The Imagery of Music in Xunzi's 'Discourse on Music': Character, Cosmos, and the Civilizing Power of Ritual Music
This essay offers an in-depth reading of the passage on 'the imagery of music' (sheng yue zhi xiang) in Xunzi's 'Discourse on Music,' elucidating how musical sounds embody character-qualities that correspond to heaven, earth, and the myriad things, and situating the discussion within Master Xun's Confucian vision of transforming human nature through ritual and music.
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
| Text | Chapters Cited |
|---|---|
| Xunzi | "Discourse on Music," "Human Nature Is Evil," "Rectification of Names," "Cultivating the Person," "On the Regulations of a King," "Discourse on Heaven," "An Exhortation to Learning," "Enriching the State," "The Way of the Sovereign," "On Not Being Indulgent," "Against the Twelve Masters," "Dispelling Blindness," "You Zuo," "Discourse on Ritual" |
| Lunyu (Analects) | "Xue Er," "Wei Zheng," "Ba Yi," "Li Ren," "Shu Er," "Tai Bo," "Zi Han," "Wei Ling Gong," "Yang Huo" |
| Yijing (Book of Changes) | Qian, Kun, Li, Zhen, Xici Zhuan (Parts One and Two) |
| Laozi | Chapters 2, 8, 25, 41, 78 |
| Zhuangzi | "On the Equality of Things," "Nourishing the Lord of Life," "Mastering Life," "The Turning of Heaven" |
| Liji (Book of Rites) | Yueji (Record of Music) |
| Shijing (Book of Songs) | "Guan Ju," "Deer Cry," "The Wife Says at Cockcrow," "Chang Di," "He Ren Si," "Jian Xi," "You Gu," "Na" |
| Shangshu (Book of Documents) | "Yi and Ji," "Charge to Yue" |
| Zhouli (Rites of Zhou) | "Grand Music Master," "Grand Music Director," "Bell Master," "Chime-Stone Master," "Drum Master," "Records of Crafts" |
| Zuozhuan | Duke Zhao Year 20, Duke Cheng Year 2 |
| Guoyu (Discourses of the States) | "Discourses of Zheng," "Discourses of Zhou (Part Two)" |
| Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas) | "Great Wilderness East," "Classic of Southern Mountains" |
| Chuci (Songs of the South) | "Nine Songs: Sovereign of the East," "Nine Songs: Lord amid the Clouds," "Nine Songs: Hymn for the Fallen" |
| Lushi Chunqiu (Springs and Autumns of Master Lu) | "Ancient Music," "On Pitch-Pipes," "Twelve Records" |
| Guanzi | "Inner Training," "Five Phases," "Measurements" |
| Mozi | "Against Music, Part One" |
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.