舜為天子，彈五弦之琴，歌《南風》之詩，而天下治。Footnote 1
When Shun was the son of Heaven, he plucked a five-stringed zither, sang “the Airs of the South,” and thereupon, the world was governed.Footnote 2 (Huainanzi, “Tai zu”)
While emperors may not have governed their empire with a tune, the subject of music was part and parcel of political and philosophical discourse in Warring States and early imperial China. From as early as the Book of Odes (between c. 1000–c. 600 b.c.e.) and The Analects of Confucius (compiled fifth century b.c.e.),Footnote 3 there is textual evidence for the importance of musical activities, especially within the context of state-ritual. Texts compiled between the early fifth and late second centuries demonstrate a development of written musical theories. Musical ideas are all the more prominent in texts compiled toward the end of the Warring States period, where music is increasingly associated directly with concepts of governance and ideas of the time. Xunzi 荀子 (c. 340—c. 245 b.c.e.) marries it with ritual, an idea that would last for centuries to come,Footnote 4 and the Lüshi chunqiu 吕氏春秋 (compiled by Lü Buwei 呂不韋 around mid-third century b.c.e.) strongly associates musical ideas with cosmological notions.
In 139 Liu An 劉安 (179–122 b.c.e.), king of Huainan 淮南, presented a text compiled under his patronage to Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 b.c.e.), who had ascended the throne only two years earlier. The text, known as the Huainanzi 淮南子 or Huainan Honglie 淮南鴻烈, is a twenty-one chapter compendium, which includes discussions on a wide variety of subjects (e.g. cosmology, topography, self-cultivation, ritual). The text sets itself the task of providing its reader with a comprehensive knowledge of both the human realm and the cosmic principles that preside over it. topic
In recent decades, after being largely ignored for years, the Huainanzi has received much scholarly attention from both Western and Chinese researchers. Among other topics, its cosmological and cosmogonic theories, the question of the intellectual affiliation of the text, and its rhetoric have been thoroughly surveyed,Footnote 5 and the first complete translations into English and French published.Footnote 6 One aspect that has not been fully explored is the presence of numerous references to music throughout the text. While presenting itself as a guide to the sage-ruler, the Huainanzi is replete with references to Music (yue 樂) and music-related terms. Though none of its chapters is formally dedicated to musical discussions, not a single chapter is without musical allusions.
The appearance of music in a political text within the context of the Han era is not entirely unexpected. By the time of the compilation of the Huainanzi at the court of Liu An, there already existed a rich lore of musical allegories and a repertoire of ceremonial, ritual, and folk musical pieces, as well as a relatively developed musical theory, which included empirical aspects (i.e., observation of actual phenomena and their description) and was absorbed within cosmological theories of the time.Footnote 7 Yet such a vast variety of references in one compilation is worthy of an in-depth examination. An analysis of its musical references can teach us much about the text, especially when we juxtapose it with existing world views of its time.
While Western scholarship has scarcely touched upon the subject,Footnote 8 Chinese scholarship had dedicated a fair amount of attention to it, and especially to the aesthetic and philosophical aspects of the musical thought in the text. Above all, it focuses on pointing out and resolving philosophical “contradictions” (mao dun 矛盾) that exist within the musical realm of the Huainanzi. Probably the most discussed among these contradictions are those between “sounded music” (yousheng zhi yue 有聲之樂) and “soundless music” (wusheng zhi yue 無聲之樂),Footnote 9 “roots” and “branches” (ben/mo 本/末),Footnote 10 and “interior” and “exterior” (nei/wai 内/外). Pioneering among the scholars who have defined these contradicting elements was Cai Zhongde 蔡忠德, whose ideas have ever since been echoed by many Chinese academics.Footnote 11 Still, the topic of the relation between the musical thought of the text and its practical applications remains largely untouched.Footnote 12
This article thus explores the interactions between music and the social and political spheres in the Huainanzi. I will attempt to examine what motivated the authors in their extensive use of musical references: is there an underlying principle present throughout the musical references in the Huainanzi? What new light can we shed on the understanding of Liu An’s compendium through an exploration of his approach to music? And why did such dedicated attention to music not result in a chapter specifically addressing the subject, as it did in other contemporary texts?
The method of work in the current research was one of bottom-up textual analysis. My first step was to read through the whole of the Huainanzi and mark any word, sentence, or paragraph that seemed somewhat related to music or the world of sound. While reading through, I took note of any distinguishable groups of references (e.g. references to the “Ritual and Music” [禮樂] pair, cosmological references, etc.). Only after so doing, did I turn to secondary scholarship and additional primary sources and start with the piece-by-piece construction of what for me was an intriguing puzzle.
For the sake of analysis, it was important to understand what “musical references,” are, as well as rule out references that are “not musical.” Generally, all of the musical or music-oriented data that was collected from the Huainanzi falls under the following definition given by ethnomusicologist Bell Yung, who writes:
[The scope of music in the context of Chinese ritual] includes musical instruments, musicians, song texts, and musical notation, as well as the uses and functions of music, the learning process, the cognitive and creative processes, musical concepts and theories, and other considerations and related issues.Footnote 13
Yung’s concise definition provides a good point of departure for explaining what are regarded in my research as musical references. All that seems sonic or music-related in the text falls under one of the elements in his definition, and, perhaps with the exception of musical notation, of which we do not have evidence as early as the Han dynasty,Footnote 14 all elements in his definition are somehow reflected in the text:
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• Musical instruments, musicians, uses and functions of music, the learning process, the cognitive and creative process, musical theories —references embedding any of these were considered directly as “musical.” With regard to musical instruments, objects that were not produced with the aim of issuing sound, but are used as makeshift instruments were also noted (e.g. “drummed on their bellies” 鼓腹 2.57, “Chu zhen” 俶真, “knock on pots and tap on jars” 叩盆拊瓴 7.284, “Jing shen” 精神).
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• Musical concepts —the ambiguity of some Chinese characters may at times make it difficult to determine whether a word appearing in a text is “a musical concept” or not. The most obvious example of such ambiguity is that of the very character used to denote the general term “Music”—the character 樂—which can be read as either yue, meaning “Music,” or le, meaning happiness, joy, to rejoice and so on.Footnote 15 When clearly referring to the mere emotion of joy, I did not consider it to be a musical reference. In the same way, “musical verbs” such as he 和 (also pronounced huo—harmony/to harmonize/to mix),Footnote 16 tiao 調 (also diao, to tune or to regulate), and zhang 張 (to tune a stringed instrument/string a bow/stretch, etc.) often appear in non-musical context (e.g. “the ruler and ministers are not in harmony” [君臣不和] 8.299 “Ben jing” 本經). When not in musical context, they were not regarded as musical references.Footnote 17 Musical concepts that were always considered as relevant references were names of notes (either from the pentatonic scale or the pitch-standards), tune titles, and names of contemporary musical styles.
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• Song texts —the Huainanzi cites the canonical text of the Odes (or Book of Odes, Shi jing 詩經) twenty-one times. The usage of poetical texts as canonical is noteworthy, however the citations themselves usually have nothing to do with music, and are more likely to be making a moral point. Thus, unless cited within a musical context, such citations were not taken to be “musical references.” Much more relevant, though, is the way in which the Huainanzi talks about the Odes. As poems and their rhythmic structure are often perceived as a tool for governance (see below, “the fake scholar”), references to the Book of Odes (and not mere citations from it) were taken to be musical references.
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• Other considerations and related issues —related issues include some important references to the sense of hearing, which help us to understand why and on what basis it is perceived as important. The relations between sound and silence are also important in the text, as “silence is the great ancestor of sound” (see next section) and in an ideal world, as we shall soon learn, people live in silence and are not stirred by the alluring sounds of music. Thus, in order to understand fully the concept of music in the Huainanzi, references relating to sounds in general, and the lack of sound, were also explored.
In recent years, many studies of early Chinese texts, and in particular studies of the Huainanzi, have taken a quantitative approach, i.e., used tables and statistics enumerating the frequencies of specific terms (or sets of terms) or concepts in the text (or in several texts) to make their points. Two of many examples of effective usage of such approach in Huainanzi scholarship can be found in John Major’s recent article on tool metaphors in the Huainanzi, and in Charles Le Blanc’s monograph on the concept of resonance in the text. Major substantiates his suggestions as to dating and political tendencies of some texts by showing that they use specific tools in a frequency similar to that of the Huainanzi; and Le Blanc maps the Huainanzi’s usage of other sources in order to later demonstrate where and how the text departs from them.Footnote 18
In light of the complexity in defining musical references (as well as music itself as a coherent term, as will be discussed below), it was impractical to take such an approach in this article. While very specific aspects of music could be examined this way, this article deals with music in its broad sense. It does not deal with the term yue alone, but takes into account the vast world of musical phenomena as reflected in the text as well as reflecting it. Dozens of terms were thus taken into account. Additionally, a single “musical” term can denote the “musicality” of a whole paragraph (which may be much too wide in scope to be defined as a single “musical reference”). Hence, musical references are not quantified in the following article.
Although the Huainanzi was written by a large number of authors, the current discussion treats it as bearing an overall unified view of music. Though some very subtle contradictions within its treatment of music may be found, pointing them out is beyond the scope or the aim of this work. Additionally, the debates over the intellectual affiliation of the text and its main influences are complex, and have not been included in this article. I generally adopt Sarah Queen’s approach and take the text to be what it proclaims itself to be—a text presenting a comprehensive view that does not affiliate itself with any specific existing stream of thought.Footnote 19
The first part of this article explores the concept of music through the eyes of the Huainanzi—what does the text tell us about music? How did its authors understand, and think about, music? The second part addresses the question of what do the Huainanzi’s references to music teach us about the text? (Namely, what does the text mean to say through its references to music?) Each of these sections will propose a model that answers its respective underlying question. I will then briefly present some applications of these models through music in the human realm, by surveying several archetypal figures and the way the Huainanzi portrays them in the light of their “musical” conduct. My main claims will be as follows: first, the Huainanzi offers a unique perception of music and its process of generation, which reverses the hierarchy within the world of sonic phenomena as it existed in other texts of the time. Secondly, using its theories on music, we can construct a clear model of rulership that incorporates several notions suggested by scholars of the text up to today. Lastly, the Huainanzi shows consistency of thought, and its models are reflected in the way it discusses typical figures in the human realm.
“Listen to Its Sounds”: Music in the Eyes of the Huainanzi
“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”
Aldous Huxley, Music at Night and Other Essays
If we want music to tell us about any text, we first have to understand what music itself means. The concept of music is an enigmatic one, and any attempt at framing it into a definition shall be subject to interpretation and debate. It is, by nature, so broad, complex, and determined by variations in culture, that even from a linguistic perspective it is difficult to define. In the words of Bruno Nettl, “most languages don’t have a term to encompass music as a total phenomenon.”Footnote 20 In the case of Chinese there is, of course, the term yue 樂—however, as we shall soon see, it too is limited in scope and falls short of being a comprehensive and all-inclusive term.
Consequently, when looking into the music of a text such as the Huainanzi, we need not define what music is. Rather, we should explore what is included under the scope of music in the specific text we study, and ascertain how its perceptions coincide or clash with those of its era. In a recent article, John Major suggested that our understanding of the Huainanzi would benefit from an exploration of the role of musical metaphors in the text.Footnote 21 While many musical metaphors indeed appear throughout the text, the scope of musical references in it is far from being limited to the metaphorical; quite the contrary—musical metaphors take up a relatively minor part of the rich variety of references to music in the text. Additional rhetorical usages of music include multiple narratives involving music, or concrete argumentative discussions on various topics such as morality, physical and natural theories, and so on. An inquiry into the music of the Huainanzi as reflected through these references reveals a unique, even innovative perception, as shall be demonstrated below.
By and large, the Huainanzi discusses music in two different ways. One way we may define here as “Theory” and the other as “Moral Philosophy.” “Theory” includes technical observations and descriptions of natural or cosmological phenomena, i.e., basic ways in which the universe operates. These could include acoustic theories (the origin of sound and its production, including accurate calculations) or cosmological/cosmogonic theories about the Way (dao 道) and its workings. “Moral philosophy” includes discussions about what one should and should not do, how one should or should not behave, and so on. Often, discussions about moral philosophy make use of the theoretical knowledge, or refer to it, reflecting upon the question of what is the “right” way to implement it.
On the technical and empirical aspects, the Huainanzi demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the musical theory of its time. Musical elements are widely incorporated into its three major cosmological chapters (chapters 3–5), which include accurate mathematical calculations of musical intervals not found in texts preceding the Huainanzi’s compilation. Additionally, on many occasions the text demonstrates knowledge of the way in which musical phenomena operate, for instance the amount of pressure to be put on strings in musical instruments, the phenomenon of acoustic resonance, and so on. As striking and noteworthy as the Huainanzi’s technical musical notions are, they have been widely surveyed before and shall not be revisited here.Footnote 22 However, we should keep in mind the very fact of this attention to the theory of music, which emphasizes the importance the Huainanzi attaches to the natural phenomena at the root of music. Henceforth, this kind of reference will be mentioned only if it serves the main aim of this article, namely to understand the role that musical references play in the Huainanzi.
On the moral-philosophical aspect, the Huainanzi more often talks by means of music than it does about music. But a few passages distributed across the text demonstrate a clear, indeed unique, theory, not only about what music is and where it arises from, but also about its role within society. The following passage, in which the authors define the evolution of music, is a good starting point:
樂生於音，音生於律，律生於風，此聲之宗也。法生於義，義生於眾適，眾適合於人心，此治之要也。故通於本者不亂於末，睹於要者不惑於詳。法者，非天墮，非地生，發於人間，而反以自正。(Huainanzi, 9.356, “Zhu shu” 主術)
Music arises from the patterned-sounds; the patterned-sounds arise from the pitch-standards; the pitch-standards arise from the winds. These are the fundamentals of sound. Law arises from righteousness; righteousness arises from all that is fitting; all that is fitting corresponds with the human heart. These are the essentials of government. Hence, he who penetrates through the root shall not find chaos in the twigs and branches; he who observes the essentials shall not be befuddled by the details. As for Law, it was not sent down from Heaven, neither did it arise from Earth. It was issued from amongst humans, and [they] return with it to their upright selves.
The first sentence of this passage clearly portrays the generative process of sonic phenomena. Music (yue 樂) is presented as the last generation in the sequence of these phenomena, after patterned-sounds (yin 音), pitch-standards (lü 律), and winds (feng 風), all within the great family of sound (sheng 聲). A certain hierarchy exists between these four members of the sound family. This hierarchy is expressed by means of analogy to “roots” and “branches,” and can be better understood once the meanings of the concepts themselves are clarified, see below.
Yue in early Chinese terminology in general, as well as in the Huainanzi, refers specifically to that kind of music composed or created by humans, an end product, and not to any music-related natural phenomena. Such human composition encompasses not only the audible aspects of music, but also its performative and visual aspects. Hence dance is also included within it, and visual aids such as banners and feathers, axes and shields, denote its presence in the same way that musical instruments do.Footnote 23 In this article, I follow Scott Cook in translating yue as Music (“M” capitalized), a term that the reader should read as incorporating all of the elements mentioned above.Footnote 24 In the passage above, Music is paralleled with law (fa 法). The parallelism is followed by the clarification that law is not a divine or cosmological phenomenon, but the work of man, created in order to enable a return to the natural principles from which it arises. Music, as its parallel, is also a man-made product, belonging to the world of sound.
Yin are principally any patterned forms of sound. The word yin has previously been translated as tones, tunes, [pentatonic] notes, voices/timbres or music.Footnote 25 All the above translations make sense in their own contexts, however it is important to know and understand the reasoning that makes all these choices possible.
The conception of yin by Early Han theorists, followed also by the authors of the Huainanzi, is concisely articulated in the Yue ji:Footnote 26 “Sound that achieves refined-pattern is called yin”(聲成文，謂之音).Footnote 27 According to this perception, once a sound is ordered into a pattern,Footnote 28 it is termed yin. Thus, sounds arranged as a musical scale (tones, or notes if marked with names), composed into a musical piece (tune), categorized as having a certain instrumental quality (timbre/voice) or produced as part of a performance (music), all are types of yin.Footnote 29
Often, yin appears as an abbreviation for wuyin 五音—“the five [pentatonic] tones.” The pentatonic tones are a group of five notes, related to each other by means of the melodic intervals between them. Their mutual dependency makes these five tones themselves a musical pattern.Footnote 30 This pattern does not have a fixed pitch, meaning that in principle one could start singing these tones at any chosen pitch, and get a wuyin pattern as long as they adhered to the correct set of intervals between them.
In this article when yin is mentioned within a theoretical frame and without a different fitting context or as part of a binome, I translate it as patterned-sounds (or, in some cases, sound-patterns). When the specific pattern it denotes is clear (e.g. guan xiao you yin 管簫有音 “pipes and flutes have voices/timbre”), I shall translate it accordingly.
Lü (hereafter “pitch-standards”) are a series of twelve absolute pitches, essentially serving as markers that enabled musical ensembles to play along with each other. As von Falkenhausen puts it, “In a nutshell, pitch-standards were a means of defining musical notes, but were not notes themselves.”Footnote 31 The Lüshi chunqiu tells us how the Yellow Emperor sends Ling Lun 伶倫 to create pitches. Ling Lun thereupon cuts bamboo pipes and creates twelve pitch-pipes (all generated from the first pipe he cuts, which he calls “Yellow Bell” Huang zhong 黃鍾), six of them emulating the calls of the male phoenix and six emulating the calls of the female. Following that, he is asked by the Yellow Emperor to “cast twelve bells, by means of which to harmonize the five tones” (以和五音).Footnote 32 Carefully calculated, the pitch-standards were considered a human revelation of a cosmic standard. Existing from at least as early as the fifth century b.c.e. as two sets of six standards, they evolved into a unified set of twelve during the Warring States period, side by side with the development of cosmological theories. As such, they appear in many cosmological and calendrical accounts as corresponding to the twelve months and the twelve earthly branches.
Finally, feng literally refers to winds. A natural phenomenon, winds were known to stir and provoke sound by means of vibration. Elsewhere in the Huainanzi the authors refer to the same phenomenon: “[It is] like the winds encountering reed-pipes offhandedly stirring them, each responds by high or low [notes]!” (若風之遇簫，忽然感之，各以清濁應矣. Huainanzi, 11.422 “Qi su” 齊俗).Footnote 33
The nature of the process of musical generation now becomes clear—Music, a human creation, is traced back, each step moving closer to a less artificial, more natural term. This tracking is displayed in order to enable the reader to “penetrate the root,” thus implying that the root, the essential part of the sonic phenomena, lies in their natural origins.
Lü 律, Sheng 聲, Yin 音, and Yue 樂—the Generation of Music
The conceptualization of Music as a human creation, as well as the division between Music, sound, and patterned-sounds, are not unique to the Huainanzi. The three concepts were recognized as interrelated (but distinct) probably as early as the late Spring and Autumn period (fifth century b.c.e.).Footnote 34 Some relations between them were discussed in Warring States texts,Footnote 35 and by the Western Han these relations had been thoroughly examined and described in detail.
The insertion of pitch-standards and winds into such discussions, however, is not as commonly seen in early texts. Similar descriptions of the role of pitch-standards as organizers of sound can be found in texts dating to much earlier, e.g. in the Guo yu 國語 (c. fifth–fourth centuries b.c.e.), stating that “with sounds one brings harmony to Music, with pitch-standards one brings equilibrium to sounds” (聲以和樂，律以平聲).Footnote 36 These, however, exist within a completely different discourse, predating the lengthy musical disquisitions developed in the late Warring States by philosophers such as Xunzi. The Lüshi chunqiu, compiled slightly later than the Xunzi, does include the pitch-standards within its musical chapters, however it confines them largely to cosmological and cosmogonic accounts. It is in the Huainanzi that, for the first time, the pitch-standards appear in a cosmological context while also being presented as deeply involved in the generation of the human Music. They are directly affiliated with both the aesthetic phenomenon of music and its underlying ethics. Not only do they appear in the very same paragraph that depicts the emergence of law (as seen above); they are also discussed as an aesthetic standard in several additional places in the text: the Huainanzi claims that those capable of tuning instruments or composing musical pieces, or just capable singers, must bi yu lü 比於律 “be in accord with the pitch-standards.”Footnote 37 The pitch-standards are hence fully incorporated by the Huainanzi authors into the world of aesthetic creation, and in this world, since they are paralleled with the “root,” presented as more essential than the final human creation itself—Music.
The Yue ji 樂記, probably the musical text dating closest to the Huainanzi, seems to disagree with this incorporation:Footnote 38
樂者，非謂黃鐘大呂弦歌干揚也，樂之末節也。Footnote 39
“Music” is not what we call [the pitch-standards] “Yellow-Bell” or “Great-Regulator,” the [playing of] strings and singing, [or the] raising of shields. These are [but] the branch segments of Music.
It presents its own (and more commonly found) version of the generation of music as follows:
凡音之起，由人心生也。人心之動，物使之然也。感於物而動，故形於聲。聲相應，故生變；變成方，謂之音；比音而樂之，及干戚羽旄，謂之樂。Footnote 40
Generally, regarding the origin of patterned-sounds—they arise from people’s hearts. The stirring of people’s hearts—things cause it to be so. [It is] stimulated by things and is moved, hence takes form as sound. When [such] sounds respond to each other, an alteration is produced. When the alteration achieves a set pattern, it is called “patterned-sounds”; placing patterned sounds side by side and rejoicing in them to the point of [representing them with visual aids of] shields and axes, feathers and banners—this is called Music.
The generation process of the Yue ji is similar in its components, but in essence is the complete opposite of what the Huainanzi presents. The Huainanzi speaks of the musical process in terms of tracing and tracking the natural roots of Music. According to the Yue ji and its like, however, Music as a result and a human creation is the very pinnacle of the process. Its cosmological roots sum up to Music’s being “The harmony of Heaven and Earth” (天地之和也),Footnote 41 but its true meaning lies in its ability to both represent and regulate the emotions, and thus the morality, of human beings.
In fact, as far as the Yue ji is concerned, morality is exactly that which differentiates mere patterned-sounds from Music.Footnote 42 Thus, when the Marquis Wen of Wei compares the old ceremonial music to the “new-music” produced in the states of Zheng and Wei, insisting that he finds the latter more pleasing, Zixia admonishes him:
今君之所問者樂也，所好者音也！夫樂者，與音相近而不同。[…] 天下大定，然後正六律，和五聲，弦歌詩頌，此之謂德音；德音之謂樂。Footnote 43
Now, what you inquire about is Music, [but] what you are fond of are [just] patterned-sounds! Now, Music and patterned-sounds are closely related, yet are not the same. […] After all under heaven reached a state of grand stability, [the sages] fixed the six pitch-standards, harmonized the five sounds, and [with these at hand they] played and sang the odes and hymns. These were called virtuous sound-patterns; virtuous sound-patterns are called “Music.”
So highly valued is the art of making patterns into Music, that “It is the superior man alone who holds the ability of knowing Music” (唯君子為能知樂).Footnote 44
Echoing a notion first presented in the Xunzi, the Yue ji often couples Music with another human creation, Ritual (li 禮). The two are described as having been created by the ancient kings in order to regulate society—Ritual in order to differentiate between dissimilar categories, and Music in order to “unite that which is the same” (樂合同).Footnote 45 The Huainanzi does not deny the conviction that the ancient sages created Music in order to appease the people’s pleasure-seeking nature, nor does it ignore the pairing of Music and ritual:
故先王之制法也，[…] 因其好色而制婚姻之禮，故男女有別；因其喜音而正《雅》、《頌》之聲, 故風俗不流。(Huainanzi, 20.815–16 “Tai zu”)
Thus, as for the ancient kings’ regulation of laws—[…] Following their (i.e., the people’s) fondness of sex they regulated the rite of matrimony, hence there was a differentiation between male and female; following their joy in tunes they fixed the sounds of the ya and the song odes, hence airs and customs did not wander adrift.
But do the texts really agree upon the role music plays in society? The authors of the Huainanzi admit that sounds (and here they interestingly use “sounds,” rather than “Music”) have the ability to affect human conduct. They do not deny the importance of music in helping to regulate social order, however, while for the Yue ji Music is one of the highest forms of moral attainment, for the Huainanzi it is more of a tool than an ideal. The ideal society portrayed in the Huainanzi relies on simplicity rather than on skills of putting together complex patterns, and within it sounds, and in particular Music, become practically meaningless:
道德定于天下而民純樸，則目不營於色，耳不淫於聲，坐俳而歌謠,被髮而浮游, 雖有毛嬙、西施之色，不知說也。掉羽、武象，不知樂也 […]。由此觀之, 禮樂不用也。(Huainanzi, 8.301 “Ben jing”)
If the Way and its PotencyFootnote 46 are stabilized in the world and the people are pure and simple, [their] eyes would not become befuddled by splendid sights, [their] ears will not be overwhelmed by sounds. Sitting [in groups] and singing ballads, roaming about with the hair let loose, and even having the appearance of Mao Qiang or Xi ShiFootnote 47 —[they] would not know these are [supposed to be] pleasing. [If dances such as] “The Fallen Feathers” and the “Martial Appearances” [were to be performed], they wouldn’t know it is Music.Footnote 48 […] From this perspective, rites and Music are useless [in such an ideal world].
This passage not only belittles the status of Music, it seems to stand in complete contrast to Xunzi’s declaration from slightly over a century earlier, at the opening of his “Yue lun” 樂論 (Discourse on Music) chapter, that Music is something that “human feelings just cannot avoid!” (人情之所必不免也.)Footnote 49 According to the Huainanzi humans ideally could, and should indeed, emotionally avoid Music. One may then ask, if sounds are ideally to pass by people’s ears, and if Music is ideally useless: what is it that we should cherish instead? Elsewhere in the text we find the answer, when an ancestry of the whole great category of sound is given:
無音者，聲之大宗也。(Huainanzi, 1.34 “Yuan dao”)
SilenceFootnote 50 is the great ancestor of Sound.
The concept of silence as being the forebear of sound is not its own innovation, however the Huainanzi seems to be using silence to somehow overshadow music itself. Music is the most inferior product of silence, which is deep, profound, and natural. Music is a branch, and silence is the root, the closest among sonic (or a-sonic) phenomena to the Way itself.Footnote 51
The fact that in the Huainanzi’s idealized reality patterned-sounds lose their meaning to silence does not mean that the authors of the text do not acknowledge their importance in actual reality. As Michael Puett has demonstrated—such “as-if statements” (in his words) as they are presented in early Chinese texts should not necessarily be taken as assumptions of the authors. Rather, they are ideals bearing a nostalgic air, not fitting the modern, changed lives of people.Footnote 52 The Huainanzi constantly moves within a dialogue between the ideal and the existing (or ideal and optimal), between reminiscing the magnificent mythological past and guiding its reader in how to deal with a present that can no longer be this past.
Model Number One: A Reversed Hierarchy
It comes down, then, to a model. For the Huainanzi, Music is but the branch (mo 末), the final, man-made—and therefore inferior—outcome of a process much grander than Music itself. Its immediate roots (ben 本) are its components—going down to the concept of sound, and even deeper to the concept of silence. While in the Yue ji Music itself is the greatest culmination of virtue (de 德), according to the Huainanzi in a time of ultimate virtue there will be no meaning to Music.Footnote 53 While the “superior man,” portrayed by Xunzi a century earlier, “does not lend his ear to lewd sounds” (君子耳不聽淫聲Footnote 54 ), the ideal society of the Huainanzi cannot be allured by sounds whatsoever, be they moral or immoral ones. Their portrayal of an imagined ideal society in which silence overcomes sound does not necessarily imply that the authors of the Huainanzi believed that the ruler should or could aim at attaining such a society. Acknowledging the challenge in attaining it, the authors of the text do see in Music a useful and necessary tool for creating social order; but in order to make sure they are well understood, they have to warn against its potentially harmful effects, defining Music’s role in society as follows:
樂者，所以致和，非所以為淫也。(Huainanzi, 8.320 “Ben jing”)
As for Music, it is [meant to be] that by which [one should] bring about harmony, not that by which [one] creates lewdness.
Like other texts before and contemporaneous with it, the Huainanzi divides the world of sonic and related phenomena into sounds, patterned-sounds and Music. However, it turns their hierarchy upside down. Additionally, on top of the three common components—Music, sound-patterns, and sound—it adds the pitch-standards (that themselves derive from the winds), which receive special attention also in the text’s cosmological accounts. In doing so it connects the natural and theoretical with the moral and aesthetic. A close examination of the way Huainanzi theorizes about music therefore shows us that the text composes a unique, unprecedented perception of the concept. While other texts, represented here by the Yue ji perceive the generative process of music as (in ascending order of importance):
Sounds (sheng 聲) → Patterned-sounds (yin 音) → Music (yue 樂)
The model of the Huainanzi is reversed, and more complex:
Music (yue 樂) → Patterned-sounds (yin 音) [→Pitch-standards (lü 律)
→ Winds (feng 風)] = Sounds (sheng 聲) [→ Silence (wuyin 無音)] Footnote 55
Having distinguished the Huainanzi’s approach to music from the more “common” one, we are now able to see more subtle differences, even with sentences that seem similar. Thus, whereas for the Xunzi and the texts inspired by it Music can actively “change manners and alter customs” (移風易俗Footnote 56 ), the Huainanzi states that:
樂聽其音，則知其俗；見其俗，則知其化。(Huainanzi, 9.331 “Zhu shu”)
Music—listen to its sound-patterns, and you’ll know its manners; observe their manners, and you’ll know their transformations.
It is not that Music itself actively changes customs because it is a creation of the sages. Its deeper principles are what matter. Thus, if you listen to (i.e., analyze) the patterns of music, you can go one step upwards in the hierarchy and understand where it comes from. In the following sections we shall attempt to do exactly this.
The Text through Its Music
“Master your instrument. Master the music. And then, forget all the bullshit and just play.”
Charlie Parker
We know now how the Huainanzi sees music. But why is music in the text to begin with? What is it that we can learn about the text from looking at its music? An examination of the musical references within their context unveils a model of sagely rulership suggested by the authors. According to this model, the sage operates first and foremost by obtaining the knowledge of things that are changeable by nature (and indeed, need be changed), and those that are immutable. Once in possession of this knowledge, he is expected to react to situations that arise, as well as to create transformation in his environment when needed. As we shall see, the components of this model—abidance by natural principles and response to stimulations—have been individually discussed in previous scholarly works. However, under “musical” examination they become perhaps clearer than ever, and are interwoven into a coherent single model.
The Way of Stone and the Off-Key Affairs
故聖人所由曰道，所為曰事。道猶金石，一調不更；事猶琴瑟，每弦改調。故法制禮義者，治人之具也，而非所以為治也。(Huainanzi, 13.516 “Fan lun”)
Thus, what the sages rely on is called “the Way”; what they do is called “affairs.”Footnote 57 The Way is like [musical instruments of] metal and stone, once tuned, they do not alter [their sound]; “affairs” are like the qin and se [stringed instruments], where often the strings are in need of retuning. Therefore, rules and regulations, rites and propriety are the ruler’s tools, rather than [the principles] by which he rules.
The Way/affairs division, and the relationship between the two, are a prominent motif throughout the whole text. At the very beginning of the postface to the Huainanzi, its authors state that the aim of the compendium is “to knit together the Way and Potency, interweave human affairs” (所以紀綱道德，經緯人事. 21.851 “Yao lüe” 要略). Some time ago, Charles Le Blanc noted that the text is organized upon a reasoning of moving from “basic principles” (chapters 1–8) to “applications and illustrations” (chapters 9–20).Footnote 58 Le Blanc’s notion became widely accepted amongst scholars of the text.Footnote 59 Major et al. argue that the Way and affairs signify these basic principles and applications respectively, and that their division is a manifestation of “the more fundamental metaphor of ‘roots and branches’ that operates on many levels throughout the entire work.”Footnote 60 In a recent article, Andrew Meyer develops the notion of “root and branches” even further, claiming that beyond being a mere metaphor, it acts in the text as a fundamental theory explaining all dimensions of reality.Footnote 61 The movement from root to branches, as Meyer demonstrates, exists in the Huainanzi not only diachronically (developing from one chapter to the next) but also synchronically (within chapters and within phenomena),Footnote 62 and its representations are pervasive and consistent throughout the text.Footnote 63
The passage above, cited from the “Fan lun” 氾論, a chapter that primarily deals with the concept of change, provides a simple and elegant explanation of the Way and affairs: the Way is analogous to the type of musical instruments that are tuned once and forever hold their tuning; and affairs are comparable with stringed instruments, which not only can be retuned along time, but constantly require retuning. While the root and branches metaphor serves well to explain the essentiality and constancy of the Way in comparison with those of affairs, the instrument analogy is helpful in illuminating how they should be utilized. Both are musical instruments in the hands of the sage: the “Way” instruments he cannot change, and on their constancy he relies; the “affairs” instruments he must retune whenever the need arises. The second half of the passage demonstrates this utilization—laws and rites are not what the ruler relies upon in order to rule; they belong to the “affairs” category, and as such, they act as tools in the ruler’s hands.
Distinguishing the “Way” components from the “affairs” ones is the first and most essential skill any sage or ruler should possess, and it is necessary for ruling, directing, or guiding things or people at any level. The following passage does not refer directly to the Way and affairs, but does emphasize that any leader must be perspicacious. Again, the action of tuning serves as analogy:
耳不知清濁之分者，不可令調音；心不知治亂之源者，不可令制法。必有獨聞之耳，獨見之明，然後能擅道而行矣。(Huainanzi, 13.519 “Fan lun”)
He whose ear does not know high [tones] from low cannot be asked to tune notes; He whose heart does not know the origins of good order and chaos cannot be asked to regulate laws. There must be an ear that hears distinctively, a vision that distinctively sees, and only then can one be well versed in the Way and conduct it.
“The Echo Does Not Respond at Random”Footnote 64 —Action and Reaction
While reason implies the disjunction of subject and object, resonance involves their conjunction. Where reason requires separation and autonomy, resonance entails adjacency, sympathy, and the collapse of boundary between perceiver and perceived. (Veit Erlmann, Reason and Resonance Footnote 65 )
Knowledge of the Way and affairs and the ability to differentiate between them are not enough. When the time comes, the sage will be required to take action. This action is not one of initiative. Rather, it is mostly a reaction to the course of events around him. Like the silence that holds within it all existing forms of sound, the sage holds within him the essential knowledge of the constant and changeable aspects of his environment, and hence is expected to be able to operate them and embody all forms of spontaneous reaction. Musical instruments, silent as long as not activated, are again useful explanatory tools:
鼓不(滅) [藏]Footnote 66 於聲，故能有聲；鏡不沒於形，故能有形；金石有聲，弗叩弗鳴；管簫有音，弗吹無聲。聖人內藏，不為物先倡，事來而制，物至而應。(Huainanzi, 14.574–75 “Quan yan” 詮言)
A drum does not store sounds [of its own], hence it is capable of sounding out. A mirror does not hold on to form, therein lies its ability to manifest [any] form. [Musical instruments of] metal and stone (i.e., bells and chimes) have sounds, [but if] unstruck, they shall not ring. Pipes and flutes have voices, [but if they are] not blown, there will not be a sound. The sage stores [actions] within, but does not act as an initiator among things.Footnote 67 Affairs come his way—and he then regulates [them]; things appear—and he then reacts [appropriately].
One could say that the sages are literally expected to, well—”play it by ear.” Like musical instruments, they do not produce a thing unless triggered to do so.Footnote 68 They respond (ying 應) to the comings of things, rather than initiate action.Footnote 69
The principle of reaction is not merely metaphorized by means of music. Rather, it is an actual acoustic (and physical) phenomenon, well documented by the time of the Huainanzi, that the sages are expected to emulate in their conduct. The phenomenon is called “Resonance.” It is again Charles Le Blanc who notes the importance of this principle within the Huainanzi. Le Blanc poses the subject of resonance as no less than “the central idea of the Huainanzi.”Footnote 70 While this may be somewhat of an overstatement,Footnote 71 the idea of natural reaction is indeed a significant one in the text. The New Grove Dictionary of Music defines resonance as “A large amplitude of oscillation built up when a vibrating system is driven by an outside periodic force of frequency close to the natural frequency of the system.”Footnote 72 Being ubiquitous in people’s daily environments, easily observed and audible, phenomena of resonance are an easy principle upon which to base a moral model.
Thus, when speaking of military affairs and how to defeat an enemy, the authors proclaim:
響不為清音濁。觀彼之所以來，各以其勝應之。(Huainanzi, 15.615 “Bing lüe” 兵略)
The echo does not resound with a low note to a high one.Footnote 73 Observe the means whereby they emerge, and respond to each with what conquers it.
And when discussing the importance of moral conduct:
故叩宮而宮應，彈角而角動，此同音之相應也。其於五音無所比，而二十五弦皆應，此不傳之道也。(Huainanzi, 11.438 “Qi su”)
Now, when you pluck a gong [note string], [another] gong string responds; when you strum a jue string, another jue string moves. This is the mutual response of tones which are the same. [If the string you pluck] is not comparable with any of the five [pentatonic] notes, and yet the twenty-five [se] strings all respond—this is the unconveyed Way [which moves them].
The vibration of a string caused by another identically-tuned string played elsewhere is a real acoustic phenomenon called “sympathetic resonance.” Many texts in early China describe this resonating of strings to emphasize the mutual responsiveness of things belonging to the same category.Footnote 74 However, forms of reaction in the Huainanzi are not restricted only to responses between similar things. The activation of all strings by a sound external to them—which Le Blanc calls “total resonance”Footnote 75 —is presented as a process so noble that it touches upon the mysterious Way itself. Though such a phenomenon is highly unlikely to have been observed and empirically verified at Han times, it is theoretically possible to calculate a frequency that could cause vibration of all strings.Footnote 76 The applicability of it, however, is not as important as the notion that the text proposes here of another form of resonance mechanism. The untuned string is generally perceived of as silence—which has an absolute quality;Footnote 77 and what the Huainanzi states is that silence has the ability to activate any form of sound. This activation is, however, highly theoretic—an ideal—rather than an observable possible action.
The reaction of the sage to things “as they come” is a theme that recurs often in the text in many different variations. Often also referred to as “stimulus and response,” the prominent aspect of resonance is the “response” rather than the “stimulus.”Footnote 78 However, the process works both ways. Holding the necessary knowledge base, the sage knows not only how to react, but also how to act in ways that will provoke the desired reaction. The Grove Dictionary definition of resonance continues: “It plays an important part both constructively and destructively in all acoustic systems and musical instruments. It can be used to enhance tone but in the wrong place it can produce disastrous effects.”Footnote 79
The Huainanzi, using numerous anecdotes, demonstrates the constructive and destructive effects of resonating actions. Two of those anecdotes (see below, neither of them original to the Huainanzi) can serve as examples.
A demonstration of constructive resonance is the story of Ning Qi 甯戚, a poor man of Wei who managed to become an official and raise his social status by singing a song. Ning Qi could not afford to gain an audience with Duke Huan of Qi (齊桓公, d. 643 b.c.e.), and so waited for the latter to head out of the city gate. As Duke Huan was exiting the city in his carriage, Ning Qi sang a sad song. The Duke was moved by the song and knew right away that the singer was not an ordinary person. He ordered Ning Qi to be brought to his court and eventually granted him office. The story of Ning Qi is mentioned in no fewer than five different chapters of the Huainanzi.Footnote 80 The resonance in the story may be minor and personal (an effect extending from one singer’s voice to one person’s emotions) but it is meaningful nevertheless.
The second anecdote, illustrating the destructive force of resonance, tells the story of Duke Ping 平公 (d. 532 b.c.e.) and Music Master Kuang 師曠. Master Kuang plays a specific musical piece on his qin, and thereupon natural disasters befall the realm of Duke Ping, and he himself becomes ill and impotent and loses his territory.Footnote 81 In the original story as it is found in the Hanfeizi, probably well known by the time of the Huainanzi, Duke Ping demands that Master Kuang play more and more “dangerous” tunes, ignoring the latter’s admonitions. The Duke demands to hear tunes written in certain modes which are, according to Master Kuang, reserved only for the ears of rulers of the highest virtue, which the Duke has not yet attained. The playing of tunes in the wrong context is what brings about the terrible disasters.Footnote 82
Wrongs and Rites
The sage, then, is supposed to hold the knowledge of, and differentiate between, the “Way” and “Affairs,” and he is expected to react to and tune affairs in accordance with what happens around him. But what, in practice, is the “Way”? What are the “affairs”? What is the sage to tune?
Throughout the text, the “Way,” or basic principles, are universal, cosmological, and theoretical principles, which can be learned by observation. They are presented as axioms that the sage should inherently have as his “knowledge base.” These axioms themselves never change, but using them, the sage can create an infinite number of variations:
音之數不過五，而五音之變，不可勝聽也。(Huainanzi, 1.35 “Yuan dao”)
The number of notes does not surpass five, but the alterations of the five notes cannot be fully heard.
Anything created by man, on the other hand, is necessarily alterable by nature, and hence belongs to the “affairs” group, which should be occasionally examined and regulated. Music, and its oft-matched ally ritual (li 禮), are both included under the “affairs” group, and thus gain the position of regulating tools. While in an ideal society they may not be necessary, in the real world they are crucial instruments for conducting rulership.Footnote 83
是故以道為竿，以德為綸，禮樂為鉤，仁義為餌，投之于江，浮之於海，萬物紛紛孰非其有。(Huainanzi, 2.60 “Chu zhen”)
Therefore, [the sages] make the Way their pole, the Potency their fishing line; rites and Music their hook; humaneness and righteousness their bait. They throw them to the rivers, float them on the seas. All the things, one by one—which shall not be their own?
In this sense, the Huainanzi’s treatment of the pair is unique. Starting in the Warring States period, writers tended either to harshly criticize the creation of MusicFootnote 84 or elevate it.Footnote 85 Ritual is similarly glorified or, at times, neglected.Footnote 86 While some of the texts (particularly those identified with the Ru 儒 way of thought) exalt Music and rites for the mere reason of them having been created by the ancient kings, and hence are very careful in advising to change them, the Huainanzi emphasizes this very change as an inherent need. Its explanation lies in the fact that the ancient kings and mythological emperors themselves differed from each other in both their Music and their rituals. Giving the names of each mythic emperor and their different rites and airs, the text states:
此皆因時變而制禮樂者。(Huainanzi, 13.511 “Fan lun”)
These are all [cases] of following the alteration of time with the regulation of rites and Music.
It is important, indeed an obligation, to “retune” rites and Music:
故聖人制禮樂，而不制于禮樂。(Huainanzi, 13.512 “Fan lun”)
Hence the sages regulate rites and Music, rather than being regulated by rites and Music.
Failing to understand that these things indeed require retuning and change simply indicates a lack of technical awareness:
今握一君之法籍，以非傳代之俗，譬由膠柱而調瑟也。(Huainanzi, 11.430 “Qi su”)
Now, holding on to the rules and records of one ruler, and with it disregarding customs passed on from previous generations, is just like gluing the bridges of the se to tune it.Footnote 87
While even texts such as the Li ji had to admit that rituals of the past cannot be left untouched, and must incorporate contemporary needs,Footnote 88 in the Huainanzi this change is not acknowledged begrudgingly, but presented as an essential and urgent need. If the text seems reluctant to acknowledge anything, it is the very notion that rites and Music still need to exist in the world at all, because reality is still far from the ideal that the text portrays.
Model Number Two: Echoing Rulership
We may now want to take a second look at one of the musical examples given above, this time within a broader context (“new” parts appear in italics):
夫物有以自然，而後人事有治也。[…] 故先王之制法也，[…] 因其好色而制婚姻之禮，故男女有別；因其喜音而正《雅》、《頌》之聲, 故風俗不流 […] 此皆人之所有於性，而聖人之所匠成也。故無其性，不可教訓；有其性，無其養，不能遵道。人之性有仁義之資，非聖人為之法度而教導之，則不可使向方。[…] 故因其性則天下聽從，拂其性則法縣而不用。(Huainanzi, 20.815–16 “Tai zu”)
Now, things have their natural course of being, and only then human affairs have [the ability to create] orderly rule. […] Thus, as for the ancient kings’ regulation of laws—[…] Following the people’s fondness of sex they regulated the rite of matrimony, hence there was a differentiation between male and female; following their joy in tunes they fixed the sounds of ya and the song, hence airs and customs did not wander adrift. […] These are all [things] that people already possess by nature, and sages carve and complete. Thus, if [people] didn't have their natures, they could not be taught and instructed; if they had these [things in their] nature, but did not have their cultivation, they would not be able to abide by the Way. People's natures have a supply of humaneness and righteousness, [however] if the sages do not create laws and measures for them, teach and guide them, these cannot be directed to face [the right] way. […] Thus, [if you] accord with its nature, the world will obey and follow, [if you] counteract its nature, even if you set rules, they will be of no use.
All of a sudden the passage does not at all seem to deal with the Music and rites per se. Music and rites are rhetorical tools for explaining something grander: the setting of musical pieces and rites, both human creations, by the ancient kings, is used (among many other things in the original passage, actually) as a demonstration of ideal rulership, in a model involving the combination of knowledge and response. In order to affect the conduct of the people, the kings used their knowledge of those inherent and unchanging qualities in their natures (deriving from the Way); only then did they tackle and shape the affairs—rules, rites, music—and use them for creating order. The constant and alterable aspects of knowledge are mutually dependent—the changing aspects of reality need to be changed so that the constant ones can be put to best use. Where the underlying nature (the constant, the “Way”) does not exist, the sage can take no action. But also—if the sage-ruler does not tune that which needs tuning—the subjects will not undergo the desired change.
故瑟無弦，雖師文不能以成曲；徒弦，則不能悲。故弦，悲之具也；而非所以為悲也。(Huainanzi, 11.437–38 “Qi su”)
Now, if the se has no strings, even Music Master Wen cannot produce a tune [on it]; the strings alone, [however,] cannot produce sorrow. Therefore strings are the tools of sorrow, but not what produces the sorrow.
Hence another model is formed—the model of sagely rulership as suggested by the music-loving authors of the Huainanzi. There are the unchanging (or “Way”) principles of the universe and the changing (affairs) ones, which are mostly man-made. Being able to tell them apart, the sage needs to react to the circumstances that surround him. Rites and Music, belonging to the “affairs” group, are among those things that the sage needs to constantly examine and change.
The comprehensibility of musical references, the great variety of ways in which one can use them, and the very fact that music itself is divided into unchangeable factors (natural theory) and flexible ones (human aesthetic creation) makes the world of music one of the authors’ favourite rhetorical tools. In particular they are fond of using musical instruments in their analogies, as these contain within them the whole process of musical generation. Untouched, they represent an ideal silence; their tuning is guided by pitch-standards; and when played they produce patterned-sounds, which in turn can be modelled into Music.
Musical Chairs: Illustrations in the Human Realm
The “rulership model” presented above is not intended merely for rulers. The distinction between the Way and affairs and its application in actions and reactions is what the Huainanzi authors imagine the life of any worthy man to entail. So much so, that their whole perception of a person’s value seems to derive from the extent to which this person abides by these principles in their own life. Often, it is the person’s “musical conduct” that serves to demonstrate their worth, or musical means that serve to teach us about it.
These socio-musical perceptions of the Huainanzi are personified, and embodied by several archetypal figures that reappear throughout the text. The following pages present four of these archetypes—defined here as “the wise man,” “the general,” “the commoner,” and “the fake scholar.” These characters epitomize the correct and incorrect usage of the principles outlined so far. All are assessed by the authors on the basis of the extent to which they are capable of putting the models into practical use.
The Wise Man
For the authors of the Huainanzi, he who knows how to operate in accordance with the circumstances is a wise man. While not necessarily defined as “a sage” (sheng 聖), any person who can apply the principles—gain knowledge and act or react using it—embodies sagely qualities and is described in a positive light.
This stamp of approval comes regardless of the wise man’s social class. Perhaps in order to emphasize that the knowledge one should gain is not the same kind of knowledge scholarly learning can give, the Huainanzi supplies numerous anecdotes of people of lowly status applying the supreme form of knowledge. We have already encountered the case of Ning Qi, who although impoverished was able to gain an office by singing, thereby “activating” the correct emotions of Duke Huan. Another interesting case of a low-class wise man can be found in chapter 18: We are told of Confucius’ horse, who goes missing while the Master is travelling. The horse is found eating the crops of a local farmer, who thereupon gets angry and ties it up. Zigong, a disciple of Confucius, fails to persuade the farmer to return the horse, because he uses polite scholarly persuasions which the latter cannot understand.Footnote 89 Confucius’ stable boy thereupon succeeds where Zigong had failed, saying to the farmer: “You till all the way from the Eastern Sea to the Western Sea, within my horse’s wanderings, where could he not have eaten a grain that is yours?” The farmer, greatly flattered and pleased by the compliment, sets the horse free, and we are then musically told the moral of the story:
說若此其無方也，而反行。事有所至，而巧不若拙。[…] 夫歌《采菱》，發《陽阿》，鄙人聽之，不若此《延(路)[露]》、(《陽局》) [以和]。非歌者拙也，聽者異也。[…] 物之不通者，聖人不爭也。(Huainanzi, 18.754–55 “Ren jian”)
A persuasion such as this has no method, and yet it had succeeded and worked. Among affairs, there are issues that befall us, and [in handling them] skill is not as good as ineptness. Now, [when you] sing “Gathering Caltrops” or play “Northern Bank” and countrymen hear them, this is not as good as [when you sing] “Perpetual Dew”Footnote 90 to harmonize them. It is not the ineptness of the one who sings, but the fact that the listeners are different. […] The sage does not fight those things that are impenetrable.Footnote 91
Wisdom essentially resides in the ability to adapt one’s actions to the existing “Way” principles. One does not, and indeed cannot, force the very same tools upon different types of environment. Such adaptation takes time, practice, and cultivation:
忠信形于內，感動應於外，故禹執幹戚，舞於兩階之間，而三苗服。(Huainanzi, 10.389 “Mou cheng” 繆稱)
[As] loyalty and trust take form internally, stimulations and movements respond from without. Thus, Yu grabbed a shield and an axe and danced in between the two platforms, and thereupon the three Miao [tribes] submitted [to his authority].
The story, borrowed by the authors from the Hanfeizi, originally remarks that Yu wished to attack the unsubmissive Miao tribes, but was not allowed by Shun to do so. Shun then taught Yu for three years, and only then, after gaining a strong basis of knowledge and amending the way of military and governance, did Yu dance the war dance. At this point, his dance demonstrated such profound knowledge of the art of battle that the Miao tribes submitted instantly.Footnote 92
Well trained and well versed in both the Way and affairs, the versatile character of the wise man thus represents the model of ideal governance in the Huainanzi.
The General
One curious and noteworthy sub-category of the wise man is the figure of the general (jiang 將). What is of particular relevance to the current discussion is the fact that both the general himself and the affairs of the military, over which he commands, are epitomized by a specific musical instrument—the drum. Drums echo all through the fifteenth chapter of the Huainanzi, the “Overview of the military” (Bing lüe 兵略), and accompany almost any reference to the military throughout the text.Footnote 93
The general himself is presented as a type of sage, a ruler external to the realm. In this sense he is just like the drum to the five notes:
夫物之所以相形者微，唯聖人達其至。故鼓不與於五音，而為五音主；水不與於五味，而為五味調；將軍不與于五官之事，而為五官督。[…] 是故將軍之心，[…] 因形而與之化，隨時而與之移。(Huainanzi, 15.614–15, “Bing lüe”)
Now, that by which things manifest each other is subtle. Only sages can fully comprehend it. Hence, the drum is not amongst the five notes, but it is the ruler of five notes; water is not amongst the five flavours, yet is the conductor of five flavours; the general’s command of military matters is not amongst the affairs of five offices, yet [he] directs the five offices. […] Thus, the general’s heart […] traces [the origin of] form and alters with it; follows [the alterations of] seasons and changes with them.
The general, therefore, acts as a “ruler from without,” conducting affairs though not actively a part of them. Like all sages, he changes in accordance with time, and like all sages, he needs to embody the Way:
將失道而拙，得道而工 (Huainanzi, 15.592 “Bing lüe”)
A general who lets the Way slip is inept, [a general who] comprehends the Way is successful.
The acceptance of drums and banners, which is the official act of the general’s acceptance of his mission, symbolizes his departure from the “inner realm” owned by the emperor into his own external realm:
將已受斧鉞，答曰：「國不可從外治也，軍不可從中御也。二心不可以事君，疑志不可以應敵。臣既以受制於前矣，鼓旗斧鉞之威，臣無還請。願君亦(以) [無] 垂一言之命於臣也。[…] 」 (Huainanzi, 15.623 “Bing lüe”)
After the general has accepted the fu and yue battle-axes, he replies: “The state cannot be governed from without, and the military cannot be managed from within [the state]. One cannot serve a ruler with two hearts, and neither can he respond to the enemy when his will is full of doubts. Here before your majesty I receive control [over the military], [and therefore am responsible for] the might of the drums, banners, and battle-axes, I do not have far reaching requests, [but the] wish that your majesty shall not pass down to me a single word of command.”
The drums represent the general’s authority and wisdom. But above all, they represent the might and potential he holds. In their silence they embody all that may occur. This is reminiscent of the representation of the sage as an unstruck drum (cited above). Until triggered to act, all he holds is a major silent potential. The Huainanzi depicts three ways of using the military. The highest form is when all is peaceful and the military is not actually utilized: drums are not mentioned in this form. Next, there is the middle form of usage, when “bells and drums face each other” (鼓錞相望), the military is prepared for battle, but the enemy flees upon seeing the high level of preparation; the last and most inferior is when an actual battle occurs. Only here do the drums actually produce sound (“they string together the drumsticks and use them to roll the drums” 維枹綰而鼓之).Footnote 94 Although victory is gained, this is not the desired situation.
We are again reminded of the picture of an ideal world, where sound, in this case the rumbling of drums symbolizing war, is not needed.Footnote 95 Here, too, there is an interplay between the ideal and the practical. While the military affairs are ideally never put into practice, there is still an appreciation of the ability to implement them correctly. The illustrations are, as one could expect, taken from the world of sonic phenomena:
善用兵，若聲之與響，若鏜之與鞈 […] 故鼓鳴旗麾，當者莫不廢滯崩阤. (Huainanzi, 15.604 “Bing lüe”)
He who is skilled in utilizing the army is like sound to an echo, like the booming to the drum roll.Footnote 96 Thus, when the drums call and the banners are unrolled, among those witnessing it, there will be none who does not surrender or is not extinguished.
The CommonerFootnote 97
Though the lives of the common people tend to remain outside the scope of literary texts in early China, the Huainanzi provides some vivid descriptions of their musical habits. The masses of the Huainanzi have an active musical life. They have their own folk songs (as we have seen on “the wise man” section, in the story of Confucius’ horse); they react to music; they seek it. When happy and grateful, they sing to express it (“the common people sang ballads to rejoice in his acts” 百姓歌謳而樂之 Huainanzi 20.836 “Tai zu”). Their naïve and spontaneous reactions to their surroundings are perceived positively, as they follow their own natural principles without even knowing. Thus, even though they may never be able to tell “Way” from “affairs,” and will never be capable of ruling all under heaven, they certainly do embody the world of resonance-related phenomena:
征羽之操，不入鄙人之耳。抮和切適，舉坐而善。(Huainanzi, 17.712 “Shui lin” 說林)
The musical modes of zhi and yu are something the ears of the vulgar cannot comprehend. [But upon hearing] a swirly harmony with a quick rhythm, they will all sit together and find it wonderful.
The Yue ji, in its own way, also puts an emphasis on the masses’ lack of knowledge. Its commoners are inferior, for they are incapable of participating in discussions about Music:
是故知聲而不知音者，禽獸是也；知音而不知樂者，眾庶是也。唯君子為能知樂。[…] 是故不知聲者不可與言音，不知音者不可與言樂。Footnote 98
Thus, those who know sounds but do not know sound-patterns are the birds and beasts; those who know sound-patterns but do not know Music are the masses. It is the superior man alone who holds the ability to know Music. […] Thus, you cannot discuss patterned-sounds with those who do not know sounds; you cannot discuss Music with those who do not know sound-patterns.
But as far as the Huainanzi is concerned, demonstrations of knowledge are not what we need from the common people. As they are most easily affected and transformed by their environment, the common people serve as an effective indicator of the quality of their governance:Footnote 99
末世之政 […] 愚夫蠢婦皆有流連之心，悽愴之志，乃(使)始為之撞大鍾，擊鳴鼓，吹竽笙，彈琴瑟，失樂之本矣。(Huainanzi, 8.320 “Ben jing”)
In governments of later ages […] silly men and foolish women all had scattered and confused minds, wretched and sorrowful wills. When they are like this, starting to ding the grand bells, beat the resounding drums, blow the pipes and flutes, or strum the qin and se for them—is letting slip the very roots of Music.
The Fake Scholar
The last archetype to be presented here, and probably the one most disdained by the authors of the Huainanzi, is embodied by any person who seeks and cultivates the external appearance of a knowledgeable person without truly holding that knowledge. Many musical examples in the text depict this kind of person, whom we shall name “the fake scholar.” It is not explicitly said who these people are, but the impression is that they are somewhat related to those who the Xunzi names “vulgar Ruist” (suru 俗儒, as opposed to “great Ruists” daru 大儒).Footnote 100 These are the people who purport to be scholars, while in reality lacking knowledge and seeking only the financial and reputational benefits of scholarship.
In their lack of knowledge, the fake scholars are no better than the commoners:
今夫窮鄙之社也，叩盆拊瓴，相和而歌，自以為樂矣。嘗試為之擊建鼓，撞巨鍾，乃性仍仍然，知其盆瓴之足羞也。藏《詩》、《書》，修文學，而不知至論之旨，則拊盆叩瓴之徒也。(Huainanzi, 7.284–85 “Jing shen”)
Nowadays, in impoverished rural societies, people knock on pots and tap on jars, harmonize with each other and sing, and they perceive themselves as making “Music.” If you try to beat the great drums for them, or strike the gigantic bells, they will be bewildered and distressed, [suddenly] knowing how shameful their pots and jars were. Storing the Odes and Documents without knowing the underlying meaning of the discussions—this is following the principle of tapping on pots and knocking on jars.
The fake scholar stubbornly adheres to successes of the past, failing to realize that such successes cannot be regained by following the exact same paths as before. By so doing, the “scholarship of recent ages” is said to drive itself into confusion:
晚世學者，不知道之所一體，德之所總要，取成之跡，相與危坐而說之，鼓歌而舞之，故博學多聞，而不免於惑。(Huainanzi, 8.309 “Ben jing”)
The scholars of recent ages do not know how the Way consolidates all substances, how Potency encompasses all essentials. They track the traces of [past] success, [and then] facing each other, they sit upright and discuss it; they drum, sing, and dance [in veneration of] it. Hence [even] a man of broad learning and many teachings will not avoid confusion.
In this sense, the fake scholars are worse than commoners. Not only do they not obtain knowledge, they also refuse to follow the path of what is natural. Consequently, they follow neither part of the “rulership model”—they lack the knowledge and do not respond as they should. The following passage is a somewhat cynical allusion to those who only cultivate the external symbols of knowledge. It is worth noting that the lyrics of the Odes are presented here as the wrapping of songs, but not as their main component—the natural principles of music—which is what actually attracts people:
歌者有詩，然使人善之者，非其詩也。鸚鵡能言，而不可使長。是何則？得其所言，而不得其所以言。(Huainanzi, 16.630 “Shui shan” 說山)
Songs have lyrics, but what causes people to be fond of them is not the lyrics. The parrot can speak, but cannot use persuasions and extend a conversation. How come? It possesses what one needs in order to speak, but does not possess what one needs in order to make a conversation.
And in another mocking of people’s blind preference of external scholarly representations:
邯鄲師有出新曲者，託之李奇，諸人皆爭學之。後知其非也，而皆棄其曲，此未始知音者也。(Huainanzi, 19.797 “Xiu wu” 脩務)
Among the [Music] Masters of Handan there was one who came up with a new tune. He [falsely] attributed it to Li Qi,Footnote 101 and all the people strived to learn it. Later, when [they] realized it was a lie, they all abandoned his tune. This is not even beginning to know patterns of sound.
On Tuning and Being Tuned
Two levels of what one may call “tuning” are essential, according to the Huainanzi: one should know how to tune their environment (i.e., how to affect it by changing “affairs”), but just as importantly (maybe even more)—one should know how to be tuned by it (i.e., how to resonate with ongoing natural changes).
The four archetypal models presented above demonstrate three different representations of these skills. The wise man, and the general as its sub-category, hold both skills. They can react and they can act, tune and be tuned. The commoners do not know how to utilize nature in order to act, but do react to external stimulations in accordance with their own nature. The fake scholars on the other hand, are missing the whole point. They stick to an irrelevant past, refusing to be tuned by time, and, needless to say, they are incapable of tuning their environment.
Conclusion
It begins with a silence. A potential, so much stronger than the act itself. The drums not yet rolled, the zithers not strummed. Something grand waiting to happen. “In the hands of performers of an older generation,” says Laurence Picken, “the instrument tends to be used to suggest, rather than to produce, sounds.”Footnote 102 For the Huainanzi, music—like warfare; like rulership; like any kind of wisdom—is a matter of knowing its natural limits and limitlessness much more than a matter of action.
An analysis of the musical references in the Huainanzi reveals an intriguing, multidimensional attitude toward music, touching upon moral discourse, discourse of political and military power, cosmological perceptions, and much more. Music has a twofold function in the text. In addition to using music as a rhetorical tool, the authors actually develop a multilayered theory about music as a subject of discussion in its own right.
Accordingly, this article presented two models—one taking music as its main theme, and one examining the text through the rhetorical tool of music. In its thought about music, the Huainanzi is innovative. This innovation is expressed by its reversal of the hierarchy between musical phenomena as presented in other texts of its time, as well as the insertion of new, natural terms into this aesthetical and ethical hierarchy. As opposed to other popular texts of its time and prior to its time, it does not glorify the human creation of music. Rather, it puts an emphasis on the natural roots of music, including the pitch-standards (lü 律), which hitherto were generally excluded from moral discussions on music. According to the Huainanzi, the grand ancestor of music is silence, an epitome of the Way itself. Silence represents potential, containing within itself all sounds and tunes that may ever reach human ears if triggered to be sent out into the open.
An analysis of the way the Huainanzi thinks of the world through music reveals the underlying model of sagely behaviour it promotes. This model brings together two prominent notions in the text, notions which were previously observed by scholars separately but here are amalgamated. Firstly, the universe is perceived as divided into “root” principles—unchangeable elements deriving from the Way—and “branch” principles—changeable, mostly human-made elements. In musical terms, the “Way” principles are metaphorized into stone and metal instruments, which dictate the tones and do not need to be retuned; while the “affairs” are compared to stringed instruments which need to be retuned every once in a while. The second notion put into the model of rulership is the notion of action and reaction, or resonance. Using his knowledge, the ruler (or any person with sagely qualities) is expected to respond to changes in his environment, or create changes when this environment needs “retuning.” The two notions are combined into a complete model of rulership—one should obtain the necessary knowledge base, and use it in one’s actions.
It becomes clear, after understanding the place of music in the text, why the authors do not dedicate a specific chapter to it. As a natural phenomenon, music is ubiquitous in the Huainanzi, and particularly within its cosmological chapters. Being present everywhere, it does not need a chapter of its own. As a human creation, Music, that yue that everybody speaks of, is nothing more than a representation, a tool, an affair. Why, then, should it receive its own chapter?
Previous scholarship has focused on moral discussions about music starting in the Warring States periodFootnote 103 or on the complex and sophisticated musical-cosmological theories in later texts, including the Huainanzi.Footnote 104 I believe, however, that it is in the degree of connectedness between the moral and the practical-theoretical that the uniqueness of the Huainanzi lies.
Indeed, in the court of Huainan, discussions about tradition and change seem to have received their own rhythm, composition, and timbre. Essentially, what the Huainanzi suggests to the ruler who aspires to sagacity is to act like a musician. Learn the essentials before you apply them, it suggests. Learn the Way before you tackle practical affairs. And after you have done so—allow yourself to improvise. Your audience will follow.
