子曰：乐节礼乐 Confucius Said: Find Enjoyment in Ceremonies and Music

孔子最终的目的是要达到一个以周朝社会为模范的和谐社会。所以孔子把自己看作是衰退中的周朝礼乐文化的保存者与恢复者，那时不令人惊奇的。所有其它的一切都是为了要达到这个目标的手段。

之前，礼乐是用来服务神鬼，而神鬼又被认为是服务社会的重要手段。孔子把礼节并入世俗关系来制造一个理想的和谐社会。

周礼应受尊敬因为它为安稳与文雅社会提供了基础。它们界定了各类职责的任务与为行动提供了准则。依次，它们又为自我约束提供了社会框架。

乐被认为是关键的手段，因为它是礼节中重要的部分。所以，乐需要来实现和谐社会中的两个互相关联的目标：自我修养与社会和谐。

所以，早期儒学者认为道德与艺术是交错于中的，因为实践它们可以自我修身并最成为完美的人。这个过程对形成与维持一个和谐社会很重要。

《论语》里说：‘礼之用，和为贵。先王之道，斯为美。小大由之，有所不行，知和而和，不以礼节之，亦不可行也。’

孔子的劝告是：乐节礼乐。
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The ultimate goal of Confucius was to achieve a harmonious society which was exemplified by the Zhou dynasty. It is therefore not surprising that Confucius saw himself as the preserver and restorer of the declining Zhou culture. All others things were to be considered as means to achieve this goal.

The rituals and arts that previously had been used to serve the spiritual things were seen as instrumental in serving mankind. Confucius incorporated the rites into secular relationships in order to make the ideal of social harmony.

The Zhou Ritual (li) was to be respected as it provided the foundation for a stable and culturally refined society. They defined various roles and provided normative guidelines for action. In turn, they also provide social framework necessary for self-mastery.

Arts were considered as instrumental as they were seen as an important component of ritual. Therefore, arts were needed in actualising two interrelated goals of a harmonious society: self-cultivation and social harmony.

Hence, the early Confucians viewed moral and good arts as intertwined, for practising them allowed one to cultivate the self and to ultimately become a good person. This process was essential for establishing and maintaining a harmonious society.

The Analects says, ‘In the application of the rituals, harmony is most valuable. In the ways of the former Kings, the achievement of harmony made them elegant. While harmony is a guiding standard in all things large and small, if you keep pursuing it just because you know it, and do not use the rituals to regulate it, it will not work.’

And Confucius’ advice is ‘to find enjoyment in the discriminating study of ceremonies and music’.