Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1251 Epilogue : Activating Political Skills: Smoothing the Situation

Everyone withdrew, even the little emperor was taken away.

Seeing that Tao Jinfeng had been looking at the piano, Empress Dowager Ye said, "If Mr. Tao wants to play it, just give it a try."

Tao Jinfeng sat down in front of the piano and pressed a few keys in succession, first confirming the position of the Gong sound (duo). Then she pressed the keys backwards along the Gong sound, and the sounds of the Remi sounded one after another.

I quickly figured out the details of each white key.

She curiously pressed the black keys again and found that all the black keys were changed. Then she pressed all the black and white keys and praised immediately: "This is very convenient. I don't need to tune the strings when changing music."

In ancient Chinese music, only the five notes remain unchanged; everything else can change.

The two tones added to Yayue, Qingyue and Yanyue are all different despite the same seven-tone scale.

For example, if the guqin has just finished playing a piece of Ya music and is about to play Qing music, the strings must be recalibrated. Even if the guqin is about to play the same Ya music but in a different mode, the strings must be re-adjusted.

The twelve-tone equal-tempered piano is not that troublesome and there is no need to go back and forth over and over again.

Different types of music and music in different modes can be played in one breath.

"Is it really that easy to use?" asked Empress Dowager Ye.

Tao Jinfeng said: "With this zither, I can play all the music in the world."

Empress Dowager Ye asked, "Does Mr. Tao think it's useful?"

Tao Jinfeng was silent.

Empress Dowager Ye paced back to her bedroom, asked everyone to go out, and opened a box with a key.

She took out the booklet left by Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong and quickly turned to the "Reform" written by Emperor Taizong.

"Everything has its own nature. This is the root, this is the main trunk. The rest are just details."

“The root of reform lies in building institutions.”

"There are systems that are destroyed by those who benefit. There are systems that are old, rotten and difficult to use. The essence of reform is to make the system fit the present and ensure that the system works."

"This was the case with the feudal system before the Qin Dynasty and the prefectures and counties after the Qin and Han Dynasties."

"There is also the two-tax system from the end of the Tang Dynasty..."

Empress Dowager Ye has read these booklets countless times, and she gains new insights every time she reads them.

Taizu and Taizong are truly learned men!

……

The next day, there was a meeting in front of the emperor.

Officials from the Cabinet, the Censorate, the Ministry of Rites, and the Imperial Academy of Rites attended the meeting. Officials from the Tongzhengyuan were responsible for recording the meeting.

The little emperor sat upright and waited patiently for the meeting.

Empress Dowager Ye sat next to the little emperor.

The ministers' attention was focused on the corner of the meeting room, where there was a piano and Yang Linzhi.

what's the situation?
Empress Dowager Ye said, "Mr. Yang, please play a song."

Beautiful piano music immediately rang out, and "To Alice" felt quite novel to the ministers.

Many of these people understand music, but they really can't hear the subtle differences between the pitch and lü, and they just feel that there is something a little weird.

Moreover, this strangeness did not make them think about the rhythm and pitch of the music, and they subconsciously thought that it was due to the different tunes of the folk music.

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites first asked, "Mr. Yang, which country donated this musical instrument?"

Yang Linzhi said: "It was made by the Prince Consort, and I assisted him."

Empress Dowager Ye said again: "Mr. Yang, please play a few more songs."

Yang Linzhi immediately played a piece of Yayuegong tune, and as he was playing, he suddenly switched to another piece of Yayuejiao tune.

All those who understood music were shocked when they heard this.

This was just the beginning. Yang Linzhi played two sections and soon switched to the Yanyue Shang mode.

Fifteen seven-tone scale modes switched back and forth at Yang Linzhi's fingertips, and the officials who understood music were dumbfounded.

"How was this done?" asked Wei Qianzhi, the Left Censor-in-Chief, in surprise.

Yang Linzhi said: "Twelve-tone equal temperament."

Everyone was stunned and looked at each other.

The Minister of Rites Wu Jiying stood up suddenly and said: "The musical scale cannot be changed! If it is changed, the positions of the monarch, ministers, and people will be wrong."

This is not some trivial matter or insignificant red tape.

Every dynasty has officially approved weights and measures.

There is music too.

The standard pitch pipe is kept in the imperial court, and is sometimes taken out for sacrifice.

Deng Gongwu looked at Empress Dowager Ye and suddenly said, "It can actually be changed. The scales in the early Song Dynasty were different from those used by the people in the late Song Dynasty. The court adopted public opinion and changed it, and it was inherited and confirmed by our Ming Dynasty."

"So the Song Dynasty fell," said Wu Jiying.

Ge Congxin, who was increasingly at odds with Deng Gongwu, actually tried to figure out the Queen Mother's intentions and retorted, "Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong often said that the connection between heaven and man is not credible. The Qing dynasty also reinterpreted the passage in the Book of Rites. It is not that the disorder of the five tones led to the demise of the world, but that the monarch, his subjects, the people and other things were not in their proper places." Deng Gongwu said more directly:

"If something is useful, it should be used. If it is a private change of the law, it should be severely punished, because it concerns the majesty of the court and the law. But if the court adopts the new law and then promulgates it throughout the country, what is wrong with that?"

"There are many people who play the harp and flute in the world. But how many of them can play exactly the same tune as the imperial court? If I were a shepherd boy and started learning to play the flute today, would I be able to cause the emperor and his subjects to lose their positions if I played the wrong notes?"

Wu Jiying said: "The prime minister is making specious arguments. The court's law is one thing, and playing a musical instrument is another. The law is like the Great Ming Code, which is clearly stated. Playing a musical instrument out of tune is like violating the Great Ming Code. But they don't need to be punished by law, and being laughed at is the punishment."

"The Ming Code can also be amended," said Ge Congxin.

Wei Qianzhi said: "The Great Ming Code can indeed be changed, but there must be a reason for the change. What is wrong with the twelve-tone lü? Why should it be replaced by the twelve-tone equal temperament? Why should it be changed so easily?"

Empress Dowager Ye suddenly spoke up: "Mr. Yang is an expert in music, let him say a few words."

Yang Linzhi was quite nervous and bowed to everyone: "Gongyin is correct. The other notes are based on Gongyin and are derived by the three-part loss and gain method. Throughout the dynasties, no matter how they were deduced, they could not restore Huangzhong, so the twelve musical notes could not be repeated. But the twelve equal temperaments can be repeated and continuous."

The hidden meaning of this statement is that if the five tones can really determine the decline of a country, then the traditional twelve-tone system cannot last forever. This may be the reason for the frequent changes of dynasties.

The twelve-tone equal temperament can last forever. Can it make the Ming Dynasty last forever?
Use magic to defeat magic.

Yang Linzhi actually didn't want to say these words because the political risk was too great, but Empress Dowager Ye forced him to say them.

Wu Jiying stood up and bowed: "The throne cannot be moved!"

For Wu Jiying, it didn't matter whether the music was changed or not. But as the Minister of Rites, if anything went wrong, he would be the one to take the blame for changing the music.

He must make his attitude clear and firmly oppose it, otherwise he will not be able to get rid of the blame.

Similarly, the Left and Right Censors-in-Chief also have to exercise their own functions of persuasion and admonition. Whether you listen or not is your business, but I must advise when I should, and if I don't, I will be derelict in my duty.

All the officials from the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Palace, and the Censorate who attended the meeting were firmly opposed to the twelve-tone equal temperament.

It is our duty and we have to do it.

Ge Congxin stood up and faced Empress Dowager Ye, and began to smooth things over:
"Sage, in my opinion, the throne cannot be moved. Moreover, there are countless musicians and instruments in the world. If the traditional twelve musical notes are needed, they cannot be abandoned for the sake of the people."

"But the twelve-tone equal temperament is indeed easy to use, and it repeats itself endlessly. This harp is also very wonderful and can play all kinds of music."

“Why not do both at the same time?”

"The traditional lü lü remains unchanged. We will create another set of lü lü using the twelve-tone equal temperament. It's just like when the Ming Dynasty was first established, the new and old calendars were used in parallel."

"The traditional twelve musical notes ensure that the ruler, his subjects, and the people are all in their proper places. Therefore, in important occasions such as sacrifices, court meetings, weddings, announcing the names of the deceased, swearing in the oath of allegiance, and presenting captives, the traditional twelve musical notes must be used for ritual music."

"As for other occasions, the musicians can use whatever they like."

Queen Mother Ye smiled and nodded: "Excellent, this is a very good idea."

She never thought of abolishing the traditional twelve musical notes, and it was impossible for her to abandon it.

Empress Dowager Ye didn't care whether to use the twelve-tone equal temperament or not. She just wanted to use this to show her presence and express her support for the reform!

Deng Gongwu remained silent. He wanted to say what he had just said, but Ge Congxin spoke first.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Palace, and the Censorate no longer objected. They had already fulfilled their duties, and the final result was acceptable to them.

The news soon reached Xie Yan, who was also very satisfied with the result, which could be replicated in scientific measurement units.

The traditional twelve-tone scale is used in military and national events. The twelve-tone equal temperament scale is used casually except in military and national events.

Traditional weights and measures are used in various occasions in the government and the public. Scientific weights and measures are used exclusively in the scientific field.

Both systems run in parallel.

During this period, scientist pen pals kept writing back, expressing great interest in the scientific unit proposed by Xie Yan.

Because once it is confirmed and everyone is familiar with it, it will indeed be more convenient and easier to use.

Especially in the fields of physics and chemistry.

For example, density and volume are easy for students to remember - 1 cubic decimeter of water weighs 1 kilogram. The density of water is 1 gram per cubic centimeter.

Water is the most common substance, so this expression is so beautiful and concise.

Jiangzuo Village, the old chairman’s home.

"Does the imperial court really want to adopt the twelve-tone equal temperament and allow two sets of temperaments to run in parallel?"

"It's true."

"Very good, very good. Xiao Xie's set of scientific units is easy to use and remember. I personally like it very much. We can take this opportunity to jointly submit a petition to the court."

"The Queen Mother and the ministers all support the reform. With the law of rhythm and pitch in place, scientific institutions will most likely approve it."

"Once the court approves it, we will use the opportunity of the society awarding prizes to let the scholars attending the meeting discuss it. If more than half of the people support it, the matter will be settled."

The old president walked tremblingly to the eaves with a cane, staring at the big tree in the yard for a long time in a daze.

He knew he would not live for many more years, and he had been thinking about something big.

This time, when Xie Yan is awarded the title, it is time to let this young man get in touch with the secrets.

That BMW car must be passed down and studied slowly from generation to generation.

Of course, it must be approved by Empress Dowager Ye.

Even the little emperor had never seen a car at this time, and had to wait until after his wedding.

(End of this chapter)