周敦頤為宋明理學開山，不但默契道妙，又政事精絶，人格超卓。其所上繼之先秦儒學，包括禮樂之統與教化之源，其音樂思想又兼綜儒道，對於歷代音樂思想之承創，可溯其源流於孔子、孟子、荀子、《呂氏春秋》、《樂記》、董仲舒、阮籍等人或相關著作。本文即分別從禮樂教化及音樂特性二個層面，加以論述，然因周敦頤在表達樂教思想時，用字過於精簡，其理論已預取先秦儒學及樂教思想作為敘論之背景；因此筆者在論述過程中，乃須酌予引入歷來思想家之相關文字，以作為立論之依據，以及提供彼此之間樂教思想對照之用。周敦頤之樂教思想，主要見於《通書》之第十三章〈禮樂〉，第十七至十九章〈樂上〉、〈樂中〉、〈樂下〉，此為本文所據以討論之文獻。全文除了前言及結語之外，本論共分三節，其一，說明其禮樂治國之理想，及禮法修而後作樂的主張。其二，論述其所主張音樂之效能為：宣暢自然之氣及平復人情；而樂教之境界與標準為：淡而不傷，和而不淫。其三，論述其樂教思想之價值定位，一方面是樂教思想中的批判與建設，另一方面是樂教思想之繼承與創獲。 Dun-Yi Zhou was the pioneer among Sung and Ming Dynasty Confucian thinkers. His thought inherited the Confucianism from Pre-Ching Dynasty while his educational music thought immersed both Confucianism and Taoism. Dun-Yi Zhou's educational music thought was written in Tong-Shu, chapter 13, 17 and 19. There are three sections in this essay: First, to describe Zhou's thought of governance-the Li was set before the educational music. Second, to illustrate Zhou's thought of educational music- the emotion should be peaceful and not too much. Third, to evaluate Zhou's thought of educational music.
