Connotations of Traditional Chinese Folk Music
 
Chinese folk music has a long and historical tradition. It has faded and revived many times over the course of history, and it is an important part of traditional Chinese culture. Its impact has been reflected in the areas of cultivation, morality and the pursuit of excellence.
 
Traditional Chinese culture includes music, chess, painting, poetry, and calligraphy. In particular, the zither (Chinese harp) is a highly valued musical instrument because it can produce music that transcends the everyday world to reach harmony with nature. It was the embodiment of the ancient culture that stressed clarity, inner peace, few attachments and lofty aspirations. In the old days, people used this kind of music to cultivate their moral character.
 
In traditional Chinese culture, music was said to be able to support orderly society as discussed in the Lushi Chunqiu, where it was stated that, "Harmonious sound leads to harmony, and harmony generates an orderly society." In the Confucian texts, the Classic of Rites and the Classic of Music, it was stated that, "the application of rites and music will lead to a peaceful society." In fact, this was practiced in ancient society and it did generate stability. This idea was propagated by Confucius who believed that "music represents the harmony in the universe and rites reflect the order of the universe."
 
Originally, music was developed to accompany rites in the Imperial Palace, and its impact was significant when combined together. Confucius placed a lot of emphasis on both the content and format of music. He praised the music that accompanied dances, “Shao,” that praised the virtuous rule of Emperor Shun (2294 – 2184 AD). He also praised “Jiu Bian” for its perfect artistic format. In the book Lunyu, there is the statement, "Confucius heard the music, Shao, and he was so deeply attracted by its beauty that he couldn't sense the taste of meat for three months." Confucius considered “Shao” to be perfect in both benevolence and beauty. He also praised the music and dance named “Dawu” of the Zhou Dynasty (11[sup]th[/sup] century – 256 BC) very highly. However, Confucius critiqued a portion of the story line in “Dawu” that described the accomplishments of King Wu of Zhou defeating King Zhou of Shang as, “Dawu is perfect in beauty but not so in benevolence.”
 
The story about a great zither player, Yu Boya, and his friend, Zhong Ziqi, was very popular in China and can be found in the book Lushi Chunqiu and in the Taoist text Liezi.
 
Zhong Ziqi could understand the meaning behind the music that Yu Boya played. He could tell from the music whether a lofty mountain was being described or if it was a flowing river. When Yu was touring Mount Tai, he encountered a rainstorm. While hiding underneath a cliff, he played his zither to express his sadness. The music started by describing the unending rain, then thunder and the loud commotion of a mudslide. Zhong Ziqi had no problem recognizing all these things, just from listening to the music. This impressed Yu Boya greatly.
 
After Zhong passed away, Yu was very sad because he could not find another man who could understand his music so well. In great disappointment, he broke his zither and did not play any more music for the rest of his life. The idioms, "lofty mountain and flowing river" and "Boya broke his zither" refer to the story about Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi. To describe what happened to Boya and Ziqi, people say that "It is easier to find ten thousand ounces of gold than to find someone who can understand you deeply."
 
Folk music is a mirror of Chinese traditional culture. It reflects both the history and the profound connotations of Chinese culture.
 
传统民族音乐的文化内涵
 
中国民族音乐有悠久的历史传统，在中国历史上曾经多次出现音乐文化繁荣昌盛的时代。中国民族音乐是中华民族传统文化的重要组成部份，它反映出中华民族以音乐修身养性的精神，体现了中华民族的意志、道德、和追求。
 
传统音乐与书、绘画共同构成中国传统文化中独特的文化，琴、棋、书、画，琴居首位。古琴音乐追求的是超尘脱俗的意境天人合一的思想，“清、幽、淡、远”的文化内涵，成为古人修身养性，塑造人格的最好手段。
 
在中国传统文化中，音乐不仅起著塑造人格的作用，还有安邦治世的理念，《吕氏春秋﹒适音》曰：“凡音乐通乎政而移风平俗者也。”《礼记﹒乐记》曰：“致礼乐之道，举而措之，天下无难矣。”“礼乐”制度有利于古代社会的巩固发展。儒家便是“礼乐”制的倡导者。“乐者天地之和也，礼者天地之序也。”
 
乐是指宫廷雅乐，它的实质功能是对“礼”的辅佐，把最具震撼人心的音乐形式与礼法结合在一起，其渗透力和凝聚力是强大的。孔子对音乐的内容与形式是非常重视的，它赞美古代乐舞《韶》乐对舜仁德文治的歌颂及《九辨》完善的艺术形式。《论语﹒述而》：“子在齐闻《韶》，三月不知肉味。”孔子评价《韶》乐尽善尽美也。而对周朝乐舞《大武》的艺术表现形式给以高度赞扬外，对其表现周武王伐纣灭商的战争功绩的内容却给予批评：“《大武》尽美未尽善也”。
 
“高山流水遇知音”在中国是家喻户晓，说的是伯牙与钟子期的故事，见于《吕氏春秋》和《列子》中。
 
俞伯牙善鼓琴，钟子期善听。有一次，当俞伯牙意在表现巍峨的高山时，钟子期回应道：“善哉，峨峨兮若泰。”而当意在流水时，钟子期会感慨地说： “善哉，洋洋兮若江河”。无论俞伯牙想弹什么，钟子期一定能心领神会。俞伯牙游览泰山时遇到暴雨，只好在悬崖下避雨。俞伯牙感到心悲，以抚琴来宣泄自己的情绪。琴声最初表现久而不停的雨声，后来是山崩的巨响。每奏一曲，钟子期都能说出伯牙的心声，令俞伯牙感叹不已。
 
后来，钟子期因病而逝，俞伯牙悲痛万分，世上再也没有值得让他为之抚琴的人了。于是俞伯牙破琴折弦，终生不再抚琴。成语“高山流水”、“伯牙绝琴”、“伯牙之叹”等都出于这个典故。后世有“万两黄金容易得，知音一个最难求” 的感叹。
 
民族音乐是中国传统文化的一面镜子，它折射出中华民族悠久的历史画面和其博大精深的内涵。