Chapter 17: Guyu and Musical Pitch — The Pitch-Pipe Guxian and the Sound of Late Spring

Section 1: The Twelve Pitch-Pipes and the Twelve Months — A Cosmology Uniting Pitch and Calendar

Within the pre-Qin cosmology of "the unity of Heaven and humanity," musical pitch and the calendar, sound and season, were held to correspond and resonate with one another—this is the ancient conception of "the unity of pitch and calendar." And the musical pitch corresponding to the third month (the chen month), in which Guyu falls, is "Guxian," one of the twelve pitch-pipes.

What are the twelve pitch-pipes$14 The ancients fixed twelve standard pitches within a single octave, namely: Huangzhong, Dalü, Taicu, Jiazhong, Guxian, Zhonglü, Ruibin, Linzhong, Yize, Nanlü, Wuyi, and Yingzhong. These twelve pitches, in turn, correspond one to one with the twelve months: Huangzhong matches the eleventh month (Winter Solstice), Dalü the twelfth month, Taicu the first month, Jiazhong the second month, and Guxian the third month, Zhonglü the fourth month, and so the cycle continues. Since Guyu falls in the third month, it is matched with the pitch-pipe Guxian.

Why should musical pitch correspond to the months$15 Behind this lies a profoundly deep conviction of the ancients: the movement of the qi of Heaven and Earth possesses a "rhythm," and this rhythm can be represented and measured through "musical pitch." In each month, the vibrational frequency of the qi of Heaven and Earth differs somewhat; and each pitch corresponds precisely to some particular vibrational frequency. The correspondence between months and pitches essentially unifies "the rhythm of time" with "the rhythm of sound"—in each different month, Heaven and Earth seem to sound forth a different "pitch." What the Heaven and Earth of the third month, Guyu, sound forth is precisely the note of "Guxian."

Section 2: The Meaning of "Guxian" — Washing the Ten Thousand Things, Cleansing and Renewal

The very name of this pitch, "Guxian," itself carries a meaning deeply consonant with Guyu.

"Xian" means to wash, to cleanse. The ancients, in explaining the name "Guxian," mostly took it to mean "washing the ten thousand things, making them clean and renewed"—by the third month, the ten thousand things, having been gestated through spring, ought now to wash away the lingering murkiness of winter and the dust of spring, becoming entirely new, in preparation for the flourishing abundance of the summer soon to come. And so the pitch "Guxian" symbolizes an atmosphere of "washing, cleansing, and renewal."

How perfectly this accords with the image of "rain" in Guyu! Guyu's rain is precisely a "washing of the ten thousand things"—it washes away dust, cleanses the grasses and trees, and makes Heaven and Earth fresh and clear. The "washing" of rain and the "washing" of Guxian converge, marvelously, on this very point of "cleansing and renewal." It is as though the Heaven and Earth of the third month, Guyu, wash the form of the ten thousand things with "rain," while also washing the sound of the ten thousand things with the pitch of "Guxian"—form and sound, rain and pitch, together accomplish that grand ceremony of "washing away the old, welcoming the new" in late spring.

Guyu's rain moistens and cleanses things; the pitch Guxian renews things in accordance with the season—one is visible, the other audible, yet both alike point toward that atmosphere of late spring, "washing away the old and welcoming the new." This is one of the most vivid instances of "the unity of pitch and calendar": the name of the solar term (Guyu's "rain") and the name of the pitch (Guxian's "washing") resonate so closely with one another in meaning.

Section 3: Why Should Music Correspond to the Seasons$16

We cannot help but ask: why did the ancients so firmly believe that music (musical pitch) corresponds to the seasons (the times)$17 Upon what foundation does this conviction of "the unity of pitch and calendar" rest$18

Its foundation lies in the ancients' apprehension of "qi." In the ancients' view, all things in the cosmos are composed of and threaded through by "qi." The movement of the qi of Heaven and Earth possesses its own rhythm (the cycle of the four seasons, the twelve months); and sound, too, is essentially a vibration of "qi" (whether blowing a pitch-pipe or plucking a zither, both produce sound by setting the air into motion).

Since the seasons are the rhythm of "qi," and sound is the vibration of "qi," the two can resonate with and correspond to one another—the qi of Heaven and Earth at any given season must resonate with the vibrational frequency of some particular pitch. This is the deepest philosophical foundation of "the unity of pitch and calendar": time and sound share a common origin in "qi," and therefore can communicate with one another.

Precisely for this reason, the ancients even developed the practice of "watching for the qi" (houqi)—according to legend, the twelve pitch-pipes were buried underground, filled with the ashes of reed membrane, and when a particular solar term arrived, the qi within the corresponding buried pitch-pipe would stir, causing the ashes to fly out, thereby "verifying" the arrival of the solar term.

Whatever the actual efficacy of this method of "watching for the qi," it vividly embodies the ancients' persistent conviction of "watching the qi through pitch, verifying the season through sound"—they firmly believed that each rhythmic transition in the qi of Heaven and Earth (such as the arrival of Guyu) would stir a resonant tremor in the corresponding pitch. Once the qi of the third month, Guyu, arrives, the pitch Guxian would seem to sound forth of its own accord, throughout Heaven and Earth, its note of "washing and renewal."

Section 4: Musical Pitch as a Medium of Communication Between Heaven and Humanity

Finally, the ultimate significance of musical pitch with respect to Guyu (and indeed to every solar term) lies in its being a sacred medium of "communication between Heaven and humanity."

The ancients' establishment of pitch-standards and use of music was by no means merely for entertainment. The "Record of Music" chapter of the Book of Rites says: "Music is the harmony of Heaven and Earth... the greatest music shares its harmony with Heaven and Earth." Music is a manifestation of the harmony of Heaven and Earth... the highest music shares the very same harmony as Heaven and Earth. It also says: "Music makes harmony more generous, guiding the spirits and according with Heaven." Music can deepen harmony and generosity, and can guide the spirits and gods while according with the Way of Heaven. In the ancients' view, music (music that accords with proper pitch) can "share its harmony with Heaven and Earth," can reach up to communicate with the spirits and gods, and reach down to accord with the Way of Heaven—it is the medium through which humanity "harmonizes" and "communicates" with Heaven, Earth, and the spirits.

Thus, at a season such as Guyu, to sound forth music that accords with the pitch of "Guxian" is not merely to produce a pleasing sound, but for humanity to actively use "sound" to respond to the "qi" of Heaven and Earth, to use "music" to harmonize the "concord" between Heaven and humanity. When the qi of the third month turns to Guxian, turns to "washing and renewal," if humanity sounds forth the pitch of Guxian, this is using human sound to respond to and participate in the nurturing transformation of Heaven and Earth—through musical pitch, humanity merges into that grand rhythm of Heaven and Earth, "washing away the old and welcoming the new."

This is precisely the deepest purpose of "the unity of pitch and calendar": it makes humanity no longer a mere bystander to the rhythm of Heaven and Earth, but, through musical pitch, a respondent to that rhythm, a participant in it, even a fellow performer alongside it. A single pipe sounding the pitch Guxian thus becomes, at the season of Guyu, an invisible yet sacred bond linking human "sound" to Heavenly "qi," communicating between the human world and the vast heavens.