[Music Knowledge] Music: The Ancestor of Medicine

Beautiful music can cultivate people's sentiment, purify their souls, and bring wonderful enjoyment. However, did you know that music was initially created for treating diseases? This can be traced back to the creation of Chinese characters by Cangjie. The Chinese character for "medicine" (藥) is derived from the character for "music" (樂). In the beginning, music was used to cure diseases and was the ancestor of medicine. Cangjie created the character "樂" based on the historical event of the battle between the Yellow Emperor and Chi You. In ancient China, war drums were beaten during battles. After the Yellow Emperor defeated Chi You, Chi You's soldiers were stunned by the sound of the war drums.

The Yellow Emperor, a kind - hearted monarch, made a metal bell - shaped object, which is what we now call a musical instrument, to heal these soldiers. This metal object had copper in the middle, silk strings on both sides, and was played while placed on a wooden stand. In the seal - script writing of ancient characters, the middle part of the character "樂" is the character "白", which represents metal. In the theory of the Five Elements, metal corresponds to the color white. With silk strings on both sides and a wooden base, it was a vivid portrayal of the instrument being played. Cangjie created the character "樂" based on this metal bell - shaped object. What was this object made for at that time? It was used to call back the souls of Chi You's soldiers. The soldiers of Chi You were lying on the ground, and by healing their souls, the soldiers revived. Thus, music was used for treating diseases. Later, when it was discovered that herbs could also cure diseases, a grass - head radical was added to the character "樂", forming the character "藥". Therefore, music is the ancestor of medicine, and its earliest function was to treat diseases.