DID YOU KNOW THAT THE CHINESE word for medicine actually comes from the word for music? That’s because the ancients understood that virtuous, elegant music has the power to heal—harmonizing our mind, body, and soul.
Modern medicine has proven the benefits of music therapy, but the ancient Chinese knew about its curative capabilities thousands of years ago. Legend has it, nearly five millennia ago the great Yellow Emperor used a magical stringed instrument to heal his wounded soldiers. He then reinvigorated his troops with powerful battle drums, helping boost their morale and lead them to victory.
In Chinese, each written character represents a word, and these characters often have deep layers of meaning and even hidden secrets. For example, the Chinese character for medicine, yao (藥), is really just the character for music, yue (樂), with a little component (called “a radical”) on top that represents medicinal herbs. And, as a bonus, this character for music is written the exact same way as the character for happiness (pronounced le), which may be the best medicine of all.
In other words, good music brings about much happiness, which, in turn, is medicinal. And so it comes full circle.
THE FIVE ELEMENTS
Traditional Chinese philosophy aspired to living in harmony with heaven and nature. The Five Elements theory is at the root of Chinese medicine and has influenced many aspects of this ancient culture—including even music therapy. These Five Elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth) corresponded to the five major bodily organs (lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, and spleen). But not only that, they also correlate to the five musical notes on the Chinese pentatonic (five-note) scale.
Therefore, when music is arranged harmoniously, it can help balance our internal organs, calm our mind, and nourish our soul.