Early Confucians and Imperial Music Officials

By using ethimological analysis and relying on historical documents, this article attempts to answer the question of the significance of music in the Confucian tradition of thought and action. The analysis reveals the tight relation between the Confucian tradition, especially the early Confucians who are named the "Ruists", and the imperial music officials. The class of imperial music officials prospered even before the Zhou dynasty, and they were in charge of the state's music, rites and education. As an important ruist tradition inheritor and representative, Confucius used these three vectors (music, sites and education) as fundamental principles for later Confucianism.