Moral Cultivation
Originally, this term meant to educate and influence people. Later, it came to refer to the function of shaping customary social practices, namely, the educational role of literary and artistic works in changing social behaviors and popular culture. Originating from “Introductions to Mao’s Version of The Book of Songs,” the term is one of the important concepts of the Confucian school on the function of the arts. It believes that poetry and music have a role to play in shaping people’s mind, reflecting the notion that rulers can educate and influence the general public by imparting a particular ideology in a top-down fashion, thereby achieving the desired effect of cultivating the general culture. The influence of this concept is far-reaching; it has impacted much of artistic creation in China, all the way from the poetry and music of the pre-Qin period to literary and artistic works in the modern times. It not only reflects the Confucian view on moral education, but also imparts a sense of social responsibility on writers and artists. However, if an artistic work overemphasizes moral cultivation, it runs the risk of placing ideology before artistic form, thus compromising its aesthetic value. The right way is to embed teaching in entertainment and let a literary or artistic work exert its influence on social mentality in a subtle and imperceptible way.