Every time when I examine an ancient painting with people playing musical instruments, I wish it could have the magic of Harry Porter’s pictures and paintings where characters jump out to talk to him.

At a time when recording machines were yet to be invented, melodious tunes were temporal and could not be heard beyond a certain physical space. Fortunately, people can turn to another art form to find the verve of music: paintings with live musical performances as the prime theme.

"Emperor Yongzheng Paying Ritual Visit to Temple of Agriculture"

The painting “Emperor Yongzheng Paying Ritual Visit to Temple of Agriculture” depicts Emperor Yongzheng (reign 1722-1735) visiting the Temple of Agriculture in spring to pray for a bumper harvest year for his people. The worshipping ritual was ceremonious, and the road leading to the main hall was lined with top officials and court musicians holding a variety of musical instruments. They were playing Zhonghe Shaoyue, the music used when the emperors made sacrifices to the Earth, the Heaven, and in other spectacular occasions. It’s a slow, grand, forbiddingly austere procession of sonorities. Confucius, in the Analects, calls it yayue—“elegant music”—and laments that the people of his time are discarding it in favor of vernacular tunes.

Today, the same music is available at the Zhonghe Shaoyue Performance Hall, Temple of Heaven, Beijing. It’s not recorded music but the real thing.

The grand wedding of Emperor Guangxu

Zhonghe Shaoyue was also a must-have at the emperor’s wedding ceremony. This painting depicts the grand wedding of Emperor Guangxu (reign 1875-1908) in 1889. The team of Zhonghe Shaoyue players, armed with a multiple traditional Chinese musical instruments, was standing in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, ready to usher in the elaborate pageantry of a wedding ceremony.

"Banquets at the Hall of Purple Splendor"

"Banquets at the Hall of Purple Splendor"

Another place for Zhonghe Shaoyue is court banquets. The painting “Banquets at the Hall of Purple Splendor” shows the magnificent banquet Emperor Qianlong (reign 1735-1795) gave to officials, Mongolian allies, and generals who contributed a lot in pacifying the turbulent western borders. The Hall of Purple Splendor (Ziguangge) is a two-story building west of the imperial palace on the western shore of the Central Lake. In addition to Zhonghe Shaoyue, two other musical teams were also present to demonstrate Emperor Qianlong’s gratefulness as well as prestige. The Mongolian musical troupe was here to play their hometown melody, as the Mongolian ally was one of the major guests at the banquet. Outside the hall stood a troupe of ritual music players, displaying grandeur and stateliness.

Court music impresses people with elegance and magnificence, while folk music is typical of illustrating an ordinary life.

Part of "Emperor Kangxi's Southern Inspection Tour"

It’s part of the painting “Emperor Kangxi's Southern Inspection Tour,” a hand scroll that depicts scenes from the Emperor Kangxi's 1689 inspection tour from Beijing to the southern China.

When travelling along the Qinghuai River in spring, Emperor Kangxi decided to wear plain clothes to experience and get to know public life. At a threshing floor, he was happy with the pastoral life his people were having when beholding a woman dancing while beating drums, attracting a large audience, young and old, men and women.