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

Section 3: The Daoist Narrative of the Music of Huangdi: "Xian Chi" and "Cheng Yun"

Zhuangzi is not entirely dismissive of music. In Zhuangzi: The Way of Heaven ($\text{Tiān Yùn}$), Zhuangzi narrates a dialogue between Beimen Cheng and the Yellow Emperor ($\text{Huáng Dì}$) detailing the supreme music, the "Xian Chi" ($\text{Xián Chí}$):

"Beimen Cheng asked the Yellow Emperor: 'The Emperor performed the music of Xian Chi on the plains of Dongting. When I first heard it, I was terrified; when I heard it again, I grew listless; when I finally heard it to the end, I was bewildered. It was vast and silent, and I lost my self-possession.'"

This description of the "Xian Chi Music" exhibits features that align with Xunzi’s framework but push beyond it:

1. "First heard, I was terrified" ($\text{shǐ wén zhī jù}$)—Terrified upon first hearing. This resonates with the drum’s "grand beauty" ($\text{dà lì}$, sublimity and awe). The sublime is inherently fearsome.
2. "Heard again, I grew listless" ($\text{fù wén zhī dài}$)—Grew weary upon repeated hearing. This resonates with the xūn and chí's "expansive and ample" ($\text{wēng bó}$) nature, which can lead to a state of relaxation.
3. "Finally heard to the end, I was bewildered" ($\text{zú wén zhī huò}$)—Bewildered at the conclusion. This transcends the categories described by Xunzi—bewilderment implies entering a realm beyond rational comprehension, the unknowable.
4. "Vast and silent, and I lost my self-possession" ($\text{dàng dàng mò mò, nǎi bù zì dé}$)—This is the state of Laozi’s "Great Music is rare in sound" ($\text{dà yīn xī shēng}$)—the supreme music causes one to lose self-awareness and merge with the Dao.
5. "I alarmed them with thunder and lightning" ($\text{wǒ jīng zhī yǐ léi tíng}$)—This directly echoes the drum’s resemblance to Heaven's thunder.
6. "It had no tail at the end, and no head at the beginning" ($\text{qí zú wú wěi, qí shǐ wú shǒu}$)—Without ending or beginning. This transcends the structure of ordinary music—endless and beginningless, like the operation of the Dao of Heaven. This corresponds to Xunzi’s discussion of "rising/falling, bending/stretching, advancing/retreating, slowing/hastening"—all dialectical alternations that never cease.

The "Xian Chi Music" described by Zhuangzi can be seen as a Daoist response to Xunzi’s "Imagery of Sound and Music"—both describe a supreme music, but from different angles. Xunzi starts from the qualities of instruments and builds an ordered system; Zhuangzi starts from the listener's transcendental experience, describing a state beyond comprehension. Both point toward the Dao—Xunzi uses an array of ordered sounds to express the Dao’s meaning, while Zhuangzi suggests the Dao itself is the silent source.