The Imagery of Music in Xunzi's 'Discourse on Music': Character, Cosmos, and the Civilizing Power of Ritual Music
This essay offers an in-depth reading of the passage on 'the imagery of music' (sheng yue zhi xiang) in Xunzi's 'Discourse on Music,' elucidating how musical sounds embody character-qualities that correspond to heaven, earth, and the myriad things, and situating the discussion within Master Xun's Confucian vision of transforming human nature through ritual and music.
Chapter Eight: Musical Imagery and Cosmology -- The Musical Dimension of Pre-Qin Cosmology
Section 1: The Basic Framework of Pre-Qin Cosmology
The basic layers: the theory of heaven and earth, the theory of yin and yang, the theory of the five phases, and the theory of qi (vital breath). "The imagery of music" unfolds within this framework.
Section 2: The Correspondence Logic of Instruments, Heaven-Earth, and Myriad Things
The correspondence operates on four levels: material correspondence, character correspondence, functional correspondence, and quantitative correspondence. The philosophical presupposition: the cosmos and human affairs are structurally isomorphic.
Section 3: Five Pitches, Twelve Pitch-Pipes, and Yin-Yang
The pre-Qin correspondence between music and the cosmos operates on at least three levels: the instrumental level (Master Xun's "imagery of music"), the pitch level (five pitches and twelve pipes), and the rhythmic level. Together they constitute a complete "musical cosmology."
Section 4: Music as "Harmony" -- The Cosmological Theory of Universal Concord
The Tuanzhuan of the Qian hexagram: "Preserving the great harmony -- this is what is beneficial and correct." "The imagery of music" is the sonic embodiment of cosmic harmony. Through music, human beings participate in the harmony of the cosmos.