The Image of Music and Sound in Xunzi's 'On Music': A Study of Character, Cosmos, and the Cultivation of Rites and Music
This paper offers an in-depth interpretation of the 'Image of Music and Sound' (Sheng Yue zhi Xiang) discussed in Xunzi's 'On Music,' clarifying the Pre-Qin meaning of 'Xiang' (image/analogy) and elucidating how the qualities of sound correspond to the myriad things in the cosmos. It further situates this correspondence within Xunzi's Confucian framework of 'transforming human nature through rites and music' to explore the cosmological significance and pedagogical function of music.
Section 4: Why Dance Holds the Highest Status in the Acoustic System
Fourth Question: Why does dance hold the highest status in the system of sound and music—its quality being "combining the intent of the Dao of Heaven" ($\text{yì tiān dào jiān}$), rather than the drum or song$21
Superficially, the drum is the "sovereign of music," suggesting the highest status. However, upon closer examination, the drum’s quality is only "grand beauty" ($\text{dà lì}$)—this is just one aspect of the Dao (Heaven’s quality). The bell’s "substantiality" ($\text{tǒng shí}$) is Earth’s quality; the chime stone’s "regulation" ($\text{lián zhì}$) is Water’s quality—each captures one aspect of the Dao. Only dance, "combining" ($\text{jiān}$), encompasses the totality of the Dao of Heaven.
Why can dance "combine the intent of the Dao of Heaven"$22
Answer 1: Completeness of Medium. Instrumental music uses material media (metal, stone, earth, leather, silk, wood, gourd, bamboo), inherently limited by the material's characteristics—leather sound can only resemble Heaven, metal sound only Earth, stone sound only Water. Song uses the human voice, which is more flexible than instruments but remains confined to the auditory realm. Only dance uses the entire human body as its medium—the entirety of bones, muscles, joints, and facial expressions—encompassing visual, kinesthetic, and auditory (in coordination with music) sensory channels. The more comprehensive the medium, the more comprehensive the content it can express—hence, only dance can "combine" ($\text{jiān}$) the entirety of the Dao of Heaven.
Answer 2: Unity of Movement and Stillness. Instrumental music is primarily "sound"—dynamic and temporal. Dance is primarily "form"—which is spatial (occupying space) and temporal (changing over time). Dance unifies space and time, movement and stillness, form and sound—this unification is the characteristic of the Dao of Heaven (which possesses both spatial vastness and infinite time, both static order and dynamic change).
Answer 3: Degree of Human Participation. Instrumental music expresses through objects—humans manipulate instruments to produce sound. Song expresses directly through the human voice. Dance expresses through the entire human body—the person participates directly with their whole being. From "through objects" to "through sound" to "through the body," the degree of human participation increases. The highest participation yields the strongest expression; the strongest expression is best able to "combine" ($\text{jiān}$) the totality of the Dao of Heaven’s intent.
Answer 4: Visibility. The sound of instruments is audible but invisible. The sound of song is also audible but invisible. Only the movements of dance are both visible and audible (coordinated with music). "Imagery" ($\text{xiàng}$) is visible—the tradition of "observing imagery" ($\text{guān xiàng}$) in the Yijing emphasizes the visibility of "imagery"—"When established in Heaven, they become imagery ($\text{xiàng}$)" (Heaven presents itself through visible celestial signs). Dance presents the Dao of Heaven through visible bodily movements—this is why the "imagery" of dance surpasses the "imagery" of mere sound.