The Classic of Music ( Chinese: 樂經) was a Confucian classic text lost by the time of the Han dynasty. It is sometimes referred to as the "Sixth Classic" (for example, by Sima Qian ^[1]) and is thought to have been important in the traditional interpretations of the Book of Songs. ^[2]

Qing dynasty scholar Shao Yichen ( 邵懿辰, 1810–1861) proposed that the book never existed, but more usually it is thought that all copies were destroyed during the burning of books and burying of scholars.

A few traces remain in other surviving works, including the Zuo Zhuan, the Rites of Zhou, and the extremely redacted, poor-quality Record of Music contained in the Classic of Rites. As accounted in the Book of Han, Dou Gong 竇公 (5-4 cc. BC), a musician of the state of Wei possessed a copy of the Classic of Music which was presented to the Emperor Han Wen-di. However, the text is associated with the Da siyue (大宗伯) section of the Rites of Zhou. Leading to the belief that the Classic of Music is a section of the Rites of Zhou itself.

In 2022, Luke Waring has suggested that there is not enough convincing evidence that a music classic existed during the Warring States era in the first place. However, this topic remains heavily debated amongst scholars. ^[3]

References

• " The Shih Ching or Book of Poetry". The China Journal of Science and Arts, Vol. IV, No. I (Jan 1926).
• Sima Qian Records of the Historian: Chapters from the Shih Chi of Ssu-ma Ch'ien. Translated by Burton Watson (1969). New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN  978-0231033213.

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