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 5: Why Sound and Music Can "Move Deeply" and "Transform Quickly"
Sixth Question: Why is sound and music able to "move people deeply" ($\text{gǎn rén shēn}$) and "transform people quickly" ($\text{huà rén sù}$) compared to other means of moral instruction (like language or law)$27
Xunzi asserts that "the entry of sound and music into man is deep, and its transformation of man is fast." The basis for this assertion lies in:
Answer 1: Direct Appeal to Emotion. Verbal instruction relies on rationality—one must first understand the meaning of the words, then judge their correctness, and finally decide whether to accept them. This process involves "understanding—judgment—decision," where resistance can arise at any stage. Legal instruction relies on fear—people obey for fear of punishment, but their hearts may not agree. Sound and music are different—hearing a solemn drum sound, one does not need to "understand" its meaning or "judge" its correctness; reverence arises naturally. This is why it "enters deep" ($\text{rù rén yě shēn}$)—it penetrates directly to the core of emotion, bypassing rational mediation.
Answer 2: Collective Contagion. Instruction from one person to another is limited; the promulgation of a law, while public, depends on specific enforcement. Sound and music, however, can simultaneously move hundreds or thousands of people. As Xunzi states, "When music is performed in the ancestral temple, the ruler and ministers, the high and the low, listen together, and none is not harmonious and respectful." They "listen together" ($\text{tóng tīng zhī}$)—hearing the same music simultaneously, being moved by the same emotion simultaneously. This is the collective infectiousness of music, explaining why it "transforms fast" ($\text{huà rén yě sù}$).
Answer 3: Mobilization of All Senses. Speech primarily engages hearing (requiring comprehension); law primarily engages intellect. Music engages hearing (the sound), sight (the dance), kinesthesia (unconscious bodily movement), and even touch (feeling the vibration of low-frequency drums). The mobilization of all senses grants music a pervasive influence unmatched by means relying on a single sense.
The Record of Music states:
"Music is that which is an unchangeable aspect of feeling ($\text{qíng}$)."
The reason sound and music "feel deep and transform fast" is that they touch the most fundamental aspect of human feeling—the core that precedes rationality, judgment, and all cultural constructs.