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: "Imagery of Sound and Music" as Epistemology
From an epistemological perspective, "The Imagery of Sound and Music" addresses a crucial question: How does one know the inaudible "intent" ($\text{yì}$)$31
"How is the intent of dance known$32" ($\text{hé yǐ zhī wǔ zhī yì}$)$33 Xunzi’s answer is through "observing imagery" ($\text{guān xiàng}$)—observing the dancer’s bodily movements ("imagery," $\text{xiàng}$) to grasp the deep meaning ("intent," $\text{yì}$) of the dance. This method of knowing is in direct lineage with the Yijing's tradition of "observing imagery"—grasping the invisible principle ($\text{lǐ}$) through visible imagery ($\text{xiàng}$).
However, Xunzi goes further: the highest form of knowing is not external "observing" but internal "experiencing"—"not seeing oneself, not hearing oneself" implies that the knower (the dancer) and the known object (the dance) merge into one. At this level, knowing is not "I observe the meaning of the dance," but "I am the meaning of the dance"—subject and object unify.
This state shares common ground with Zhuangzi’s "equality of things" ($\text{qí wù}$)—the dissolution of the subject-object separation to achieve a state of unity. The difference is that Xunzi believes this state is achieved through "Rites and Music training," whereas Zhuangzi believes it is achieved through "dialectical arguments of equality."