What Confucius called "the collapse of rituals and the destruction of music" means that the "depressed and elegant" rituals and music system of the Western Zhou Dynasty suffered devastating destruction in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. From then on, tyranny replaced kingly rule, and then princes fought for supremacy and the royal family declined. "The great affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military affairs", and "rituals, music and conquests come from the emperor" is the royal way. If rituals and music come from the princes, or even from the ministers, then the rituals and music will collapse, and the king's way will be ruined.

What is the ritual and music system? In short, etiquette refers to behavioral norms and rituals, and music refers to the corresponding dance music that matches the ceremony. Li in a broad sense refers to a whole set of social systems. Zhou Li refers to a set of social systems established under the auspices of Duke Zhou in the early Western Zhou Dynasty to strictly enforce the hierarchy of slave owners and nobles. Its content is extremely extensive. Etiquette is reflected in the economy, mainly in the "well field system", which is the state-owned land system. The land in the world belongs to the emperor of Zhou, and other people only have the right to use and inherit it, and have no right to buy, sell or dispose of it. The well-field system was the economic basis of slave society.

Etiquette is reflected in politics, which is the patriarchal system under slavery, including the system of enfeoffment and eldest son inheritance, which is the political basis of slave society. Etiquette is reflected in social and cultural life, and mainly includes the five rites of good fortune, bad luck, military service, guest service, and good service, which respectively refer to various norms and ceremonies related to sacrifices, funerals, military travel, pilgrimage alliances, and wedding celebrations. The five rites are also rites in a narrow sense.

The destruction of the ritual and music system is manifested in the fact that the king is not a king, and the ministers are not ministers; the father is not father, the son is not son; the husband is not husband, and the woman is not wife, all of them are out of line. The "Chinese Rebellion" that occurred in 841 BC marked the decline of the Zhou Dynasty and the beginning of the collapse of etiquette. After King Zhou Xuan came to the throne, he made some achievements and was known as the "Resurgence". In fact, instead of easing various conflicts, his strength actually increased. Even more weakened. King Zhou Xuan also violated the eldest son inheritance system and interfered in the internal affairs of Lu, causing civil strife in Lu. The princes were dissatisfied. "Since then, many princes have been ordered by the king" ("Historical Records: The Family of Duke Zhou of Lu"). The next King You of Zhou was even more ungrateful, leading to the final demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty. After the fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty, tragedies such as ministers killing their kings and sons killing their fathers continued to occur. All kinds of transgressions also appeared openly. When Confucius saw Ji's "eight people dancing in the court", he angrily said, "It's tolerable, but who can't be tolerated!" In the late Spring and Autumn Period, the well-field system on which the slave society relied for its existence was constantly destroyed, and the economy The foundation has also been shaken, so in the Confucius era, the situation of "collapse of rituals and music" has reached an extremely serious level.

Confucius traveled around the world in the early days and strongly advocated the restoration of Zhou rites, which was to restore the ritual system of the Western Zhou Dynasty, "the king, the king, the ministers, the father, the son, the son". However, history is irreversible, the moon must wax and wane, and the peak must decline. Moreover, new relations of production have sprouted, and history will progress in turmoil. This is the truth that Confucius understood only after studying the "Book of Changes" in depth in his later years.