The Image of Music and Sound in Xunzi's 'On Music': A Study of Character, Cosmos, and the Cultivation of Rites and Music

Section 2: "Drum Resembles Heaven" ($\text{gǔ sì tiān}$) — Leather Sound and the Dao of Heaven

"Therefore, the drum resembles Heaven" ($\text{gù gǔ sì tiān}$)—The drum's quality resembles that of Heaven. Why$13

What is the quality of Heaven$14 The Yijing, in the commentary on the Qian Trigram ($\text{Qián guà}$), states:

"The movement of Heaven is vigorous ($\text{jiàn}$); the gentleman strives ceaselessly ($\text{zì qiáng bù xī}$)."

Heaven’s quality is "vigorous" ($\text{jiàn}$) —strong, ceaseless movement. Heaven, the sun, and the moon cycle without pause; the four seasons alternate without stopping. The drum’s "grand beauty" ($\text{dà lì}$) matches Heaven’s "vigor" ($\text{jiàn}$): the drum sound is grand and powerful, its rhythm firm and unwavering, governing the whole without slackening.

Furthermore, Heaven covers all myriad things. Heaven is above, Earth below; all things exist between Heaven and Earth. Heaven covers everything without exception. The drum sound also does this—its sound is grand and deep, covering the sounds of other instruments, providing a vast background and framework for the entire musical expression.

Heaven is also the beginning of the myriad things. The Yijing, Qian Trigram, Tuan Zhuan states: "How grand is the Origin of Qian! The myriad things begin with it ($\text{wàn wù zī shǐ}$), and it embraces Heaven." All things originate from Heaven. Music also begins with the drum—the ancients first struck the drum to set the tempo before other instruments joined. The drum sound is the "beginning" ($\text{shǐ}$) of music, just as Heaven is the "beginning" ($\text{shǐ}$) of all things.

On a deeper level, the drum’s resemblance to Heaven is also related to its original cultural significance. In ancient mythology, the drum was closely associated with thunder. Thunder is the sound of Heaven—Heaven is inherently silent, and only thunder is Heaven’s utterance. The drum is a human instrument—humans sought to produce a sound like Heaven’s, and only the drum could approximate it. The Yijing, Zhen Trigram ($\text{Zhèn}$), symbolizes Thunder, and the drum sound resembles thunder. The ancients simulated thunder with the drum to communicate divine will—the drum's original religious function. This will be discussed further in a later chapter.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas ($\text{Shān Hǎi Jīng}$), Classic of the Great Wilderness: East ($\text{Dà Huāng Dōng Jīng}$), records:

"In the Eastern Sea there is Mount Liubo, extending seven thousand li into the sea. On it is a beast shaped like an ox, with a dark body and no horns, possessing one foot. When it enters or leaves the water, there must be wind and rain. Its light is like the sun and moon, its sound like thunder, and its name is Kui. The Yellow Emperor obtained it and made a drum from its hide, using the bones of the thunder beast as the drumstick. Its sound could be heard five hundred li away, used to awe the world."

This myth connects the origin of the drum to the thunderous beast "Kui"—the drum is made from the hide of a thunder beast, making the drum an "tamed thunder." Its sound resembles thunder, thus "aweing the world." The drum’s "grand beauty" ($\text{dà lì}$) is indeed the "grand beauty" of thunder—the thunderous sound possesses supreme awe and brilliance. The drum "resembles Heaven" ($\text{sì tiān}$) at the mythological level because its sound resembles thunder, and thunder is the sound of Heaven.

In the shamanistic traditions of antiquity, the drum was the primary instrument for communication between humans and spirits. Shamans beat the drum to connect with the spiritual light, to expel ghosts, and to summon souls. The Songs of Chu ($\text{Chǔ Cí}$), "Hymns to the Great Unity of the Eastern Emperor" ($\text{Jiǔ Gē: Dōng Huáng Tài Yī}$), states:

"Raise the drumstick and strike the drum ($\text{yáng bāo xī fǔ gǔ}$), slow down the measure and chant serenely, arrange the yú and sè and chant grandly."

"Raise the drumstick and strike the drum" ($\text{yáng bāo xī fǔ gǔ}$)—this is the act of drumming during the sacrifice to the Supreme Emperor of the East. The drum occupies the foremost position in ritual music, serving as the primary instrument for communication between humans and the divine.

Furthermore, the Songs of Chu, "Lament for the Fallen" ($\text{Guó Shāng}$), describes a battle scene:

"Holding Wu spears and clad in rhinoceros armor, chariots interlock axles, close combat ensues. Banners obscure the sun, the enemy is like a cloud, arrows fall densely, warriors contend for the lead. Trampling our ranks, treading over our lines, the left horse is slain, the right is wounded. The axle breaks, the four horses are tethered, drawing the jade drumstick and beating the resounding drum ($\text{jí míng gǔ}$). The timing of Heaven falls, divine power rages, the slaughter ends, and the plain is abandoned."

"Drawing the jade drumstick and beating the resounding drum" ($\text{yuán yù bāo xī jī míng gǔ}$)—In fierce battle, the great drum is beaten. The drum’s function in war is to boost morale and unify action—precisely the manifestation of the drum’s "grand beauty" ($\text{dà lì}$) and its role as the "sovereign of music."

In summary, the primordial meaning of the drum in ancient culture was:

1. An artificial simulation of Heaven’s thunder (Drum resembles Heaven).
2. A shamanistic tool for communicating with spirits (used in sacrifice).
3. An operational command unifying the masses (used in war and politics).

These three meanings fully correspond to Xunzi’s description: "grandly beautiful" ($\text{dà lì}$), "the sovereign of music" ($\text{jūn xié}$), and "resembles Heaven" ($\text{sì tiān}$). Although Xunzi discusses these concepts using rationalized language, the underlying context remains rooted in ancient mythology and shamanism.