all sages. How can it be exclusively applied to the ordinary people？

Zhong is the foundation whereby Heaven and Earth are established. In the Book of Changes， zhong is the Great Ultimate; in the Book of History， it is the Royal Ultimate; and in the Book of Rites， it is zhongyong. The virtue of zhong is perfect and unsurpassable. If one applies zhong to the world， the world will be entirely well governed， and if one applies it to individuals， they will all be morally cultivated. All these cannot be done without zhong.

“The mind” referred to the potential ability to carry out ritual and musical activities. To be specific， before the beginning of ritual and musical activities， there is the potential ability to be appropriate and timely， which can be immediately applied as soon as the appropriate moment dawns. In order to ensure that the ritual community could be started duly and promptly and enjoy high and long temporal frequency， as well as that the distribution of aesthetic perception and wealth in the state system of ritual and music became autonomous and habituated into a custom prevailing among the people， Sima made zhonghe and zhongyong overlap. Put plainly， he consisted not only in zhong but also in yong. On the other hand， however， Simas endeavor to associate the entirety of ritual and music with the politics and punishment of the state system of ritual and music reveals that he， a prominent minister of the Northern Song dynasty， devoted himself to serving his monarch by means of the established ritual and musical practice.

Bibliography of Cited Translations

Legge， James， trans. Liji. https：//ctext.org/liji/ens， accessed August 12， 2021.

Watson， Burton， trans. The Analects of Confucius. New York： Columbia University Press， 2007.

Yap， Joseph P.， trans. Zizhi Tongjian： Warring States and Qin. Middletown， DE： CreateSpace， 2016.

Translated by Wang Luman and Chi Zhen