Sung Hui Tsung's Musical diplomacy and the Korean response
The introduction to the Sung shih monograph on music stresses the value of music to the ruler in the following way: ‘The second of the four mainsprings of kingly government is music, which brings the minds of the people into harmony and transforms the world.’ Music naturally played a major role in court ritual, especially in the sacrifices at the Temples of Heaven and Earth and the imperial tombs. The full complement of musicians at court in the early eleventh century was over seven hundred, and the control of music came under the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, T'ai-ch'ang-ssu, whose President had overall responsibility for all musical affairs including those to do with pitch, texts, dances and military music. One of his subordinates, the Hsüeh-lü-lang took charge of the lü-lüwhereby Yin and Yang are brought into harmony. He arranged the positions for the musicians and dancers of the palace orchestra and the special orchestra. It was he who held the flag to indicate the beginning and end of musical sections at the great sacrifices. When he raised it the trough (chu) was thumped and the music started, and when he lowered it [the back of] the tiger (yü) was scraped and the music stopped. He was in charge of all matters of musical precedence.