In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the imperial court established officials and government offices based on the old system. In the official system, officials, positions, and dispatches were separated from each other to ensure the implementation of state affairs. This separation

1. The setting of music officials and music institutions in the Song Dynasty

In the central institution of the Song Dynasty, the music institution was an important institution that ensured the operation of national rituals and music, among which the music officials were the executors of the music institution. In the early days of the Northern Song Dynasty, the imperial court established officials and built government offices based on the old system. In the official system, officials, positions, and dispatches were separated from each other to ensure the implementation of national government affairs. This separation of duties system was also reflected in the music official system.

After the rulers of the early Northern Song Dynasty established a new dynasty, they immediately began to formulate and construct national rituals and music, and they also paid great attention to the construction of music. On the basis of the existing rituals and music of the previous dynasty, new titles were established, officials were divided into duties, and the rituals and music system and the music-official system of this dynasty were formulated. In the central music official system of the Northern Song Dynasty during this period, it was mainly dominated by Taichang Temple and Jiaofang. Yunshaobu, Junrongzhi and other institutions performed their respective duties and were jointly responsible for the music activities in the court.

1, Taichang Temple Music Officer

Taichang Temple has an incomparable historical status in the long history of ancient Chinese music.

The organizational system of Taichang Temple in the early Song Dynasty was basically further developed on the basis of inheriting the organizational system of Taichang Temple in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. However, the reason why the setting of music officials was more complicated than that in the previous dynasties was because of the official system pursued by the Song Dynasty. In order to stabilize the rule, the rulers adopted the method of decentralizing the power of officials, which caused the functions of Taichang Temple to be usurped for a time.

Regarding the setting of music officials in Taichang Temple, it can be seen from the records in "History of the Song Dynasty: Officials Four" that the setting of music officials in Taichang Temple in the Song Dynasty is basically the same as that of the previous dynasties. Similarly, there are Taichangqing, Taichang Shaoqing and Taichang Cheng, all of whom are one person. There are more than four people including Dr. Taichang, and the remaining low-level music officials are Taichang Zhubo, Xielulang, Fenglilang and Taizhu.

At the same time, the official positions of music officials did not undergo major changes. They jointly managed the ritual and music matters in the palace. Taichang Qing is the highest leader among them, and his official rank is the fourth rank. Generally speaking, the officials in Taichang Temple are very systematic, forming a pyramid-shaped official group headed by Taichang Qing.

2, Jiaofang Music Officer

Jiaofang is the earliest music institution established in the Tang Dynasty. It was originally called Neijiaofang and was the music and dance institution of the inner court in the Tang Dynasty. Tang Jiaofang emerged from Taichangzhong and became an independent institution. In the Song Dynasty, the establishment of Jiaofang was developed based on the old system. Different from the previous generation, Jiaofang returned to the jurisdiction of Taichang Temple, the center of ritual and music of the imperial court.

When the Jiaofang was first built in the early Northern Song Dynasty, it was under the jurisdiction of Xuanhui Yuan; during the restructuring of Yuanfeng, the ritual and music institution centered on Taichang Temple was re-established After the establishment of the Jiaofang, it returned to the jurisdiction of Taichang Temple; then Dasheng Mansion was established in the fourth year of Chongning. After establishing the scale of music and music that was divided into the rituals and music of Taichang Temple, the Jiaofang naturally came under the leadership of Dasheng Mansion, and the destruction of Jiaofang in the Northern Song Dynasty also followed the invasion of the Jin people.

According to the records in "History of the Song Dynasty: Officials IV", Jiaofang was in charge of the palace banquets and was responsible for the music in the palace banquets. The instructor is in charge of music teaching and prepares a large banquet. music banquet should be served, and those who are lucky enough to travel will be invited to follow. Regarding the permanent music officers in the Jiaofang, there is one Jiaofang envoy and two deputy Jiaofang envoys, who are the senior music officers in the Jiaofang. Under them are Du Se Chang, Se Chang, Du Bu Tou, Bu Tou, Deputy Bu Tou, etc. These are the low-level small music officials of the lower class.

The Jiaofang envoy was the highest administrator of the Jiaofang in the Song Dynasty. Compared with the previous dynasty, he was established as a formal official of the imperial court, and he was proficient in music and could be responsible for managing all music affairs in the Jiaofang. His musical ability ensured the development of music activities in the Jiaofang.

3, Yun Shaobu Music Officer

In the Song Dynasty court, there was also a special music institution, the inner court music institution, called Yun Shaobu . The Yunshao Department was established in the inner court in the Tang Dynasty, and its performances included three forms of singing, dancing and music. In the Song Dynasty, during the Kaibao reign of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, the Yunshao Department was established, with a total of eighty musicians. In the early Yongxi years of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, it was renamed the Yunshao Department, and the musicians in the organization were eunuchs.

During the Song Dynasty, the Yunshao Ministry was established in the fourth year of Kaibao and was finally abolished in the third year of Chunhua. In total, it only existed for more than 20 years. "History of the Song Dynasty " records that in the third year of the Taiping and Xingguo years, Jun Rongzhi, a military music institution, was established. The musicians used in the institution were similar to those of the Yunshao tribe, so they replaced the Yunshao tribe, and the Yunshao tribe was subsequently abolished.

4, Junrongzhi Music Officer

Junrongzhi is the name of the music institution in the Song Dynasty. Since it was a music institution under the Central Forbidden Army of the Song Dynasty, it was a military music institution and was established for the army. Its original name was Yinlongzhi. According to the records of Yue 17 in "History of the Song Dynasty", Junrongzhi (Yinlongzhi) was first built in the early third year of Taiping Xingguo. It was composed of people who were good at music in the army. Later, it was continuously expanded by absorbing people who were good at music in the army. It was renamed Junrongzhi in the fourth year of Chunhua (993).

Junrong is directly under the jurisdiction of the Jiaofang, commanding more than a hundred musicians and in charge of military music. Jun Rongzhi later was ordered to be abolished in the 30th year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty. It existed for more than 180 years, running through the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties. After the abolition, some of its musicians were included in the teaching workshops, while the rest of the old, weak, sick and disabled musicians were disbanded and flowed into private life.

Regarding the transfer of military officers in Jun Rongzhi, because Jun Rongzhi is an institution of the Forbidden Army, it is directly under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Palace. Therefore, Jun Rongzhi's office holders, including commanders, supervisors and chamberlains, can be transferred to military positions in the Forbidden Army system after serving in the institution for a certain number of years. Among Jun Rongzhi, the career of its music officers has obvious advantages over low-level music officers in other institutions.

2. The functions of music officials in the Song Dynasty

The music officials group made a huge contribution to the national ritual music. They shouldered a variety of functions, participated in various music activities before and after, and assumed corresponding management responsibilities. The functions of music officials in the Song Dynasty can be classified into music management and emcee functions, music creation and performance functions, and music education and assessment functions.

1, Music management and master of ceremonies functions

Music officials have many management functions, which are not limited to the management of ritual and music affairs in the palace, but also include the management of musicians in the institution, sacrificeperformance instruments. They are also the proposers and formulators of important national music policies, and they play an important role in participating in music discussion. It can be said that a series of large and small matters within the organization from top to bottom require their efforts, and the maintenance of all order is under their management.

In addition to the management of performing musicians in various music performances in the Song Dynasty court, another very important thing is the musical instruments used in the performances. Among them, whether it is the musical instruments used in court gatherings and sacrificial activities, or the musical instruments used in festival celebrations and banquets in the palace, they are all managed by music officials.

Music Officer has another very important attribute at the management level, which is the management of music scores and music books. It includes the writing, compilation, preservation and utilization of music scores and music books. Before the advent of musical notation, ancient music and dance were mostly passed down in the countryside through oral teaching, passed down from generation to generation. Since the advent of music scores, written scores have played a huge role.

2, Music creation and performance functions

Among the many functions of a music officer, music creation and performance should be a basic function of a music officer.There were many musical activities and performance tasks in the court of the Song Dynasty. Music creation and performance were the parts closest to the music itself. Music officials sometimes needed to participate in music creation and performance. As professional talents, they greatly promoted the development and prosperity of court music in the Song Dynasty.

The music repertoire used in elegant music performances in Taichang Temple in the Song Dynasty, except for some inherited from previous generations, most of them were new creations of this dynasty. The music officials of Taichang Temple played a big role in music creation. Among the music officials of Taichang Temple, officials who are proficient in music will personally participate in the creation of music. Some music officials are good at writing lyrics, and some are good at composing. They often participate in music discussions.

When the music officers in the workshop participate in music creation, they are also involved in various forms of music creation, and the range of performances by the musicians in the workshop is also very wide. In addition to the performance and singing of music, some folk art forms such as Baixi, Zaju, etc. will also be performed.

3, Music training and assessment functions

The complex music education system of the Song Dynasty included music education in various institutions such as court music, secular music, government-run schools, academies, and private schools. In order to serve the various music activities in the palace, there were a large number of musicians in various music institutions. Many musicians were selected from the private sector to become palace musicians and lacked the necessary musical literacy and training.

Moreover, in various music activities in the palace, the final presentation is the responsibility of the musicians. Their skills and performances are the key to the smooth progress and success of the music activities. Therefore, they need to carry out systematic music skills training, and there should also be very strict and detailed requirements in the assessment to serve the court.

In addition to the systematic training and education of musicians in various institutions, the assessment of the musicians' academic performance at each stage is also particularly important. This is an indispensable step to test the level of musicians in the palace. The assessment of musicians in the palace is generally organized and held by the music officials in each institution.

The Song Dynasty court attached great importance to the assessment of musicians' music. In addition to the daily inspections by the music officials in charge of the institution, historical data records that sometimes the emperor would personally lead his officials to review the level of musicians, remove the abusers, and reward the outstanding ones. They would also promote official positions based on the performance of the musicians' assessment, which is enough to show the degree of care taken in the assessment of musicians.

Conclusion

Music officials of the two Song Dynasties, as practitioners of musical activities in the court, played an important role in promoting the vigorous development of music affairs in the Song Dynasty. First of all, as decision-makers, they need to play the role of negotiators in the country's decision-making on music matters, helping the emperor to establish new policies in the professional aspect of music.

Secondly, as the chiefs of various organizations, they perform the functions of managers, including the management of personnel (musicians), equipment, music activities, and music culture. Although there was no professional knowledge of management more than a thousand years ago, they used practice to manage the organization in an orderly manner.

Finally, they played an incomparable role in professional music education within music institutions. They devoted a lot of effort to the music training and music assessment of musicians, and were the leaders and guarantors of the smooth implementation of music activities in the Song Dynasty.