(2-97) The Chinese word "Yue" has three meanings. It can either mean music, or happy, or love. It is not an accident that all three meanings belong to the same word.

The essence of the word "Yue" is happiness from within. Thus, Confucius said: "The kind man yue (loves) mountain, the wise man yue (loves) water." It is not difficult to imagine the mountain and the water resonate a deep happiness within men. What troubles me is how did this word ever become a synonym of music.

I found my answer when I learned about the way early philosophers talked about music. Music is often mentioned as one of the six arts. The six arts are Li (ritual), Yue (music), She (archery), Yu (drive), Shu (books), Shu (mathematics). Music is usually paired with ritual, drive paired with archery, and mathematics paired with books. The paring did not become interesting until I know the meaning of music.

The one who talked about music in a most systemic way was Gong Sun Long. He is Confucius' first or second generation student. His works are mostly lost. Some fragments can be found in other books, such as the book of Li (ritual). The word Yue for him means a spiritual activity from within. Anything that moves you, makes you feel, can be called Yue. Although Yue means music for him most of the time, it also includes dance, poetry, drama, etc. He said: "When emotion is moved from within, it will be expressed in sounds. When the sounds are organized, it is called yin...when we dance and move with yin, it is called Yue..." Thus in modern days, music is often called as "Yin Yue", whereas in ancient time it meant both the sound and the movement. He further explained that sound is the image of the feelings, and the rhythm is the embellishment of the sound.

The reason why music (Yue) is paired with ritual (Li) is because ritual is the order outside, and music is the harmony inside. Music has to be controlled and regulated by ritual, and ritual has to be harmonized and softened by music. The two compliment each other. All of a sudden, the pair of the six arts makes sense to me. The archery is the external, the drive is the internal that can also mean management. The books are the external, and the mathematics is the internal activities. The six arts are consisted of three aspects of human life, i.e., the mental, the physical, and the intellectual. It's like the big bang. Everything falls into place.

Next time when I hum a song, I will wear a smile on my face.