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

Section 1: Unfolding the Inquiry: "How is the Intent of Dance Known$24" ($\text{hé yǐ zhī wǔ zhī yì}$)$25

The third passage in the original text unfolds through a question-and-answer format, leading to a deeper inquiry into the meaning of dance:

"How is the intent of dance known$26" ($\text{hé yǐ zhī wǔ zhī yì}$)$27

This question is highly insightful. Why does Master Xunzi direct this question specifically to "dance" ($\text{wǔ}$) and not to the drum, bell, or chime stone$28

The answer lies in the unique nature of dance. The qualities of instrumental music can be perceived through "hearing"—hearing the drum’s grand beauty, one knows it; hearing the bell’s substantial synthesis, one knows it. The quality of song can also be perceived through hearing—hearing the song’s purity and exhaustion, one knows it. Only dance—its meaning resides not in "sound" but in "movement," perceived not by "hearing" but by "seeing." If the meaning were merely visual beauty, there would be no need to ask "How is the intent of dance known$29"; one could simply state, "The form of the dance is beautiful." Xunzi asks about the "intent" ($\text{yì}$), meaning the deep significance behind the dancer’s movements—that inaudible "intent."

This raises an epistemological question: How can one discern the inaudible "intent" from the visible "form" (the dancer's movements)$30 This question mirrors the Yijing's mode of inquiry—observing the external "imagery" ($\text{xiàng}$) to grasp the internal "principle" ($\text{lǐ}$).