ExclusiveMusic and medicine｜ origin of the two Chinese characters; Classical music can heal.

No matter what culture we are from, everyone loves music. Music is a connection of coordinated sound or songs. For example, the gurgling water in the mountains produces sound. When the sounds combine in such a way as to produce beauty of harmony and expression of emotion, it is called music. Ancient cultures were well aware of music's healing power. Ancient Chinese believed that classical music had the power to heal the heart, enrich the mind, and harmonize a person's soul. Music was also understood as divinely inspired in ancient Greece. The word music comes from the Muses, the patron goddesses of creative endeavors. The ancient Greeks put one god, Apollo, in charge of both music and healing, demonstrating their belief that the two are closely related. The traditional Chinese character for medicine even stems from the character for music. We know that Cangjie, a legendary figure in ancient China at the time of the Great Yellow Emperor, invented Chinese characters. There was a story about how Cangjie was inspired by an instrument and created the word music. Nearly about 5,000 years ago, the Great Yellow Emperor, who is also known as the forefather of the Chinese people, was once challenged to a battle by Ciyou, the atrocious leader of Asian tribes Jiuli. The battle was fought in Zhuolu, near the present-day border of Hebei and Shanxi in China. Ciyou's tribes were fierce in war and skilled at making weapons. The Great Yellow Emperor was advised in a dream by the divine fairy Xuanyu that only the deafening sound of a drum made of the skin of Kui, a wild ox monster that resided in the coastal east sea, could defeat the metal-headed Ciyou and his traps. Upon awakening, the emperor immediately ordered the capture of Kui. Kui's skin was then used to produce 80 drums. When the emperor's soldiers sounded the drums on the battlefield, the earth shook in all directions and Ciyou's soldiers were knocked down, their metal heads cracking and in great pain. However, several of the emperor's soldiers were overwhelmed by the sound and fell unconscious as well. The emperor called for help from his music master, who hurriedly improvised a remedy. The music master untied the strings from the bows of the emperor's army and attached them onto a hollow piece of wood. He then took a small thin piece of metal and gracefully plucked the strings, producing lovely music. Gradually, the injured soldiers regained consciousness. Inspired by this instrument, Cangjie constructed the character Yue for music. The top half features the Bai character in the middle with a string on either side. Bai, the character for the color white, in this context refers to the plectrum, the small flat tool used to strum or pluck a stringed instrument. The bottom half of Yue is the Mu character, which means Thus, the structure of the character is a skillful and perfect representation of the life-saving instrument. Based on this early, fast use of music to heal the injured, the character for music was later integrated into the character for drug or medicine, Yao, after herbs were found to have the power of healing as well. The character Yao is composed of two parts. The top part is the that indicates grass and grass-related plants, including herbs. The lower part is the word Yue, meaning music as well as happiness. Delight and happiness is the second meaning of the Chinese character for music, while the obvious relationship is that beautiful music can bring joy. Joy has another relationship to medicine. Medicine is characterized by bitterness, yet a patient is able to regain health and happiness only after suffering its bitterness. Music in ancient China was not meant for entertainment alone, but for aligning the body's energy system with the harmony of sounds and therefore instruments were made for well-being. Traditional Chinese medicine, on the other hand, doesn't focus on science and medicine. Instead, it's based on balance, harmony, and energy. Ancient Chinese held the view that a cyclist ought to be treated at its origin, referring to yin and yang. They regarded yin and yang as the natural law of the universe, the origin of all, and the fundamental driving force for the cyclic growth and death of all things in nature. Ancient Chinese also believed that a human body is a small universe. When the balance of yin and yang in your body is achieved, you will feel healthy and well. Otherwise, you feel sick. Music, deemed to be originated from everything in nature and transformed from yin and yang, corresponds to the five elements in heaven. The five elements, metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, were believed to correlate with five sounds which then correspond to the five human internal organs. The five tongues, gōng, shāng, jué, zhǐ, yǔ, correspond to duō, réi, mí, sōu, là in western music. The gōng tongue, corresponding to the human spleen, is smooth and gentle. The shāng tongue, corresponding to human lungs, is fast and crisp. The jué tongue, corresponding to the human liver, is resonant and lingering. The zhǐ tongue, corresponding to the human heart, is passionate and penetrating. The yǔ tongue, corresponding to the human kidney, is pleasant and flourishing. While listening to such music, people's emotions, the rhythm of the tongues, and the vibrations of the five internal organs can effectively regulate people's spirit and smooth the meridians. Therefore, music uses external regular sound modulations to reconcile the harmony of yin and yang of the human body so as to achieve the balance of yin and yang and to conform to the natural state of harmony between man and nature. The Greeks also believed that music had to resonate with the body and soul in order to be beneficial and viewed music as a way of connecting the soul of man with the universe. Good and elegant music has a positive impact on people and society. In a narrow sense, such music can cultivate people's sentiments and character, encourage noble aspirations and morality, and prolong life. From a broader perspective, it can help the governance of a country and educate the populace so as to ensure peace for the people and the prosperity of the country. In contrast, low and highly sensuous music can mess up people's minds with distorted emotions, encouraging lust and sexual indulgence, which would damage one's body and cause harm to the country. This is also true in today's world. There are studies showing that classical music can decrease both blood pressure and heart rate. A 2015 study by Professor Peter Slay of Oxford University found that listening to slower pieces by Verdi, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, as well as Puccini significantly lowered blood pressure, confirming other findings. But not all music is therapeutic. The negative effects of certain types of music has been demonstrated in various studies. One study in the British Journal of Health Psychology compared the effects of classical, pop, and jazz music. It showed that participants who listened to classical music had significantly lower post-task systolic blood pressure levels than did participants who heard no music. Other musical styles did not produce significantly better recovery than silence. One of the most fascinating studies was done by a Virginia high school student, David Merrill. In 1997, his award-winning science experiment was covered by Virginia Pilot, the state's largest daily newspaper. The rising junior captured top honors in regional and state science fairs and earned accolades from the Navy and the CIA, the pilot reported. Merrill looked at efforts of music on mice as they moved through a maze. After establishing a baseline of 10 minutes to navigate the maze, he found the control group of mice, which weren't exposed to music, were able to cut five minutes of their time. That feat was beaten by mice that listened to classical music and managed to cut their time by eight and a half minutes. Meanwhile, mice that were exposed to hot rock music took 20 minutes longer to navigate the maze. I had to cut my project short because all the hot rock mice killed each other, Merrill said at the time. None of the classical mice did that at all. Classical music is beneficial to health, but today when you see a teenager walking down the street, white earbuds firmly implanted, swaying slightly to their own inner growth, you can be pretty much certain that it's not classical music they're listening to. Modern rock music produces raucous and chaotic songs. While listening to such music, people are likely to indulge in emotions and desires and lose control of their minds. I will talk about the change to music and the difference between 432 and 440 hertz music next time. Sarah's channel, see you soon.