The Zhou Dynasty was the first dynasty to lay down rules of “rites” (sacrificial ceremonies, court protocol, etc.) and “music” (music and dancing which accompanied ceremony). The Zhou Dynasty, which followed the Shang practice of ruling through fiefdoms, made sure that most of the feudal lords were of the ruling clan. So a strict hierarchy grew up among the feudal lords of the Zhou Dynasty, based on the patriarchal clan system and involving clans to which principal wives and concubines belonged. The feudal lords themselves stood in a position of being either major or minor descendants of the Zhou emperor, as did the grandees who ruled the various districts of a feudal state with regard to the ruler of the state, and the nobles under them vis a vis the grandees.
The system of rites and music reinforced and stabilized this strict patriarchal clan hierarchy. Every person of each grade in the hierarchy enjoyed the type of rites and music assigned to his particular grade. The items of music and dance, the types and number of musical instruments, and the number of musicians for each grade were strictly limited, and to exceed the limits was considered a grave offense.
Tradition has it that these rules were promulgated by the great ruler of the dynasty, the Duke of Zhou. He synthesized ritual rules from remote time to the Shang Dynasty, reconstructing and developing them into a course of action and framework of the State’s laws. Confucius’ view a century later was that music best reflected a nation’s manners, and that in good old times, authority was manifested quite as much in rites and ceremonies as in laws and pronouncements. The system of rites and music endured for the following 2,000 years and more, until it was abolished with the end of the Qing Dynasty, China’s last feudal dynasty.
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