The Imagery of Music: A Reading and Inquiry into the Theory of Musical Imagery in Xunzi's "Discourse on Music"

This article was translated from the original Chinese by AI. Nuances may differ from the source.

Author: Xuanji Editorial Board

Original text:

The imagery of music (sheng yue zhi xiang): the drum is grand and resplendent; the bell is unifying and substantial; the chime-stone is incorrupt and measured; the mouth-organ, the sheng, and the panpipes are harmonious; the tube and the flute are rousing and fierce; the ocarina and the chi-flute are deep and broad; the se-zither is gentle and good; the qin-zither is graceful and fine; song is clear and complete; dance conveys the Way of Heaven in its entirety.

Is the drum not the sovereign of music$1 Thus the drum resembles Heaven, the bell resembles Earth, the chime-stone resembles Water, the mouth-organ, sheng, panpipes, tube, and flute resemble the stars, sun, and moon, and the hand-drum, the wooden box, the clappers, the sounding-board, and the striking-block resemble the myriad things.

How does one know the meaning of dance$2 I say: the eyes do not see themselves, the ears do not hear themselves -- yet the dancer governs bending and raising, flexing and extending, advancing and retreating, slowing and quickening, all without exception incorrupt and measured, exhausting the strength of sinew and bone to meet the rhythmic junctures where bells and drums converge, and there is not a single deviation. The accumulated spirit of the multitude -- how serene and harmonious it is!

-- Xunzi, "Discourse on Music" (Yue Lun)

Chapter One: Introduction -- Why Music Has "Imagery"

Section 1: The Meaning of "Xiang": The Original Context of the Concept in Pre-Qin Thought

Whenever one studies pre-Qin texts, among the characters whose meaning must first be clarified, xiang (imagery/phenomenon/resemblance) surely ranks foremost. Modern readers typically understand xiang as "image," "symbol," or "mental image," yet these are all products of later differentiation and are not the original meaning of xiang in the pre-Qin period. To understand the four characters sheng yue zhi xiang ("the imagery of music"), one must first trace xiang back to its earliest sense, lest one anachronistically impose later glosses upon an ancient text.

The most archaic meaning of xiang appears in oracle-bone inscriptions, where the character is a pictograph of an elephant -- with its long trunk, enormous ears, and four legs -- derived directly from the living creature. Although the Shuowen Jiezi is a Han-dynasty work, many of the character forms it records preserve vestiges of high antiquity. Xu Shen glosses xiang as "a beast with a long trunk and tusks, native to the southern regions." This is the original meaning: the concrete animal, the elephant. Yet how did the name of a particular animal evolve into one of the most important categories in pre-Qin philosophy$3

The key to this evolution lies in the connotation of "patterning after" inherent in xiang. The elephant's immense size and distinctive form made a deep impression on the ancients, who consequently extended xiang to mean "form" or "appearance." The Shangshu (Book of Documents), in the "Charge to Yue," contains such usages, and there is also the expression "Heaven suspends its images (xiang) and reveals fortune and misfortune," where xiang no longer refers to the physical animal but to celestial phenomena -- the visible forms and portents displayed by Heaven.

The Xici Zhuan (Commentary on the Appended Phrases) of the Yijing (Book of Changes) says:

"The sage perceived the profound patterns of all under heaven, fashioned likenesses of their forms and appearances, and gave images (xiang) to what was fitting for each thing -- therefore these are called xiang."

And again:

"For models and images, none are greater than heaven and earth; for transformation and continuity, none surpass the four seasons; for suspended images shining with brilliance, none surpass the sun and moon."

And again:

"In heaven, patterns become images (xiang); on earth, they become forms (xing); and so transformation and change become manifest."

These passages distill the essence of the pre-Qin theory of xiang. Xiang is neither mere outward appearance nor pure subjective invention: it is the collective term for the forms, patterns, and portents naturally displayed by heaven, earth, and the myriad things. When the sage "observes the images," he perceives through the visible forms of all things their inner principle. Xiang is the bridge between inner and outer, form and spirit, phenomenon and essence.

The hexagram images and line images of the Yijing are precisely the use of a finite set of symbols (yin and yang lines) to model the infinite transformations of heaven, earth, and all things. The eight trigrams -- Qian as heaven, Kun as earth, Zhen as thunder, Xun as wind, Kan as water, Li as fire, Gen as mountain, Dui as marsh -- are all xiang. Such xiang are neither abstract concepts nor concrete objects, but something in between: "categorical images" that use the distinctive quality of one thing to represent the shared nature of an entire class.

When Master Xun speaks of "the imagery of music" (sheng yue zhi xiang), how then should we understand this xiang$4

The xiang in "the imagery of music" carries forward the tradition of "image-taking" (qu xiang) from the Yijing onward. Master Xun does not mean the "shape" of music -- for music has no visible shape. Nor does he mean the "symbolism" of music -- that is a later, derived sense. What Master Xun means by xiang is the character, temperament, and effect that music presents: the inner quality conveyed through sound, perceptible and apprehensible to the human spirit. Here, xiang is the "virtue" of music, its "nature," its "character" -- described in the most distilled language, capturing the quality each instrument and each form of musical performance manifests.

Why not simply say "the nature of music" (sheng yue zhi xing) or "the virtue of music" (sheng yue zhi de), opting instead for xiang$5 The question is deeply significant. "Nature" and "virtue" emphasize internal essence, whereas xiang encompasses both inner and outer -- it is at once the outward manifestation of inner quality and the inner quality intimated by outward form. The wonder of music lies precisely in its use of external sound to present internal character, transmitting through audible tones what cannot be seen. The word xiang precisely captures this distinctive property of music: conveying meaning through sound, revealing virtue through resonance.

Furthermore, the use of xiang carries an implicit cosmological dimension. The passage that follows -- "the drum resembles Heaven, the bell resembles Earth, the chime-stone resembles Water" -- maps the xiang of instruments onto the xiang of heaven, earth, and the myriad things, constructing a grand system in which the hierarchy of instruments corresponds to the schema of the cosmos. This is no accident. In pre-Qin thought, xiang is inherently the intermediary linking human affairs to the Way of Heaven. The Xici Zhuan (Part Two) of the Yijing states:

"In ancient times, when Lord Baoxi (Fuxi) ruled all under heaven, he looked upward and observed the images in heaven, looked downward and observed the patterns on earth, observed the markings of birds and beasts and the features of the terrain, took models from near at hand in his own person and from far afield in other things, and thereupon first made the eight trigrams, so as to penetrate the virtue of the spirits and classify the conditions of all things."

Lord Baoxi's observation of images used the xiang of heaven, earth, and the myriad things as his medium to connect "the virtue of the spirits" with "the conditions of all things." Master Xun, in titling his passage "the imagery of music," likewise employs the xiang of music as a medium linking the sounds of instruments to the great Way of heaven and earth. This line of thought runs through the entire passage.

Section 2: How "Music" (Sheng Yue) Differs from "Sound" (Yin) and "Music" (Yue)

Pre-Qin texts on music frequently employ three terms -- sheng (sound/voice), yin (tone), and yue (music) -- and here Master Xun uses the compound sheng yue, rather than yin yue or yue alone. Is there a meaningful distinction$6

The Yueji (Record of Music) in the Liji (Book of Rites) offers a supremely precise analysis:

"All tones arise from the human heart. The movements of the heart are caused by external things. Stirred by things, the heart moves and takes form as sound (sheng). When sounds respond to one another, they generate variation; when variation achieves pattern, it is called tone (yin). When tones are arranged into melodies accompanied by shields, axes, plumes, and pennants, this is called music (yue)."

This passage draws a strict hierarchical distinction among the three:

• Sheng (sound): The primordial vocal emission when the heart is stirred by things -- unorganized, unsystematized. Any natural sound or human cry may be called sheng.
• Yin (tone): Sound organized through variation into patterned, regulated sonority -- "variation achieves pattern." The system of the five pitches (gong, shang, jue, zhi, yu) and the twelve pitch-pipes belongs to the domain of yin.
• Yue (music): Tones organized into complete compositions, accompanied by shields, axes, plumes, and pennants (dance and ritual), forming a comprehensive performance -- this is yue.

Why, then, does Master Xun join sheng and yue into the compound sheng yue$7

A careful examination of the original passage reveals that "the imagery of music" encompasses: drums, bells, chime-stones, mouth-organs, sheng, panpipes, tubes, flutes, ocarinas, chi-flutes, se-zithers, and qin-zithers -- all instrumental music, belonging to the domain of yin or yue; song -- vocal music, intermediate between sheng and yin; and dance -- bodily movement, the highest form of yue. Master Xun uses the compound sheng yue to encompass all of these, for sheng emphasizes the auditory-sonic dimension (including both instrumental sound and the singing voice), while yue emphasizes the comprehensive art form (including dance as an integral performance). Only by combining the two can the entire content of the passage be covered.

This is not casual word choice but a precise summation. What Master Xun discusses here involves both the sonic character of individual instruments (the dimension of sheng) and the holistic meaning of music and dance (the dimension of yue); hence the compound sheng yue is most apt.

And why not use the character yin$8 Because in the pre-Qin context, yin leans toward organized, systematized sonic structures -- the five pitches and twelve pitch-pipes -- and is a more technical concept. What Master Xun discusses here is not a matter of musical technique but of musical character and spirit; hence sheng rather than yin better accords with the meaning of xiang.

Moreover, the overarching purpose of Xunzi's entire "Discourse on Music" is to demonstrate the social function and civilizing value of music, not to discuss musical technique. Master Xun's concern is not how the five pitches generate one another or how the twelve pitch-pipes modulate -- those are questions of tuning theory -- but how the character manifested by music as a whole corresponds to heaven and earth, and how it relates to human affairs. The title "imagery of music" (sheng yue zhi xiang) precisely serves this aim.

Section 3: The Position of the "Discourse on Music" in Master Xun's Thought

Master Xun's philosophy takes ritual (li) as its core, the capacity for social organization (qun) as its foundation, and "transforming nature through conscious effort" (hua xing qi wei) as its method. To understand the deeper meaning of the "imagery of music" passage, one must first grasp the position of the "Discourse on Music" within Master Xun's broader thought.

On human nature, Master Xun advocates the doctrine that "human nature is evil." The "Xing E" (Human Nature Is Evil) chapter of the Xunzi states:

"Human nature is evil; whatever is good in people is the result of conscious effort (wei). By nature, people are born with a fondness for profit; if they follow this, contention and robbery arise while deference and yielding perish. By nature, people are born with envy and hatred; if they follow these, cruelty and villainy arise while loyalty and trustworthiness perish. By nature, people are born with desires of the ears and eyes, with a fondness for beautiful sounds and sights; if they follow these, licentiousness and disorder arise while ritual, propriety, and refined patterns perish."

Among the innate tendencies of human nature is "a fondness for beautiful sounds and sights" -- the desire for pleasing sounds and beautiful sights is a natural appetite. If this appetite is indulged without restraint, "licentiousness and disorder arise while ritual, propriety, and refined patterns perish." Must music, then -- an activity that directly gratifies the desires of ears and eyes -- be rejected in Master Xun's thought$9

The answer is no. Master Xun does not reject music; rather, he would guide and moderate it with "ritual and propriety" (li yi), making it a tool of moral cultivation rather than a vehicle for indulgence. The "Discourse on Music" opens with a programmatic declaration:

"Music (yue) is joy (le) -- it is something that human feelings inevitably require. Therefore, people cannot be without joy. When they are joyful, it must find expression in sound and movement, for such is the human way: sound, movement, and the transformations of one's natural disposition are wholly encompassed therein. Therefore, people cannot be without joy; when joyful, they cannot be without expression; and when expression is not guided by the Way (dao), there will inevitably be disorder. The former kings abhorred such disorder, and so they fashioned the sounds of the Elegantiae and Hymns to guide the people."

Several layers of meaning emerge here:

First, "music is joy" -- music just is happiness, an inevitable part of human feeling that cannot be abolished. This directly opposes the position of Master Mo (Mozi), who argued against music.

Second, "people cannot be without joy" -- human beings must have happiness, and happiness must find expression. This acknowledges the natural human need.

Third, "when expression is not guided by the Way, there will inevitably be disorder" -- if the expression of joy is not guided by the Way, chaos results. This is a critique of pure indulgence.

Fourth, "the former kings abhorred such disorder, and so they fashioned the sounds of the Elegantiae and Hymns to guide the people" -- the sage-kings created refined music to guide the people's joy in accordance with the Way. This is the civilizing function of music.

In Master Xun's thought, therefore, music possesses a dual nature: it is both the satisfaction of a natural human desire and a potential instrument for the moral cultivation of the human heart. The key lies in guiding and moderating it through ritual. The "Discourse on Music" and the "Discourse on Ritual" are companion pieces in Master Xun's writings; together they constitute his complete theory of "transforming nature through ritual and music."

The Xunzi's "Discourse on Music" further states:

"Music is what the sage delights in, and it can make the hearts of the people good. So deeply does it move people, so profoundly does it transform customs, that the former kings guided the people with ritual and music and the people became harmonious and content."

"So deeply does it move people, so profoundly does it transform customs" -- the power of music lies in its direct action upon human emotion, imperceptibly transforming temperament and disposition. This reaches far deeper than mere legal prohibitions. Ritual regulates conduct from without; music transforms the heart from within. The two complement each other.

Where, then, does the "imagery of music" passage stand within the "Discourse on Music" as a whole$10 It appears in the latter portion, after Master Xun has discussed the social function of music and refuted Master Mo's arguments against it, and turns to describe the character and cosmological significance of music's concrete content -- each instrument, song, and dance. This is the pivotal passage in which the discussion shifts from "the function of music" to "the substance of music," and it is the most poetic and philosophically profound portion of the entire chapter.

Section 4: Perspectives and Methods of This Study

This study unfolds from three perspectives:

First, close reading. The original text of "the imagery of music" is glossed character by character and phrase by phrase, clarifying the precise meaning of each instrument's character-description and tracing its linguistic and cultural background. This foundational work is indispensable.

Second, the Confucian perspective. Taking the Confucian music theory of the Master (Kongzi) and Master Xun as the main thread, we explore the ideas of ritual music, moral cultivation, and social order embedded in "the imagery of music." Primary texts are widely cited from the Lunyu (Analects), Mengzi, Xunzi, the Yueji of the Liji, the Zhouli, the Yili, the Zuozhuan, and other canonical works for corroboration and resonance.

Third, the Daoist and archaic perspectives. Taking the music theories of the Most High (Laozi) and Master Zhuang (Zhuangzi) as counterpoints, we explore the relationship between music and the Way (Dao). At the same time, we delve into the background of archaic myth, shamanic tradition, and sacrificial ritual, tracing the primordial cultural significance of each instrument and the original connection between music and the spirits of heaven and earth. Texts such as the Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas), Chuci (Songs of the South), Zhuangzi, and Lushi Chunqiu (Springs and Autumns of Master Lu) are widely cited.

In citing these texts, this study follows the principle of "resonance" rather than "comparison." By "resonance," we mean that different texts share relations of intellectual sympathy, echo, and mutual illumination, rather than simple similarity or difference. Although the various masters of the pre-Qin era each had their own central tenets, they inhabited a common cultural tradition, and their ideas often share deep affinities. This study aims to reveal those affinities rather than to manufacture oppositions.

Chapter Two: Line-by-Line Reading of "The Imagery of Music" -- Ten Instruments, Ten Virtues

Section 1: Overview -- The System of Ten Instruments and Ten Virtues

The "imagery of music" passage, in supremely concise language, describes the character of ten types of instruments (drum, bell, chime-stone, mouth-organ, sheng, panpipes, tube, flute, ocarina, chi-flute, se-zither, and qin-zither), as well as song and dance -- twelve items in all. These twelve can be grouped as follows:

The order of these twelve items is not arbitrary but follows an inner logic. Broadly speaking, from drum to chime-stone we have percussion instruments; from mouth-organ/sheng/panpipes to ocarina/chi-flute, wind instruments; se-zither and qin-zither are stringed instruments; and the sequence culminates in song and dance. This ordering corresponds closely to the pre-Qin "eight timbres" (ba yin) classification.

The "eight timbres," as recorded in the Zhouli (Rites of Zhou), "Office of the Grand Music Master," are:

"All are performed with the eight timbres: metal, stone, clay, hide, silk, wood, gourd, and bamboo."

Metal denotes bells, stone denotes chime-stones, clay denotes ocarinas, hide denotes drums, silk denotes qin and se, wood denotes the wooden box (zhu) and tiger-scraper (yu), gourd denotes the sheng and mouth-organ, and bamboo denotes panpipes, tubes, flutes, and chi-flutes. Although Master Xun's passage does not follow the eight-timbres order strictly, the instruments he discusses cover most of these categories.

More remarkable still is the fact that Master Xun's character-description for each instrument is extraordinarily apt and laden with deeper meaning. Let us examine each in turn.

Section 2: "The Drum Is Grand and Resplendent" -- The Image of the Drum

"The drum is grand and resplendent" (gu da li) -- three characters declaring the drum's character as "grand" (da) and "resplendent" (li).

In the pre-Qin context, da does not merely denote physical largeness; it carries connotations of the sublime, the great, the supreme. The Tuanzhuan (Commentary on the Judgment) of the Qian hexagram in the Yijing says:

"How great is the primal power of Qian! All things owe their beginning to it; it governs Heaven."

Here da describes the sublime greatness of the Way of Heaven -- far surpassing a mere contrast of large and small. The Most High (Laozi) likewise says:

"There was something formless yet complete, born before heaven and earth. Silent and void, standing alone and unchanging, moving in cycles without ceasing, it may be regarded as the mother of heaven and earth. I do not know its name; I style it 'the Way'; forced to give it a name, I call it 'the Great' (da)." (Laozi, Chapter 25)

"Forced to give it a name, I call it 'the Great'" -- the Way is named "Great," using da to designate that which is beyond speech and beyond naming.

The "greatness" of the drum accords precisely with this sense. The drum's sound is deep, resonant, and stirring, as vast as heaven, as sublime as the Way. In physical size, the drum is indeed the largest of all instruments (a great drum may stand several feet tall; the jianzgu and fengu are enormous constructions), and its sound is the most powerful and far-reaching, so the epithet "grand" is richly deserved.

The meaning of li requires careful discrimination. In the pre-Qin period, li carries several senses:

First, "attaching to" or "adhering to." The Tuanzhuan of the Li hexagram in the Yijing says:

"Li means 'attaching.' The sun and moon attach to heaven; the hundred grains and grasses attach to earth. Twofold brightness attaching to what is right -- thus is all under heaven transformed and perfected."

Here li means to adhere or cling. The sun and moon adhere to heaven; grains and grasses adhere to earth; the radiance of civilization adheres to the right Way, and thereby transforms all under heaven.

Second, "brilliance" or "splendor." The character li is related to "deer" (lu); the antlers of a stag are magnificent and splendid, whence the extension to splendor and brilliance.

Third, "pairing" or "coupling." Li carries the sense of "matching," that is, forming a pair.

The "resplendence" of the drum should be understood as combining the first two senses. On one hand, the drum's sound is immense, like the sun and moon adhering to heaven, radiant and glorious, the crown of all instruments -- hence li in the sense of brilliance. On the other hand, the drum is the sovereign of music (as the text says next: "Is the drum not the sovereign of music$11"), and all instruments adhere to the drum's rhythm -- hence li in the sense of adherence and unifying governance.

Taking "grand" and "resplendent" together, the drum's character is sublimity, magnificence, and the governance of the entire ensemble. This perfectly matches the later statement "the drum resembles Heaven" -- for heaven's character is precisely "grand" and "resplendent": the boundlessness of heaven is "grand"; its sun, moon, and stars are "resplendent."

Why does the drum merit this epithet$12 On the physical level, the drum is made by stretching hide over a frame, hollow inside, and struck with a mallet to produce sound. Its sound is deep, resonant, with large amplitude and low frequency, able to penetrate through the sounds of other instruments. In ensemble performance, the drum provides the fundamental rhythmic skeleton to which all other instruments adhere. Just as heaven is the greatest and most exalted of all things, the drum is the greatest and most exalted of all instruments.

On the cultural level, the drum held an exceptionally special position in archaic society. It was used in sacrifice to communicate with the spirits, in warfare to rally troops, at court to promulgate decrees, and at village banquets to harmonize host and guests. The Zhouli, "Office of the Drum Master," records the system of six drums:

"The thunder-drum is used for divine sacrifices, the spirit-drum for communal sacrifices, the road-drum for ancestral offerings, the signal-drum for military affairs, the labor-drum for corvee work, and the advance-drum for metal-and-bell performances."

Six types of drums for different occasions attest to the drum's ubiquity in pre-Qin social life. Its "grandeur and resplendence" describes not only its sonic character but also its supreme social standing.

Why the drum alone occupies so exalted a position requires tracing the drum's origins in high antiquity -- a subject treated in a later chapter.

Section 3: "The Bell Is Unifying and Substantial" -- The Image of the Bell

"The bell is unifying and substantial" (zhong tong shi) -- three characters declaring the bell's character as "unifying" (tong) and "substantial" (shi).

Tong means to unify, to integrate, to serve as a guiding thread. In the Xunzi, "Against the Twelve Masters": "Model themselves on the former kings and unify ritual and propriety." Here tong means to integrate and serve as a guiding principle. The "unifying" quality of the bell refers to the bell's function of integrating all sounds. In pre-Qin ensembles, bells -- especially sets of tuned bells (bianzhong) -- held an extremely important position, often serving as the pitch standard and structural marker for the entire ensemble. The ancients used the term "metal performance" (jin zou) for music led by bells, and the Zhouli, "Office of the Bell Master," records:

"The Bell Master is in charge of metal performances. For all musical events, bells and drums are used to perform the Nine Xia."

"Metal performance" is ensemble music led by bells -- the concrete expression of the bell's "unifying" quality.

Shi means solidity, fullness, substantiality -- the opposite of "empty" (xu). The "substantiality" of the bell refers to the weighty fullness of its sound. Cast from an alloy of copper and tin, the bell is solid and thick; when struck, its tone is rich, full, and sustained, conveying a sense of stability and gravitas.

Together, "unifying" and "substantial" describe the bell as integrating all sounds while possessing inner fullness. This matches the later statement "the bell resembles Earth" -- for earth's character is precisely "unifying" and "substantial": earth bears all things and provides the unifying foundation for them all; earth's substance is solid and heavy, not empty or frivolous.

The Tuanzhuan of the Kun hexagram in the Yijing says:

"How perfect is the primal power of Kun! All things owe their birth to it; it obediently receives the influence of Heaven. Kun is thick and bears all things; its virtue is boundless. It contains and nurtures all; every creature finds its fulfillment."

"Kun is thick and bears all things" -- Kun's solidity in bearing all things matches the bell's "substantiality." "Every creature finds its fulfillment" -- all things achieve their potential, matching the bell's "unifying" quality. The bell's "unifying substantiality" is the portrait of Kun's virtue.

Why does the bell merit this description$13 Physically, tuned bells are cast in bronze, a material that is solid and heavy. Their timbre is rich and weighty, with long-lasting reverberations; in the ensemble they serve to establish pitch, set tempo, and lead the whole -- a unifying role. The ancients were extremely particular about the ratio of copper to tin in bell-casting. The Zhouli, "Records of Crafts," notes:

"Metal has six standard alloys: for bells and cauldrons, the alloy is six parts metal to one part tin."

This ratio produces a sound that is rich rather than thin. The word "substantial" describes both the physical solidity of the bell's body and the fullness of its tone.

On the cultural level, bells in the pre-Qin period were "weighty vessels" (zhong qi), far above ordinary instruments. Bells and cauldrons were named together as objects of state prestige. Feudal lords took pride in possessing bells and cauldrons and felt disgraced at losing them. The Zuozhuan records episodes of bells being captured in war, demonstrating the immense political significance of bells. The "unifying" quality of the bell implies not only musical integration but also political leadership.

Section 4: "The Chime-Stone Is Incorrupt and Measured" -- The Image of the Chime-Stone

"The chime-stone is incorrupt and measured" (qing lian zhi) -- three characters declaring the chime-stone's character as "incorrupt" (lian) and "measured" (zhi).

Lian carries several pre-Qin meanings:

First, "integrity" or "uprightness." The Xunzi, "Cultivating the Person": "Incorrupt yet not cutting." Here lian means moral integrity.

Second, "sharp-edged" or "clearly defined." The original meaning of lian relates to edges and corners; any sharply defined edge may be called lian. The Xunzi, "On Not Being Indulgent": "The gentleman is broad-minded yet not slack, incorrupt yet not cutting, articulate yet not contentious." Here lian and "cutting" (gui) are paired: having edges without causing injury.

Third, "crisp" or "clear-ringing" -- an extension from "sharply defined," describing a sound that is crisp and clean, with no dragging or muddiness.

The "incorruptness" of the chime-stone draws on the latter two senses. Made of stone (or jade), the chime-stone, when struck, produces a crisp, clean sound -- clear-edged, well-defined, and free from murkiness. This contrasts sharply with the drum's "grandeur" and the bell's "substantiality" -- the drum's sound is vast and deep, the bell's is full and sustained, while the chime-stone's is crisp and bright, like the flow of water, limpid to the bottom.

Zhi means restraint, regulation, measure. The Xunzi, "On the Regulations of a King": "Regulate and make use of them." The "measure" of the chime-stone refers to the quality of restraint in its sound: it does not overreach, does not run wild, but strikes just the right degree.

Together, "incorrupt" and "measured" describe the chime-stone's character as crisp, clearly defined, and properly restrained. This matches the later statement "the chime-stone resembles Water" -- for the character of water is precisely "incorrupt" and "measured": water's limpid transparency is "incorruptness" (purity without stain), and water's way of flowing with the terrain, adapting to the shape of its vessel, is "measure" (restraint that does not overreach).

The Most High (Laozi) speaks of water thus:

"The highest good is like water. Water excels in benefiting all things and does not contend; it dwells in places that the multitude disdains; therefore it comes close to the Way." (Laozi, Chapter 8)

Water's "not contending" matches the chime-stone's "measure" -- restrained and not aggressive. Water's benefiting of all things while remaining limpid matches the chime-stone's "incorruptness" -- pure and beneficial.

Why does a stone instrument have an "image" that resembles water$14 The question is deeply intriguing. Stone is the hardest of materials, water the softest -- how can the sound of stone resemble water$15 The answer lies in the distinction between "sound" and "substance." Although the chime-stone's body is stone (hard), its sound is clear and flowing like water (soft). This accords with the Most High's principle that "the soft overcomes the hard" -- the hardest stone produces the softest sound. "Sound" is the outward manifestation of stone's inner "virtue"; though stone's substance is hard, stone's voice is gentle. There is profound meaning in this.

The chime-stone's function in the pre-Qin ensemble likewise corresponds to its "incorrupt and measured" character. The Shangshu, "Yi and Ji," records:

"Strike and sound the singing-jade, play the hand-drum, qin, and se, and accompany with singing."

"Singing-jade" (ming qiu) is a jade chime-stone; in the ensemble it serves a restraining, concluding function. The ancients said, "Strike the chime-stone to stop the music" -- the chime-stone's crisp, brief sound was ideal for marking the divisions and endpoints of a composition, performing the function of "measure."

Section 5: "The Mouth-Organ, Sheng, and Panpipes Are Harmonious" -- The Harmony of the Wind Instruments

"The mouth-organ, sheng, and panpipes are harmonious" (yu sheng xiao he) -- four characters declaring that the mouth-organ (yu), the sheng, and the panpipes (xiao) are characterized by "harmony" (he).

The concept of he occupies an extraordinarily exalted position in pre-Qin philosophy. "Harmony" is not "uniformity" -- this distinction is one of the most important in pre-Qin thought. The Guoyu (Discourses of the States), in the "Discourses of Zheng," records the words of Historian Bo:

"It is harmony that truly generates things; uniformity cannot sustain them. To balance one thing with another that differs from it -- this is called harmony, and thereby things can grow abundantly and all return to it. But if you supplement the same with the same, everything will be exhausted and discarded."

"To balance one thing with another that differs from it -- this is called harmony" -- different things mutually coordinating and balancing constitute "harmony." When identical things are merely heaped together, the result is "uniformity." Harmony generates; uniformity does not. This distinction is profoundly important.

The Zuozhuan, Duke Zhao Year 20, records Minister Yan's discussion of the difference between "harmony" and "uniformity":

"Harmony is like broth: water, fire, vinegar, meat sauce, salt, and plums are used to cook fish and meat, heated with firewood, and the cook blends them, balancing the flavors. ... Sound too is like flavor: one breath, two forms, three varieties, four substances, five pitches, six pitch-pipes, seven notes, eight winds, nine songs -- all complete one another. Clear and turbid, small and great, short and long, fast and slow, sorrowful and joyful, hard and soft, slow and quick, high and low, entering and exiting, dense and sparse -- all balance one another."

Minister Yan uses the metaphor of cooking to illustrate musical "harmony": he points out that harmony is the mutual coordination, complementation, and balancing of different sounds.

Why can the mouth-organ, sheng, and panpipes embody "harmony"$16

The mouth-organ and sheng both belong to the gourd class (the sheng uses a gourd as its wind-chest). Structurally, both are free-reed instruments that produce sound through the vibration of reed tongues. The sheng is constructed with multiple bamboo pipes inserted into a gourd wind-chest, each pipe fitted with a reed at the base; when blown, several pipes can sound simultaneously, producing a "harmonic" effect of multiple notes sounding at once. This is unique among pre-Qin instruments -- most other instruments produce only one note at a time, but the sheng can produce several. The Shijing (Book of Songs), "Lesser Elegantiae," "Deer Cry," says:

"I have honored guests; I play the se and blow the sheng. Blow the sheng, sound the reeds, and present the basket-gifts."

"Play the se and blow the sheng" -- the pairing of se and sheng is itself an expression of "harmony." "Blow the sheng, sound the reeds" -- the sheng sounds through its multiple reeds vibrating together, an intrinsic image of harmony.

The mouth-organ (yu) is similar to the sheng but larger, with more pipes and greater volume. The panpipes (xiao -- in the pre-Qin period, xiao referred not to the end-blown flute of later eras but to the pan-flute, an arrangement of bamboo tubes of varying lengths) is likewise a multi-pipe instrument. All three share the characteristic of "multiple pipes sounding in coordination," and all produce sounds characterized by "harmony."

At a deeper level, he in pre-Qin thought is not merely a musical term but a social ideal. The Lunyu (Analects), "Xue Er" (Learning), records the words of Master You:

"In the practice of ritual, harmony is what is valued. In the Way of the former kings, this is what is beautiful."

"Harmony" is the highest attainment of ritual. The "harmony" of the mouth-organ, sheng, and panpipes describes not only their musical character but also implies the social ideal of achieving harmony through music -- many different voices coordinating, just as many different groups of people coexist in peace.

Section 6: "The Tube and Flute Are Rousing and Fierce" -- The Fierceness of the Tube and Flute

"The tube and flute are rousing and fierce" (guan yue fa meng) -- four characters declaring the tube (guan) and flute (yue) to be characterized by "rousing fierceness" (fa meng).

Fa carries the sense of initiating, arousing, stimulating. Meng carries the sense of ferocity, vigor, spirited intensity. Together, "rousing and fierce" means that the sound of the tube and flute is stirring, vigorous, and spirit-rousing.

The tube is a single-pipe instrument made of bamboo, blown vertically or horizontally, producing a high, piercing sound. The flute (yue) is likewise a bamboo wind instrument; the Erya glosses it as a three-holed pipe. Compared to the "harmony" of the mouth-organ, sheng, and panpipes, the tube and flute produce a sound that is more singular, more direct, more piercingly brilliant. Precisely because they are single-pipe instruments -- unlike the multi-pipe sheng and mouth-organ -- their sound is more concentrated and incisive, with great penetrating power.

Why "rousing and fierce"$17 "Rousing" (fa) implies the voice soaring and projecting far, with strong penetrating power. "Fierce" (meng) implies a vigorous, forceful sound that stirs the spirit.

In the ensemble, the tube and flute serve precisely this "rousing and fierce" function -- amid the deep resonance of drums, the full sound of bells, the crisp ring of chime-stones, and the harmonious blend of mouth-organs and sheng, the tube and flute pierce through with their high, keen sound, like bugles in a regiment, stirring the spirit and rousing the will.

The Shijing, "Hymns of Zhou," "There Are Blind Musicians," says:

"When all are ready they play; panpipes and tubes are raised together."

The Shijing, "Airs of Bei," "Jian Xi," says:

"In the left hand he holds the flute (yue), in the right he grasps the pheasant-plume."

This poem describes a dancer who holds a flute in one hand and a pheasant feather in the other, showing that the yue was used not only for blowing but also held during dance, serving as a ritual implement.

"Rousing and fierce" echoes the later statement that "the mouth-organ, sheng, panpipes, tube, and flute resemble the stars, sun, and moon." The radiance of stars, sun, and moon is indeed "rousing and fierce" -- blazing in all directions, brilliant and dazzling, piercing the darkness, illuminating the far reaches. The sound of the tube and flute, like the light of sun and moon, soars far and wide, stirring the human heart.

One may further ask: why are the mouth-organ, sheng, and panpipes discussed separately from the tube and flute -- one group "harmonious," the other "rousing and fierce"$18 All are wind instruments; why such different characters$19

The answer lies in structural difference. The mouth-organ, sheng, and panpipes are "multi-pipe" instruments whose pipes sound in coordination, naturally presenting a "harmonious" character. The tube and flute are "single-pipe" instruments (or few-piped), sounding independently, naturally presenting a "rousing and fierce" character. "Many" yields "harmony"; "one" yields "fierceness" -- these are not characters arbitrarily assigned by human will, but natural qualities determined by the instruments' own structures. Master Xun's "imagery of music" precisely captures these natural qualities.

This distinction also carries a profound social philosophy. "Harmony" is a collective virtue -- many people coordinating, like the sheng's many pipes vibrating together. "Rousing fierceness" is an individual virtue -- a single person exerting vigorous effort, like the tube's single pipe sounding alone. Society needs both collective harmony and individual vigor; neither can be neglected.

Section 7: "The Ocarina and Chi-Flute Are Deep and Broad" -- The Breadth of Clay and Bamboo

"The ocarina and chi-flute are deep and broad" (xun chi weng bo) -- four characters declaring the ocarina (xun) and chi-flute (chi) to be characterized by "depth and breadth" (weng bo).

Weng here is cognate with "weng" (the sound of a large jar humming) -- describing a low, resonant, reverberating sound, like a great vessel droning. Some scholars gloss weng as "dignified composure," suggesting a sound that is unhurried and deeply resonant. Both interpretations converge: they indicate a sound of profound depth and fullness.

Bo means expansive, broad, capacious. A "broad" sound is one with wide range and deep timbre, possessing a spirit of all-encompassing magnanimity.

Together, "deep and broad" declares the ocarina and chi-flute to produce sounds that are profoundly resonant and expansively inclusive.

The ocarina is made of fired clay, hollow, with a blowing hole and finger holes. Its sound is utterly distinctive -- low, thick, slightly husky, with a quality of vast desolation, like the breathing of the earth itself, an echo from remote antiquity. Among all instruments, this sound is the most "archaic," the least adorned and ornate, yet the most capable of touching the deepest reaches of human emotion.

The chi-flute is a bamboo transverse wind instrument with a bottom and cap; its sound is likewise relatively low and full, softer and more restrained than that of the di-flute.

Why are the ocarina and chi-flute described together as "deep and broad"$20 In material, the ocarina is clay and the chi-flute is bamboo; in structure, the ocarina is ovoid and hollow, the chi-flute is tubular with a closed end. They differ in material and form -- how do they share the character of "depth and breadth"$21

The answer lies in their common feature: both are wind instruments with closed or partially sealed structures. The ocarina is a fully enclosed hollow body (with only blowing and finger holes); the chi-flute likewise has a sealed bottom (the ancient chi-flute was closed at both ends). This enclosed structure allows airflow to resonate thoroughly within the instrument, producing a deep, full tone. Compared to open-tube instruments (such as the di-flute or tube), whose sound is bright and soaring, the ocarina and chi-flute are more contained, more inward, more profoundly resonant -- hence "deep and broad."

The bo (broad) in "deep and broad" is especially meaningful. The Xunzi, "Cultivating the Person": "Widely learned -- that is 'broad.'" The Lunyu, "Zi Han," records the Master's words:

"He broadened me with culture and restrained me with ritual."

Bo means expansiveness and inclusiveness. Why is the sound of the ocarina and chi-flute "broad"$22 Because their deep, full tones are neither sharp nor cutting, possessing a spirit that embraces everything. Just as the earth in its vastness can receive all things, the sound of the ocarina and chi-flute can blend with the sounds of all other instruments, never pushing itself forward, never suppressing others, but providing a deep foundation that supports the whole ensemble.

In pre-Qin poetry, the ocarina and chi-flute are often named together. The Shijing, "Lesser Elegantiae," "He Ren Si," says:

"The elder brother blows the ocarina; the younger brother blows the chi-flute."

The paired naming of ocarina and chi-flute symbolizes brotherly harmony (later ages used "the concord of ocarina and chi-flute" as a metaphor for brotherly affection). Why can these instruments symbolize brotherhood$23 Precisely because the sound of both is "deep and broad" -- generous, expansive, and inclusive -- the very virtues that should characterize the bond between brothers: treating others with magnanimity, embracing differences, and jointly sustaining family harmony.

Section 8: "The Se-Zither Is Gentle and Good" -- The Goodness of the Se

"The se-zither is gentle and good" (se yi liang) -- three characters declaring the se's character as "gentle" (yi) and "good" (liang).

Yi carries several pre-Qin meanings:

First, "equable" or "mild." The Lunyu, "Tai Bo," records the Master's praise of King Yu: "He reduced the grandeur of his palace and devoted his energies to irrigation channels" -- all expressions of an yi attitude: approachable and unpretentious.

Second, "change" -- the yi of the Yijing (Book of Changes) includes the sense of "transformation."

Third, "simplicity." The Xici Zhuan of the Yijing: "What is simple (yi) is easy to understand ... what is easy to understand is easy to feel close to."

The se's "gentleness" takes the sense of "equable" and "mild." The se is a many-stringed instrument (pre-Qin se-zithers had as many as twenty-five strings); with many strings, its range is wide and its tone warm and gentle, not as tightly focused as the qin but spreading outward like spring rain, warm and soothing.

Liang means good, fine, excellent. Although Master Xun's "Human Nature Is Evil" chapter maintains the doctrine of innate evil, it also acknowledges that subsequent "goodness" (liang) can be achieved through cultivation. The "goodness" of the se means that its sound is benign and warm, free from harshness or stridency, bringing contentment and assent.

Together, "gentle and good" describes the se's character as mild, approachable, and benevolent. This accords perfectly with its form and function.

The se was used extremely widely in pre-Qin ritual music. The Shijing contains many references to "playing the se":

"The modest, retiring, virtuous maiden -- he courts her with qin and se." (Shijing, "Airs of Zhou," "Guan Ju")

"I have honored guests; I play the se and play the qin." (Shijing, "Lesser Elegantiae," "Deer Cry")

"With qin and se at hand, all is peaceful and fine." (Shijing, "Airs of Zheng," "The Wife Says at Cockcrow")

The se is often named together with the qin and used at banquets, sacrifices, and private music-making. With its wide range and warm tone, it is ideal for accompanying song, and in ritual-music practice it was the most widely used instrument.

The se's "gentleness and goodness" also carries a social-philosophical implication. "Gentle" (yi) means approachable; "good" (liang) means benevolent -- a character that is mild, approachable, and good is precisely the ideal Confucian virtue of the gentleman. The Lunyu, "Xue Er," says:

"The Master obtained it through being warm, good, respectful, frugal, and deferential."

Among the Master's five virtues -- "warm, good (liang), respectful, frugal, and deferential" -- liang stands prominent. The se's "goodness" answers to the Master's virtue of liang.

Section 9: "The Qin-Zither Is Graceful and Fine" -- The Beauty of the Qin

"The qin-zither is graceful and fine" (qin fu hao) -- three characters declaring the qin's character as "graceful and fine" (fu hao).

The interpretation of these three characters has long been debated. The key question is how to understand fu.

One view glosses fu as "soft and graceful," so fu hao means "softly graceful and beautiful," describing the qin's tender, pleasing sound. This reading starts from the qin's actual sonic character: with its few strings (pre-Qin qin-zithers had five or seven strings), the qin's range is relatively concentrated, its tone serene and delicate, more restrained and inward than the se; hence "graceful and fine" (softly beautiful).

A second view takes fu as a phonetic loan for fu (meaning "to spread"), so fu hao would mean "pervadingly beautiful" -- the beauty of the qin's sound pervades everywhere.

A third view reads fu hao directly as "beautiful as a woman" -- the qin's beauty resembles the tender grace of a woman. Though this reading is straightforward, the pre-Qin era did not regard "feminine beauty" as something base; on the contrary, it was recognized as a distinctive quality.

Whichever reading one adopts, "the qin is graceful and fine" points toward a sonic character that is tender, subtle, and beautiful. This contrasts sharply with the drum's "grandeur and resplendence" and the bell's "unifying substantiality." The drum and bell embody vigorous, resonant character; the qin embodies tender, refined character. In the ensemble, it is precisely this interplay of strength and gentleness that constitutes complete "harmony."

The qin held an exceptionally special position in pre-Qin culture. It was not a mere instrument but the vessel of a gentleman's self-cultivation. The Master played the qin throughout his life. The Lunyu, "Yang Huo," records:

"The Master went to Wucheng and heard the sound of strings and singing. He smiled gently and said, 'Why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken$24'"

"The sound of strings and singing" (xian ge) means singing accompanied by qin and se -- the standard method of moral instruction in the pre-Qin period. The qin's "graceful beauty" accords perfectly with its function in self-cultivation and education: it does not overpower through force but transforms through gentleness.

One may further ask: why are the qin and se discussed separately$25 Both are silk-stringed instruments; why do their characters differ$26

The answer lies in structural differences. The se has many strings (twenty-five or more), a wide range, a relatively large volume, and a warm, open tone -- hence "gentle and good." The qin has few strings (five or seven); though its range is not narrow, fewer strings mean each string bears more expressive burden, and performance emphasizes the subtlety of fingering techniques (such as yin, nao, chuo, and zhu), producing a more contained, inward, refined, and delicate tone -- hence "graceful and fine."

The se's "gentleness and goodness" inclines toward openness, warmth, and breadth; the qin's "graceful beauty" inclines toward containment, refinement, and delicacy. One yang, one yin; one strong, one soft -- they complement each other.

Section 10: "Song Is Clear and Complete" -- The Completeness of Song

"Song is clear and complete" (ge qing jin) -- three characters declaring song's character as "clear" (qing) and "complete" (jin).

Qing carries great significance in the pre-Qin context. The Xunzi, "Dispelling Blindness," says:

"How does the mind know$27 I say: through emptiness, unity, and stillness. ... Emptiness, unity, and stillness -- this is called 'great clarity' (da qing ming)."

The mind's highest state is "great clarity" -- qing is the supreme quality of the mind.

The "clarity" of song means that the human singing voice is, in character, clear, limpid, and pure. The human voice differs from instrumental sound: instruments are constrained by their materials and craftsmanship and inevitably carry the characteristics of those materials (metal sounds are thick, stone sounds are crisp, bamboo sounds are bright, clay sounds are deep). But the human voice issues from the mouth and originates in the heart; if the heart is clear, the voice will naturally be limpid. The "clarity" of song is the outward manifestation of inner "clarity of heart."

Jin means to exhaust, to bring to completion, to achieve perfection. The Master said of the Shao music:

"He said of the Shao that it was perfectly beautiful and also perfectly good. He said of the Wu that it was perfectly beautiful but not yet perfectly good." (Lunyu, "Ba Yi")

"Perfectly beautiful" and "perfectly good" -- jin means "completely." The "completeness" of song means that singing can fully express the depths and breadth of human emotion, leaving nothing unexpressed.

Together, "clear and complete" declares that the character of singing is limpid purity and full expressiveness. The singing voice is the most direct, most natural, and most fully expressive mode of all "music." Instrumental music must work through material media (metal, stone, clay, bamboo, silk, etc.); the human voice issues directly from the human heart and the human mouth, with the fewest intermediaries, and is therefore best able to convey emotion with "clarity" and "completeness."

One may ask: why is the singing voice placed after the ten instruments and before dance$28

From instruments to song to dance is a process of ever-deepening, ever-ascending engagement, culminating in the whole person's total involvement.

The Yueji of the Liji offers a similar description:

"In singing, the voice rises as if lifted up, descends as if falling, turns as if bending, stops as if dead wood, bows to the square, curves to the hook, and flows on in a continuous string like beads on a thread."

All these descriptions emphasize the clarity, precision, and perfection of singing -- exactly the meaning of "clear and complete."

Section 11: "Dance Conveys the Way of Heaven in Its Entirety" -- The Totality of Dance

"Dance conveys the Way of Heaven in its entirety" (wu yi tian dao jian) -- five characters declaring the character of dance as "conveying the Way of Heaven in its entirety." These five characters constitute the summary and climax of the entire passage, and the most challenging to interpret.

Yi here means "import" or "intent." Tian dao is the great Way of Heaven. Jian means to encompass, to include completely. Taken together, "dance conveys the Way of Heaven in its entirety" means that the intent of dance is to encompass the fullness of the Way of Heaven -- dance uses the human body as its medium to express the entire significance of the cosmic Way, embracing the principles of heaven, earth, and all things.

Why can dance "convey the Way of Heaven in its entirety"$29 This is the passage's most central question. Dance held the highest position among all forms of pre-Qin ritual music. The Zhouli, "Office of the Grand Music Master," records:

"Teach the sons of the state the musical dances: the dance of 'Cloud Gate,' 'Great Cycle,' 'Great Harmony,' 'Great Xia,' 'Great Huo,' and 'Great Wu.'"

All six dynastic musical compositions are named as "dances," showing that "dance" is the supreme form of music. Why$30 Because dance is the only art form that uses the entire human body as its medium. Only dance employs the full body -- head, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, waist, legs, and feet -- in all its movements to convey meaning.

The word jian (entirety) is key. Each instrument has its particular emphasis -- the drum emphasizes "grandeur," the bell "substantiality," the chime-stone "incorruptness"; each captures only one aspect of the Way of Heaven. Only dance "encompasses" both the visual and the kinesthetic, "embraces" rhythm and melody, "unites" strength and gentleness. Hence it can "convey the Way of Heaven in its entirety."

The Lushi Chunqiu, "Ancient Music," records:

"In ancient times, the music of the Lord of Ge Tian was thus: three men grasped ox-tails, stamped their feet, and sang eight stanzas."

Archaic music already united song and dance as one -- hands, feet, and voice all participating. This was music's most primordial form, and also its highest form.

The Xunzi, "Discourse on Heaven," says:

"Heaven operates with constancy; it does not exist for the sake of Yao, nor does it cease for the sake of Jie."

Dance that "conveys the Way of Heaven in its entirety" uses the ordered movements of the human body to model the ordered operation of the Way of Heaven. Heaven has the alternation of day and night (like the alternation of bending and raising), the cycle of four seasons (like the back-and-forth of advancing and retreating), the waxing and waning of yin and yang (like the variation of slowing and quickening) -- the dancer "enacts" the operation of the Way of Heaven through bodily movement.

Section 12: The Overall Structure of the Ten Instruments and Ten Virtues

Surveying the entire "imagery of music" passage, the characters of the twelve instruments and activities can be summarized as follows:

• Drum -- Grand and resplendent: Sublime and magnificent; the sovereign of music.
• Bell -- Unifying and substantial: Integrating and full; the foundation of music.
• Chime-stone -- Incorrupt and measured: Crisp and restrained; the measure of music.
• Mouth-organ, sheng, panpipes -- Harmonious: Coordinated; the unity of music.
• Tube and flute -- Rousing and fierce: Stirring and vigorous; the animation of music.
• Ocarina and chi-flute -- Deep and broad: Full and expansive; the depth of music.
• Se-zither -- Gentle and good: Mild and benevolent; the warmth of music.
• Qin-zither -- Graceful and fine: Tender and beautiful; the delicacy of music.
• Song -- Clear and complete: Limpid and exhaustive; the sincerity of music.
• Dance -- Conveying the Way of Heaven in its entirety: Embracing the cosmic Way; the totality of music.

The characters of these twelve items form a complete spectrum from strong to gentle, from outer to inner, from part to whole. The drum is the most vigorous, the most external, the most grand; dance is the most comprehensive, the most profound, the most all-embracing. The entire sequence traces a progression from "instrument" to "person," from "part" to "whole," from "one aspect of the Way of Heaven" to "the Way of Heaven in its entirety."

This is not merely a description of musical aesthetics but a miniature cosmology -- using the twelve elements of music as a framework to reflect the character and structure of heaven, earth, and all things. The next chapter discusses this cosmology in detail.

Chapter Three: Instruments and the Cosmos -- Music as the Mirror of the Universal Schema

Section 1: "Is the Drum Not the Sovereign of Music$31" -- The Drum as Sovereign

The second paragraph of the original text opens with: "Is the drum not the sovereign of music$32" (gu qi yue zhi jun ye)

This rhetorical question advances an important judgment: the drum is the "sovereign" (jun) of music. The construction qi ... ye is a pre-Qin rhetorical form meaning "is it not ... $33" -- emphatic and slightly impassioned in tone.

Why is the drum the sovereign of music$34 The character jun carries a dual meaning in pre-Qin usage: first, a ruler or leader; second, the highest or most honored. For the drum to be the "sovereign" of music means it occupies a governing position in the ensemble -- it leads the whole, determines the rhythm, controls the tempo, and all other instruments must follow its beat.

This is not Master Xun's view alone. The Yueji of the Liji likewise says:

"The sound of the drums is tumultuous; being tumultuous, it establishes motion; and through motion, it advances the multitude."

The drum's sound is "tumultuous" (huan -- great and rousing), which "establishes motion" and "advances the multitude." The drum is the ensemble's marching order, the collective pulse.

Moreover, the drum's being "sovereign" carries a dimension of political philosophy. The Xunzi, "The Way of the Sovereign," says:

"The sovereign is the wellspring of the people. When the wellspring is clear, the stream runs clear; when the wellspring is turbid, the stream runs turbid."

The sovereign is the people's source. Just as the drum is the source of music -- the drum sets the beat, all instruments follow; when the drum sounds clearly, the music is clear; when the drum is disordered, the music is disordered.

Section 2: "The Drum Resembles Heaven" -- The Voice of Hide and the Way of Heaven

"Therefore the drum resembles Heaven" -- the drum's character is like that of heaven. The Xiangzhuan (Commentary on the Image) of the Qian hexagram in the Yijing says:

"Heaven moves with vigor; the gentleman thereby ceaselessly strengthens himself."

Heaven's character is "vigor" (jian) -- ceaselessly strong, never resting. The drum's "grandeur and resplendence" accords with heaven's "vigor." Heaven also covers all things, and the drum's sound likewise provides a vast background for the entire ensemble. Heaven is the origin of all things, and music also begins from the drum.

The Shanhaijing, "Great Wilderness East," records the myth of the Kui-beast drum -- the drum made from the hide of a thunder-beast, whose "sound could be heard five hundred li away." The drum's "resemblance to Heaven" has its most primordial basis in this mythological connection between drum and thunder -- thunder is the voice of heaven.

The Xici Zhuan of the Yijing says:

"It drums all things with thunder and lightning, moistens them with wind and rain."

Even at the linguistic level, "drum" and "thunder" are fused.

Section 3: "The Bell Resembles Earth" -- The Voice of Metal and the Virtue of Kun

"The bell resembles Earth" -- the bell's character is like that of earth. The Xiangzhuan of the Kun hexagram:

"The disposition of earth is receptive; the gentleman thereby bears all things with generous virtue."

Earth's character is "generous" -- solid and able to bear all things. The bell's "unifying substantiality" accords with earth's "generosity." In material, the bell is cast in metal (bronze), and metal is a product of the earth. From the physical level, the bell's long, sustained reverberation conveys settled composure -- unlike the drum's strong rhythmic pulse, the bell's rich tone fills the space with a feeling of calm stability, which also "resembles earth."

Section 4: "The Chime-Stone Resembles Water" -- The Voice of Stone and the Virtue of Water

"The chime-stone resembles Water" -- the chime-stone's character is like that of water. This correspondence is the most wondrous of all. The chime-stone is made of stone, the hardest of substances; water is the softest. Yet stone produces water-like sound.

The Master's contemplation of water, as recorded in the Xunzi, "You Zuo," correlates water's qualities with eleven virtues -- virtue, humaneness, righteousness, wisdom, courage, discernment, inclusiveness, transformative power, fairness, moderation, and resolve.

The chime-stone's "resemblance to water" operates on several levels: the clarity of its sound (like water's limpidity), the flow of its sound (like water's movement), the restraint of its sound (like water's proper measure), and the dialectic of stone and water (the hard producing the soft -- the Most High's principle that "the soft overcomes the hard").

In cosmological terms, the drum resembles heaven (above), the bell resembles earth (below), the chime-stone resembles water -- water dwells between heaven and earth, mediating between them. The chime-stone functions similarly in the ensemble -- mediating between drum and bell.

Section 5: "The Mouth-Organ, Sheng, Panpipes, Tube, and Flute Resemble the Stars, Sun, and Moon"

"The mouth-organ, sheng, panpipes, tube, and flute resemble the stars, sun, and moon" -- the harmonious sound of the mouth-organ, sheng, and panpipes together with the fierce sound of the tube and flute resemble the stars, sun, and moon.

Stars, sun, and moon are luminous bodies in the sky -- each with its own radiance, yet harmoniously coexisting. The "harmony" of the multi-pipe instruments is like the myriad stars; the "rousing fierceness" of the single-pipe instruments is like the blazing brilliance of sun and moon.

The Tuanzhuan of the Li hexagram says:

"Li means 'attaching.' The sun and moon attach to heaven; the hundred grains and grasses attach to earth. Twofold brightness attaching to what is right -- thus is all under heaven transformed and perfected."

Wind instruments likewise adhere to the rhythm of drums and bells and emit their bright sound.

Section 6: "The Hand-Drum, Wooden Box, Clappers, and Striking-Block Resemble the Myriad Things"

The minor percussion instruments -- tao-drum, zhu, fu, ge, qiang, jie -- are likened to the myriad things. Just as the myriad things fill the space between heaven and earth with richness and variety, these minor instruments fill the ensemble with richness and variety.

This reveals the completeness of Master Xun's system: the entire instrumental hierarchy maps onto the entire cosmic schema. The ensemble is a microcosm.

Section 7: The Instrumental Hierarchy and the Cosmic Schema -- Comprehensive Analysis

The philosophical presupposition behind this system is: the cosmos and human affairs share the same structure. This is a concrete expression of the pre-Qin idea of "the correspondence of Heaven and Humanity."

This correspondence is both natural (rooted in the material properties of instruments) and humanly constructed (systematized by the sage-kings). This accords with Master Xun's overarching principle of "transforming nature through conscious effort" -- "nature" (xing) provides the raw material, and "conscious effort" (wei) realizes its potential in cultural order.

Chapter Four: The Meaning of Dance -- Body, Rhythm, and Collective Harmony

Section 1: "How Does One Know the Meaning of Dance$1" -- The Inquiry Unfolds

"How does one know the meaning of dance$2" -- why does Master Xun raise this question about dance alone$3 Because dance alone conveys its meaning not through "sound" but through "movement" -- raising the epistemological question of how one perceives invisible "meaning" through visible "form."

Section 2: "The Eyes Do Not See Themselves, the Ears Do Not Hear Themselves" -- The Realm of Self-Transcendence

Master Xun's startling answer: "The eyes do not see themselves, the ears do not hear themselves." The dancer cannot see her own movements from the outside or deliberately listen to the rhythm -- the body has become completely one with the music, requiring no conscious monitoring. This is the transcendence of self-consciousness.

This resonates with Master Zhuang's discussion of "forgetting" in the stories of Woodworker Qing (Zhuangzi, "Mastering Life") and Cook Ding (Zhuangzi, "Nourishing the Lord of Life"). Cook Ding's movements "accorded with the dance of the Mulberry Grove" -- when skill reaches its highest level, bodily movements naturally accord with musical rhythm without deliberate control.

However, there is a key difference: Master Zhuang's "forgetting" points toward individual freedom; Master Xun's "not seeing and not hearing oneself" points toward collective harmony -- the dancer forgets herself in order better to follow the collective rhythm. Daoism seeks bodily freedom; Confucianism employs bodily discipline as a path to social harmony.

Section 3: "Governing Bending and Raising, Flexing and Extending, Advancing and Retreating, Slowing and Quickening" -- The Order of the Body

Four pairs of opposing categories exhaust the fundamental dimensions of human bodily movement: the vertical (bending/raising), joint articulation (flexing/extending), the horizontal (advancing/retreating), and the temporal (slowing/quickening). The dancer "governs" all four -- bringing the full range of bodily possibility under orderly regulation.

These four pairs of yin-yang contrasts resonate with the Xici Zhuan: "One yin and one yang -- this is called the Way." The dancer's body alternates ceaselessly between yin and yang, modeling the Way of Heaven.

Section 4: "All Without Exception Incorrupt and Measured" -- The Body's Ritual

"All without exception incorrupt and measured" -- every movement is crisp, clearly defined, and properly restrained. This echoes the chime-stone's character. But whereas the chime-stone's "incorruptness and measure" is a natural property of stone, the dancer's is the fruit of sustained training -- the embodiment of "transforming nature through conscious effort."

The Xunzi, "Cultivating the Person": "Ritual is that which rectifies the person." Dance training is the most thoroughgoing "rectification of the person."

Section 5: "Exhausting the Strength of Sinew and Bone to Meet the Rhythmic Junctures of Bells and Drums" -- The Unity of Force and Rhythm

The dancer must simultaneously achieve two things: give maximum effort (total physical commitment) and achieve precise rhythmic alignment. This is extraordinarily difficult. Pre-Qin ritual dances -- such as the "Great Wu" simulating military campaigns -- demanded immense physical exertion. The dancer's "exhausting the strength of sinew and bone" embodies "reverence" (jing) -- wholehearted, exacting commitment.

Section 6: "And There Is Not a Single Deviation" -- Flawless Coordination

"Not a single deviation" -- amid total physical exertion by dozens or hundreds of dancers, every movement aligns precisely with the rhythm. This proves the efficacy of "education through ritual and music." It also carries a political implication: perfect collective coordination is the portrait of ideal governance.

Section 7: "The Accumulated Spirit of the Multitude -- How Serene and Harmonious!" -- The Highest State of Collective Harmony

This exclamation brings the passage to an emotional climax. The word "multitude" (zhong) emphasizes the collective. The state described is not tense "unified action" but calm, natural "spontaneous coordination" -- the highest expression of Master Xun's social ideal.

The Xunzi, "On the Regulations of a King": "How are human beings able to form communities$4 Through differentiation. How is differentiation made effective$5 Through righteousness." The collective harmony of dance is the most vivid embodiment of "community," "differentiation," and "righteousness."

Chapter Five: The Archaic Perspective -- Instruments, Myth, Shamanism, and Sacrifice

Section 1: The Drum and Thunder -- The Mythological Origins of the Archaic Drum

The Shanhaijing myth of the Kui-beast drum reveals the drum's primordial meaning: the drum is the human simulacrum of thunder. The drum's "grandeur and resplendence" is the "grandeur and resplendence" of thunder. In the archaic shamanic tradition, the drum was the primary instrument for communicating between humans and spirits. The Chuci, "Nine Songs," "Sovereign of the East": "Raise the drumstick and beat the drum."

Section 2: The Bell and the Earth Spirits -- The Origins of Metal-and-Stone Sacrifice

Metal comes from subterranean ore deposits -- the bell is the human transformation of the earth's essence. The bell's rich, sustained tone has the quality of "earth" -- solid, stable, and enduring. The Zhouli records the use of specific bell-pitches in the worship of earth spirits.

Section 3: The Chime-Stone and Water -- The Archaic Lineage of Stone's Clear Voice

The earliest chime-stones were natural stone slabs. The Shangshu, "Yi and Ji": "Strike the stones and tap the stones, and the hundred beasts will dance in procession." In archaic cosmology, stone (mountain/Gen) and water (marsh/Dui) form a natural pair -- the chime-stone, with stone's body and water's voice, embodies their interchange.

Section 4: The Sheng and the Phoenix -- The Mythological Background of Free-Reed Instruments

The sheng's form is traditionally said to imitate the phoenix's wings. The Shangshu, "Yi and Ji": "The xiao-shao was performed in nine movements, and the phoenix came in courtly procession." The phoenix's virtue is "harmony" -- the same quality embodied by the mouth-organ, sheng, and panpipes.

Section 5: The Ocarina and Earth -- Clay Instruments and the Worship of the Land

The ocarina, made of fired clay, is one of the most primitive instruments. Its sound -- low, deep, faintly husky -- is the very voice of the earth, the echo of remote antiquity.

Section 6: Qin and Se and Human Relations -- The Civilizational Narrative of Stringed Instruments

"Qin and se" in pre-Qin poetry commonly symbolize marital harmony. The Shijing, "Guan Ju": "The modest, retiring, virtuous maiden -- he courts her with qin and se." The qin's "graceful beauty" paired with the se's "gentleness and goodness" -- one tender, one warm -- complement each other like husband and wife.

Section 7: Song and Dance and Shamanism -- The Archaic Shamanic Tradition

In archaic culture, wu (shaman) and wu (dance) were cognate. The Chuci, "Nine Songs" are all texts for shamanic sacrificial song and dance. From the archaic shamanic perspective, the "imagery of music" describes a complete sacrificial cosmos -- the entire ensemble is a miniature altar, the entire performance a miniature sacrifice.

Section 8: "Eight Timbres" and "Eight Directions" -- The Cosmic Correspondence of Instrument Materials

The pre-Qin "eight timbres" -- metal, stone, clay, hide, silk, wood, gourd, bamboo -- cover the major material categories of the natural world. Instruments made from these materials produce distinct sonic characters, constituting a complete sonic universe. This is the cosmological foundation of "the imagery of music."

Chapter Six: The Confucian Perspective -- Music and Ritual Governance

Section 1: The Intellectual Sources of Master Xun's Music Theory

The Master loved music all his life. Key passages from the Lunyu illuminate the roots of Master Xun's theory:

"The Master heard the Shao music in Qi and for three months did not notice the taste of meat." (Lunyu, "Shu Er")

"He said of the Shao that it was perfectly beautiful and also perfectly good." (Lunyu, "Ba Yi")

"Be inspired by the Odes, take your stand in ritual, achieve completion in music." (Lunyu, "Tai Bo")

"Ritual, ritual -- is it merely jade and silk$6 Music, music -- is it merely bells and drums$7" (Lunyu, "Yang Huo")

Section 2: "Music Unifies; Ritual Differentiates" -- The Social Function of Music

"Music is the unchangeable principle of harmony. Ritual is the unchangeable principle of order. Music unifies; ritual differentiates. The guiding thread of ritual and music governs the human heart."

Each instrumental character symbolizes an aspect of the ideal society: the drum is the sublime ruler, the bell the solid minister, the chime-stone the clear law, the wind instruments are collective harmony and individual initiative, and dance is universal peace. The entire ensemble is a microcosm of the ideal polity.

Section 3: The Yueji and Master Xun's Music Theory -- Mutual Resonance

The Yueji declares: "Music is the harmony of heaven and earth." And: "Great music shares the same harmony as heaven and earth." This is the governing thesis of Master Xun's cosmology of "the imagery of music."

Section 4: Musical Education and the Transformation of the People

"Music enters deeply into people; it transforms them swiftly." (Xunzi, "Discourse on Music")

Each of the twelve characters serves as a distinct mode of moral cultivation: the drum's "grandeur" teaches awe; the bell's "substantiality" teaches fullness; the chime-stone's "incorruptness" teaches restraint; and so on through all twelve.

Section 5: "The Imagery of Music" and the "Rectification of Names"

"The imagery of music" can be seen as the application of Master Xun's "rectification of names" doctrine to music. Each character-description both describes and prescribes -- naming the character of an instrument simultaneously establishes its standard.

Chapter Seven: The Daoist Perspective -- The Great Sound Is Rarefied, and the Music of Heaven

Section 1: The Music Theory of the Most High (Laozi) -- "The Great Sound Is Rarefied"

"The great square has no corners; the great vessel is late in completion; the great sound is rarefied; the great image has no form." (Laozi, Chapter 41)

"The great sound is rarefied" -- the greatest sound transcends the level of audible sound. On the surface this opposes Master Xun's rich descriptions, but the two are complementary: Master Xun approaches the Way of Heaven through sounding music; the Most High points out that the Way of Heaven itself is "rarefied." Master Xun's endpoint is the Most High's starting point.

Section 2: Master Zhuang's "Music of Heaven," "Music of Earth," and "Music of Humanity"

Master Zhuang's "three musics" (Zhuangzi, "On the Equality of Things"): the music of humanity is humanly made sound; the music of earth is the wind through nature's hollows; the music of heaven is the fundamental power that makes all things sound of themselves -- the Way.

Master Xun's "imagery of music" belongs to the "music of humanity" -- yet by mapping it onto the cosmos, he shows that human music is in communion with nature. The tension between the two reflects the fundamental Confucian-Daoist divergence on "human making."

Section 3: "Xianchi" -- The Daoist Sublime Music

The Zhuangzi, "The Turning of Heaven," describes the Yellow Emperor's "Xianchi" music -- it begins with terror, passes through lassitude, and ends in bewilderment, ultimately dissolving the listener's self. This is the Daoist summit: "the great sound is rarefied."

Section 4: The Deep Dialogue Between Daoist and Confucian Music

The two traditions share deep common ground: both take the Way of Heaven as the ultimate reference point; both acknowledge the communion between music and nature; both prize "harmony" as the supreme value. The richness of pre-Qin thought lies in this "harmony without uniformity."

Chapter Eight: Musical Imagery and Cosmology -- The Musical Dimension of Pre-Qin Cosmology

Section 1: The Basic Framework of Pre-Qin Cosmology

The basic layers: the theory of heaven and earth, the theory of yin and yang, the theory of the five phases, and the theory of qi (vital breath). "The imagery of music" unfolds within this framework.

Section 2: The Correspondence Logic of Instruments, Heaven-Earth, and Myriad Things

The correspondence operates on four levels: material correspondence, character correspondence, functional correspondence, and quantitative correspondence. The philosophical presupposition: the cosmos and human affairs are structurally isomorphic.

Section 3: Five Pitches, Twelve Pitch-Pipes, and Yin-Yang

The pre-Qin correspondence between music and the cosmos operates on at least three levels: the instrumental level (Master Xun's "imagery of music"), the pitch level (five pitches and twelve pipes), and the rhythmic level. Together they constitute a complete "musical cosmology."

Section 4: Music as "Harmony" -- The Cosmological Theory of Universal Concord

The Tuanzhuan of the Qian hexagram: "Preserving the great harmony -- this is what is beneficial and correct." "The imagery of music" is the sonic embodiment of cosmic harmony. Through music, human beings participate in the harmony of the cosmos.

Chapter Nine: Music and the Body -- The Deeper Philosophy of Dance

Section 1: The Body as the Medium of Ritual and Music

The dancer's body, disciplined by ritual and music, eventually internalizes the discipline as "second nature" -- not external compulsion but internal spontaneity. This is "transforming nature through conscious effort" realized at the bodily level.

Section 2: "Not Seeing Oneself" and "Not Hearing Oneself" in Self-Cultivation

This parallels the Master's "following what the heart desires without transgressing the bounds" (Lunyu, "Wei Zheng") and the Xunzi's "An Exhortation to Learning": "Pile up earth to make a mountain ... accumulate goodness to form virtue." The dancer's mastery is the fruit of long accumulation.

Section 3: From Individual Dance to Collective Harmony

"The accumulated spirit of the multitude" emphasizes the collective, not the individual. The ideal state is not forced uniformity but natural, effortless harmony -- each individual having internalized social norms through cultivation, spontaneously coordinating with others.

Section 4: Dance and the Way of Heaven -- The Ultimate Interpretation

"Dance conveys the Way of Heaven in its entirety" operates on four levels: the body as cosmic model, the collective as cosmic microcosm, cultivation as cosmic completion, and the unity of Heaven and Humanity. This is the Confucian "unity of Heaven and Humanity" -- the collective, through ritual and music, attaining the same harmony as the Way of Heaven.

Chapter Ten: Deeper Questions -- Why

Section 1: Why Does Music Need "Imagery"$8

Because Master Xun's aim is not merely to "feel" the beauty of music but to "understand" it -- to elevate sensory experience to rational knowledge that can be discussed, judged, and transmitted.

Section 2: Why Do the Characters of Instruments Correspond to Heaven, Earth, and All Things$9

Because all things are originally one. The Zhuangzi, "On the Equality of Things": "Heaven and earth were born together with me; the myriad things and I are one." The correspondence is a natural expression of the unity of all things.

Section 3: Why Is the Drum the "Sovereign" Rather Than the "Head" or "Master"$10

Because "sovereign" (jun) carries rich political and ethical connotations -- not merely ranking first or wielding power, but serving as the moral exemplar and center of order. The drum's character determines the character of the entire ensemble.

Section 4: Why Does Dance Hold the Highest Position$11

Because dance uses the entire human body as its medium -- the most comprehensive medium -- and therefore can express the most comprehensive content. Only dance achieves "entirety" (jian).

Section 5: Why "The Eyes Do Not See Themselves, the Ears Do Not Hear Themselves"$12

Because "self-monitoring" means a gap remains between actor and action. "Not seeing and not hearing oneself" means the complete fusion of actor and action -- the dancer is the dance itself. This parallels the Master's "following what the heart desires without transgressing the bounds."

Section 6: Why Can Music "Move People Deeply" and "Transform Them Swiftly"$13

Because music acts directly on emotion (bypassing rational judgment), possesses the power of collective contagion, and engages the full range of the senses.

Section 7: Why Refute Master Mo's "Against Music"$14

Master Mo saw only music's material cost while overlooking its spiritual return. The social function of music far outweighs its material cost. Music is not a luxury but "the most powerful means of governing the people."

Chapter Eleven: The Multiple Dimensions of "The Imagery of Music" -- A Comprehensive Reflection

Section 1: As Musical Aesthetics

"The imagery of music" inaugurated the tradition of evaluating music through character-descriptions, established a taxonomic system of instrumental character, and revealed the deep connection between music and nature.

Section 2: As Political Philosophy

The entire ensemble is a microcosm of the ideal polity -- with a wise sovereign (drum), able ministers (bell, chime-stone), talented individuals (wind instruments), the common people (minor instruments), honest discourse (song), and universal peace (dance).

Section 3: As Cosmology

"The imagery of music" is a sonic schema of the universe. Its core idea: the structure of the cosmos can be presented through music.

Section 4: As Self-Cultivation

The theory of dance provides a method for achieving moral cultivation through bodily training -- six levels from the transcendence of self-consciousness through collective harmony to the state of serene composure.

Section 5: As Epistemology

"How does one know the meaning of dance$15" -- through "observing images" (discerning inner meaning through outer form). The highest knowledge fuses knower and known: the dancer does not "observe the meaning of dance" but "is the meaning of dance."

Chapter Twelve: Conclusion -- The Eternal Resonance of the Imagery of Music

Section 1: The Intellectual Significance of "The Imagery of Music"

Master Xun's "imagery of music" passage, though scarcely more than a hundred characters, contains a wealth of profound thought. It is the concrete realization of the Master's ideal of "achieving completion in music," the meeting point of Confucian and Daoist music theory, the most systematic expression of "the correspondence of Heaven and Humanity" in the domain of music, and the most concrete embodiment of "transforming nature through conscious effort" at the bodily level.

Section 2: An Eternal Resonance

The questions raised by "the imagery of music" remain profoundly illuminating today:

Music and nature: Music is not a purely human construction but a dialogue between humanity and nature.

Music and politics: Good governance, like good music, is not rigid uniformity but the harmonious interplay of diverse voices.

Body and mind: Bodily training is itself the cultivation of the spirit; the two are inseparable.

Individual and community: "The accumulated spirit of the multitude -- serene and harmonious" depicts an ideal collective state in which each person maintains individuality while harmonizing with others -- the ultimate expression of "harmony without uniformity."

Master Xun wrote these words more than two thousand years ago, and they remain stirring to read today -- not only for the concise beauty of the prose but for the depth and breadth of the thought. "The imagery of music" is not merely a treatise on musical aesthetics but a hymn to heaven, earth, and all things -- using music as its medium to celebrate the great beauty of the cosmos, the harmony of all things, and the supreme goodness of human civilization.

"The accumulated spirit of the multitude -- how serene and harmonious!" -- as we reach this closing exclamation, we seem to hear the sounds of that music and dance from more than two millennia ago echoing in our ears: the drum, grand and resplendent; the bell, unifying and substantial; the chime-stone, incorrupt and measured; the mouth-organ, sheng, and panpipes, harmonious and rousing; the ocarina and chi-flute, deep and broad; the se-zither, gentle and good; the qin-zither, graceful and fine; the song, clear and complete; and the dancers' bodies turning with composure between heaven and earth, conveying the Way of Heaven in its entirety --

The accumulated spirit of the multitude -- how serene and harmonious!

Appendix: Pre-Qin Texts Cited in This Article

Xuanji Editorial Board

This article offers a deep reading of the "imagery of music" passage in Xunzi's "Discourse on Music" from Confucian, Daoist, and archaic perspectives, drawing widely on pre-Qin sources in the hope of revealing the multiple layers of meaning in this remarkable text. The views expressed are those of the authors alone; corrections from scholars are respectfully invited.