Thesis: Confucius says about the music as a whole and harmonic system. Thus, speaking about Prise and Imperial songs that have found their proper places, he implies that they compile a larger and accomplished phenomenon that also reflects the political and social situation.
Reasons:
Wei and Lu had a special role in the life of Confucius, the former of which was a place where he worked and taught, the latter – where he was born and tried to start a political career (Flanagan F. M., 2011, p. 5).
Confucius associates the songs with different places, while each of those places brought him necessary experience to understand the politics in music.
As Praise and Imperial songs refer to politics, Confucius means that the experience achieved working in the state apparatus helps him to cognize how politics intrudes into music as a harmonic system and becomes a part of it.
Analysis:
To an extent the passage by Confucius is correct, because the politics always has its impact upon various sides of nation’s lie, including music. In fact, music is an inseparable part of human life and has a great influence in the society. Confucius was a philosopher who made an attempt to build a political career, so his view of politics is realistic. However, the passage hints that politics intrudes even into such day-to-day things as music, percolating through the life of citizens and their minds. Certainly, Confucius considered that politics should serve for the better of the society, although the passage lacks this information.
References
Flanagan, F. M. (2011). Confucius, the Analects and Western Education. London: Continuum International Publishing …