Chapter Three: Instruments and the Cosmos -- Music as the Mirror of the Universal Schema

Section 1: "Is the Drum Not the Sovereign of Music$31" -- The Drum as Sovereign

The second paragraph of the original text opens with: "Is the drum not the sovereign of music$32" (gu qi yue zhi jun ye)

This rhetorical question advances an important judgment: the drum is the "sovereign" (jun) of music. The construction qi ... ye is a pre-Qin rhetorical form meaning "is it not ... $33" -- emphatic and slightly impassioned in tone.

Why is the drum the sovereign of music$34 The character jun carries a dual meaning in pre-Qin usage: first, a ruler or leader; second, the highest or most honored. For the drum to be the "sovereign" of music means it occupies a governing position in the ensemble -- it leads the whole, determines the rhythm, controls the tempo, and all other instruments must follow its beat.

This is not Master Xun's view alone. The Yueji of the Liji likewise says:

"The sound of the drums is tumultuous; being tumultuous, it establishes motion; and through motion, it advances the multitude."

The drum's sound is "tumultuous" (huan -- great and rousing), which "establishes motion" and "advances the multitude." The drum is the ensemble's marching order, the collective pulse.

Moreover, the drum's being "sovereign" carries a dimension of political philosophy. The Xunzi, "The Way of the Sovereign," says:

"The sovereign is the wellspring of the people. When the wellspring is clear, the stream runs clear; when the wellspring is turbid, the stream runs turbid."

The sovereign is the people's source. Just as the drum is the source of music -- the drum sets the beat, all instruments follow; when the drum sounds clearly, the music is clear; when the drum is disordered, the music is disordered.

Section 2: "The Drum Resembles Heaven" -- The Voice of Hide and the Way of Heaven

"Therefore the drum resembles Heaven" -- the drum's character is like that of heaven. The Xiangzhuan (Commentary on the Image) of the Qian hexagram in the Yijing says:

"Heaven moves with vigor; the gentleman thereby ceaselessly strengthens himself."

Heaven's character is "vigor" (jian) -- ceaselessly strong, never resting. The drum's "grandeur and resplendence" accords with heaven's "vigor." Heaven also covers all things, and the drum's sound likewise provides a vast background for the entire ensemble. Heaven is the origin of all things, and music also begins from the drum.

The Shanhaijing, "Great Wilderness East," records the myth of the Kui-beast drum -- the drum made from the hide of a thunder-beast, whose "sound could be heard five hundred li away." The drum's "resemblance to Heaven" has its most primordial basis in this mythological connection between drum and thunder -- thunder is the voice of heaven.

The Xici Zhuan of the Yijing says:

"It drums all things with thunder and lightning, moistens them with wind and rain."

Even at the linguistic level, "drum" and "thunder" are fused.

Section 3: "The Bell Resembles Earth" -- The Voice of Metal and the Virtue of Kun

"The bell resembles Earth" -- the bell's character is like that of earth. The Xiangzhuan of the Kun hexagram:

"The disposition of earth is receptive; the gentleman thereby bears all things with generous virtue."

Earth's character is "generous" -- solid and able to bear all things. The bell's "unifying substantiality" accords with earth's "generosity." In material, the bell is cast in metal (bronze), and metal is a product of the earth. From the physical level, the bell's long, sustained reverberation conveys settled composure -- unlike the drum's strong rhythmic pulse, the bell's rich tone fills the space with a feeling of calm stability, which also "resembles earth."

Section 4: "The Chime-Stone Resembles Water" -- The Voice of Stone and the Virtue of Water

"The chime-stone resembles Water" -- the chime-stone's character is like that of water. This correspondence is the most wondrous of all. The chime-stone is made of stone, the hardest of substances; water is the softest. Yet stone produces water-like sound.

The Master's contemplation of water, as recorded in the Xunzi, "You Zuo," correlates water's qualities with eleven virtues -- virtue, humaneness, righteousness, wisdom, courage, discernment, inclusiveness, transformative power, fairness, moderation, and resolve.

The chime-stone's "resemblance to water" operates on several levels: the clarity of its sound (like water's limpidity), the flow of its sound (like water's movement), the restraint of its sound (like water's proper measure), and the dialectic of stone and water (the hard producing the soft -- the Most High's principle that "the soft overcomes the hard").

In cosmological terms, the drum resembles heaven (above), the bell resembles earth (below), the chime-stone resembles water -- water dwells between heaven and earth, mediating between them. The chime-stone functions similarly in the ensemble -- mediating between drum and bell.

Section 5: "The Mouth-Organ, Sheng, Panpipes, Tube, and Flute Resemble the Stars, Sun, and Moon"

"The mouth-organ, sheng, panpipes, tube, and flute resemble the stars, sun, and moon" -- the harmonious sound of the mouth-organ, sheng, and panpipes together with the fierce sound of the tube and flute resemble the stars, sun, and moon.

Stars, sun, and moon are luminous bodies in the sky -- each with its own radiance, yet harmoniously coexisting. The "harmony" of the multi-pipe instruments is like the myriad stars; the "rousing fierceness" of the single-pipe instruments is like the blazing brilliance of sun and moon.

The Tuanzhuan of the Li hexagram says:

"Li means 'attaching.' The sun and moon attach to heaven; the hundred grains and grasses attach to earth. Twofold brightness attaching to what is right -- thus is all under heaven transformed and perfected."

Wind instruments likewise adhere to the rhythm of drums and bells and emit their bright sound.

Section 6: "The Hand-Drum, Wooden Box, Clappers, and Striking-Block Resemble the Myriad Things"

The minor percussion instruments -- tao-drum, zhu, fu, ge, qiang, jie -- are likened to the myriad things. Just as the myriad things fill the space between heaven and earth with richness and variety, these minor instruments fill the ensemble with richness and variety.

This reveals the completeness of Master Xun's system: the entire instrumental hierarchy maps onto the entire cosmic schema. The ensemble is a microcosm.

Section 7: The Instrumental Hierarchy and the Cosmic Schema -- Comprehensive Analysis

The philosophical presupposition behind this system is: the cosmos and human affairs share the same structure. This is a concrete expression of the pre-Qin idea of "the correspondence of Heaven and Humanity."

This correspondence is both natural (rooted in the material properties of instruments) and humanly constructed (systematized by the sage-kings). This accords with Master Xun's overarching principle of "transforming nature through conscious effort" -- "nature" (xing) provides the raw material, and "conscious effort" (wei) realizes its potential in cultural order.