2025.10.13 - "Returning Home" in Ritual Music Culture
Ping Xia
Title: 2025.10.13 – “Returning Home” in Ritual‑Music Culture
Why Did China Have to Fight the Korean War?
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/palDyUyFi6osgVLKDo6l8Q
What is a “national crisis”? It is a moment when an entire nation stands on the brink of chaos or existential peril. If those in power fail to manage the crisis, the Chinese nation could plunge into massive decline, a break in its historical continuity, or a severe regression. We are all familiar with the hardships of the “War of Resistance Against Japan,” the turmoil of the late Qing and early Republic, the weight of the An‑Shi Rebellion, the Jing‑Kang Incident, the devastation of the Mongol conquest of the Song, the transition from Ming to Qing, the chaos of the Five Barbarians… We know these episodes to varying degrees. Yet few know about the “1950 Crisis of the Chinese Nation.” Mao Zedong resolved it so swiftly that most people today are unaware of what the “1950 Crisis of the Chinese Nation” actually was.
Why Does “Chinese Red” Attract Young People?
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/VRo_HARDbBcLcfQ-khLbVA
For Chinese people, “red” is not merely a color; it is a solemn, dignified symbol that carries the memory of revolutionary years and the weight of millennia‑old culture. Whether they are feeling the spirit of red or playing with traditional culture, young people respond to the call of “Chinese Red” with concrete actions. We can’t help but ask: what is it about “Chinese Red” that moves today’s youth so deeply? What exactly have they fallen in love with?
First‑Class People Do Not Sigh
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/rTpDhA-4XN-WctSFmOlD5w
Sighing belongs to fate; not sighing belongs to destiny. Destiny is “matching virtue with Heaven.” The I Ching says, “The way of Heaven is Yin and Yang; the way of Earth is Softness and Strength; the way of Man is Benevolence and Righteousness.” Mencius therefore said, “There are heavenly titles and human titles. Benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, trustworthiness, and a tireless love of goodness—that is the heavenly title; the ranks of dukes and ministers are the human title.” Heavenly titles versus human titles—still a matter of not sighing versus sighing.
Huang Zhonggong | Warm Autumn Day in the Mountains
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/L8-GS2LWdgx7IC1irr6OQA
Everyone sat in front of the Hall of the Living, listening to songs and recitations. In the darkness, the tiny lights from phones flickered like stars, gently echoing the melody. Perhaps years from now the specific people and events will fade, and all the clamor will finally settle into silence. Just as the full moon in the sky will soon begin a new cycle of waning. Yet I know that the beam of light quietly tucked into my heart tonight is enough to illuminate many coming days that will not be perfect. That is enough.
Scholar Xue Renming: “Returning Home” in Ritual‑Music Culture
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/drWTHL1Z-q01BboMxu_tkQ
Ritual establishes order; music guides harmony. The splendid scene of “bathing in the Yi River, wind at the Wu‑Yu altar, chanting and returning” embodies the ideal life imagined by the Chinese. In Xue Renming’s view, only by knowing where we come from can we know where we are headed. Though the Chinese nation has endured wars, its culture has remained unified. The great rejuvenation of the nation requires us to remember “who we are,” to revive the vitality of ritual and music, and to discover a new paradigm for the transmission and development of civilization. “That, indeed, is the good life for us Chinese.”
Originally written by Ping Xia (平侠) and published in Chinese on 拾一集 (Weekly Reflections). Translated and adapted for DriftSeas with permission.