The Comparative Research About Hanshu Liyuezhi And Songshu Yuezhi

The Chinese official Yuezhi mainly records the historical evolution of a dynasty's music regarding the court music activities and its rules and regulations as the main object of description.It is a reflection of the music culture of an era from the official perspective and also represents the official attitude and position to music.Therefore,our research on Yuezhi is conducive to form a correct understanding to the music development of a dynasty.The Hanshu Liyuezhi and the Songshu Yuezhi are the model of the Chinese Official Yuezhi and they record the musical history in the Western Han Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty respectively.At the same time,as the representatives of the traditional formative period and the flourishing period of the Chinese official Yuezhi respectively,the two books have their own characteristics as well as unity in compiling system,recording content and writing mode.The paper contains four parts.It mainly elaborates and compares the contents of music recorded by the two books and also describes the forming background,compiling system and the system of rites and music of the books.The first part chiefly studies the forming background of the books,and analyzes them from two aspects,that is,the time when they were completed and the background of the age,and the influence of editors on the compilation of historical books.The second part focuses on the explanation of historical sources and Yuezhi system of the books.The completion of the two books went through a complicated and difficult process.They both paid great attention to music and its development.The Songshu inherited the style of chronological dynastic history of the Hanshu,but there are differences in their the system of rites and music.Hanshu is written by combining rites and music,while Songshu describes rites and music separately to narrate history.Therefore,this paper conducts research on the topics of "separated description of rites and music" and "simultaneous recording of rites and music".In addition,this paper also elaborates on the process of establishing rules for ceremonies and composing appropriate music for different occasions of the two dynasties and the relationship between elegant music and ritual music.The third part compares the court music written in the two books.The recording of court music is the primary content of the Chinese official Yuezhi.In response to this content,this paper summarizes and compares the contents recorded in the Hanshu Liyuezhi and the Songshu Yuezhi.Specifically,the contents is composed of the movements,lyrics and musical instruments which belong to the court music.The fourth part compares the folk music written in the two books.Folk music is recorded in the Hanshu Liyuezhi and the Songshu Yuezhi,but the object,scope and degree of recording are different.It is noteworthy that the Songshu Yuezhi broke through the tradition that the official Yuezhi only recorded court elegant music,and then recorded folk music into the official history for the first time.Within the domain of the Chinese official Yuezhi,the recording of folk music is of greatest significance.