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Title:: Moral Connotations and Ethical Values of Confucius’ Musical Thoughts

Abstract:: Confucius’ discussions on music constitute an important source of Chinese traditional musicthoughts. He proposed that li 礼（rituals）and yue 乐（music）should be of the same rank， and even upgradedmusic as an effective way to cultivate good conscience for human beings and maintain the social order. Bymusic， Confucius believed， people can improve their personality and keep the society in order. In this way， theaesthetics and ethics are connected by music：it enables the moral principles to be incorporated as an inner partinto the moral consciousness and on this basis the social ethical order can be achieved in a top down manner.Therefore， music in Confucius’s thoughts is not only a matter of entertainment or aesthetic， but a means of andapproach to good morality.