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: "Eyes Do Not See Themselves, Ears Do Not Hear Themselves" ($\text{mù bù zì jiàn, ěr bù zì wén}$) — The State of Self-Transcendence

Xunzi’s answer begins unexpectedly:

"It is said: The eyes do not see themselves, the ears do not hear themselves." ($\text{yuē: mù bù zì jiàn, ěr bù zì wén yě}$).

What does this mean$31 The eyes cannot see their own operation; the ears cannot hear their own reception.

At first glance, this seems irrelevant to dance. However, upon careful consideration, this reveals Xunzi’s profound insight.

"The eyes do not see themselves" ($\text{mù bù zì jiàn}$)—When dancing, the dancer cannot see their own posture. The dancer does not observe their movements from an external perspective. In other words, the dancer’s grasp of their own actions is not achieved through visual self-monitoring but through the body’s internal sense.

"The ears do not hear themselves" ($\text{ěr bù zì wén}$)—While dancing, the ears can hear the music, but "the ears do not hear themselves" should be understood here as the dancer not consciously "listening" to grasp the rhythm. Instead, the body has completely merged with the rhythm, which has been internalized as the body's natural movement, requiring no deliberate auditory control.

This is a supreme state—the transcendence of self-consciousness. In this highest state, the dancer no longer "watches themselves" (no self-scrutiny) and no longer "listens to themselves" (no self-monitoring). They are completely immersed in the dance, and the body moves naturally according to an inner rhythm.

This state deeply resonates with Zhuangzi’s discussion of "forgetting" ($\text{wàng}$). In Zhuangzi: The Way of Authenticity ($\text{Dá Shēng}$), the carpenter Ziqing carves a gǔ (a ritual drum stand):

"When the stand was finished, those who saw it were startled as if by ghosts or spirits. The Marquis of Lu saw it and asked: 'What technique did you use to achieve this$32' He replied: 'I am merely a craftsman, what technique do I have! Nevertheless, there is one thing. When I was about to carve the stand, I fasted for three days so that I did not dare to harbor thoughts of praise, reward, or status. After five days, I dared not harbor thoughts of criticism or praise, of skill or clumsiness. On the seventh day, I forgot that I possessed four limbs and two eyes... Then I went into the forest and observed the nature of the wood... When the form of the wood presented itself to me, I then applied my hand to it. Otherwise, I would have stopped... Thus, when the Dao unites with the Dao, the vessel is able to mystify the spirits. Is this not the case$33'"

"On the seventh day, I forgot that I possessed four limbs and two eyes"—forgetting the physical body. "When the Dao unites with the Dao"—uniting the inherent nature of the self with the inherent nature of the material. This state of "forgetting the body" ($\text{wàng shēn}$) corresponds to Xunzi’s "not seeing oneself, not hearing oneself"—the dancer forgets the self-awareness of the body, forgets the external sound, and allows the body’s natural rhythm to align with the music’s natural rhythm.

However, Xunzi and Zhuangzi differ fundamentally on the path to this state. Zhuangzi’s "forgetting" aims at individual freedom—forgetting all social norms and self-consciousness to return to natural essence ($\text{tiān xìng}$). Xunzi’s "not seeing oneself, not hearing oneself" points toward collective harmony—the dancer forgets the self not to return to nature, but to better obey the collective rhythm ("in order to meet the measures of the bell and drum’s convergence"). This difference reflects the core divergence between Confucianism and Daoism regarding the "body"—Daoism seeks the body’s freedom, while Confucianism uses the body as a means of ritualistic discipline.

Nonetheless, they share a commonality: both point to a higher state beyond the conscious control of the self. In this state, action flows naturally without deliberate calculation—one no longer needs to "think about how to do it." The difference is that Zhuangzi believes this state is reached by "removing artifice and returning to truth" ($\text{qù wěi guī zhēn}$), while Xunzi believes it is reached by "transforming nature and completing artifice" ($\text{huà xìng chéng xí}$) through repeated training, allowing ritual music to become a second nature.