Grain and Fire as Autumn: The Severance of Heaven and Earth and the Onset of Solemn Killing at Liqiu
This article offers an in-depth interpretation of Liqiu (Start of Autumn) among the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, drawing on pre-Qin Confucian and Daoist philosophy, the original meanings of Chinese characters, and astronomical-phenological perspectives. By examining the etymological roots of 'qiu' (autumn) as grain-and-fire, the astronomical coordinate of 135° solar longitude, and the image of Hexagram Pi (Standstill) from the Yijing — 'Heaven and Earth do not interact' — it reveals Liqiu as the pivotal moment when all things shift from 'growth' to 'gathering,' illuminating the virtue of Metal, the onset of solemn killing, and the ancient roots of the autumnal grief tradition.
Chapter Fifteen: Liqiu and Musical Pitch — The Yize Pitch-Pipe and the Voice of Heaven and Earth
I. Aligning Pitch-Pipes with the Calendar: Liqiu and Yize
In ancient China, musical pitch, the calendar, and the solar terms shared profound correspondences. The twelve pitch-pipes (lü) correspond one-to-one with the twelve months. The seventh month (Early Autumn, where Liqiu falls) corresponds to the Yize pitch-pipe. The "Yueling" records: "The pitch-pipe aligns with Yize."
This implies a bold and profound cosmology: heaven and earth's qi possesses, in its operation, specific rhythms and frequencies, and the twelve pitch-pipes are the "notation" for this cosmic music across the twelve months.
II. The Name "Yize": Musical Connotations of Solemn Killing and Judgment
"Yize" itself carries deep significance consonant with Liqiu's qualities. Yi (夷) carries meanings of "injury," "leveling," "killing"; ze (则) means "rule," "standard," "judgment." Together: "with the qi of solemn killing, to execute the law of judgment" — perfectly echoing autumn Metal's virtue.
III. Shang Note and Yize: The Dual Expression of Autumn's Voice
The "five tones" (wuyin: gong, shang, jue, zhi, yu) and the "twelve pitch-pipes" represent two different dimensions of the ancient musical system. "Its note is shang" describes autumn's "tonality" from the Five Phases perspective; "the pitch-pipe aligns with Yize" describes the seventh month's qi from the pitch-calendar perspective. Both point toward autumn's clear, austere, mournful sound-quality.
IV. Why Can Heaven and Earth's Qi Be "Heard"$14 Pitch-Pipes and Qi Resonance
In the tradition of pitch-calendar correspondence, the most wondrous idea is houqi ("monitoring qi"): that the operation of heaven and earth's qi could be directly sensed through pitch-pipes. According to the Hou Hanshu and other texts, the ancients would bury twelve pitch-pipes in a sealed chamber with reed-membrane ash inside; when the appropriate month's earth-qi rose to a given pipe, the ash would be blown out, verifying the arrival of that solar term.
Applied to Liqiu, we gain a poetic understanding: Liqiu's arrival is not merely an astronomical event but a "modulation" in the music of heaven and earth — from summer Fire's zhi note to autumn Metal's shang note. When we hear the whisper of a cool wind or the mournful cry of a cold cicada at Liqiu, we hear heaven and earth playing the Yize pitch, the shang note — the solemn yet majestic autumnal movement of the cosmic symphony.