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 3: "Imagery of Sound and Music" as Cosmology
From a cosmological perspective, the "Imagery of Sound and Music" is a sonic diagram of the universe.
The correspondence: Heaven—Drum, Earth—Bell, Water—Chime Stone, Stars/Sun/Moon—Wind Instruments, Myriad Things—Small Instruments—forms a complete cosmological model. The core idea of this model is: The structure of the cosmos can be presented through sound and music.
This idea is not unique to Xunzi in the pre-Qin period. The system of trigrams in the Yijing, the correspondence system of the Five Phases, and the alignment of the Twelve Pitches with the Twelve Months are all based on the same cosmological presupposition: the structure of the cosmos is mirrored by certain symbolic systems (trigrams, Five Phases, pitches, acoustics). Xunzi’s "Imagery of Sound and Music" is the application of this cosmological tradition in the realm of music.