Abstract
Similar to the situation in ancient Greece, ancient Chinese thinkers carried on a lively philosophical debate about music. The discussions of music in the Xunzi, especially chapter 20 of the text, constitute a high point in that debate, and they remain philosophically interesting in their own right, even today. Here we provide an overview of Xunzi’s ideas about music and their relations to some of the surrounding historical context, and end by presenting a few issues for further reflection, based on comparisons with the views of Allan Bloom, Roger Scruton, and other contemporary thinkers who have theorized about the effects and importance of music.
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- 1.
One question that we will not discuss here, but wish to acknowledge, is the debate over the composition of chapter 20 of the Xunzi. There are substantial textual overlaps between that chapter and the “Yueji ” 樂記 chapter of the Liji 禮記, as well as the “Yueshu ” 樂書 chapter of the Shiji 史記, and hence some have proposed that the material in the Xunzi is largely or wholly borrowed from other sources. For a review of the literature on this topic, see Wu 1994; Cook 1995, 1997. For a partial defense of why, from a philosophical perspective, it is not so crucial to sort out these questions about composition, see the introduction to Hutton 2014.
- 2.
- 3.
All translations from Xunzi here are taken or adapted from Hutton 2014.
- 4.
See Sizer 2000.
- 5.
It should be noted that Plato’s views on music are very complex, and at various places in the Platonic corpus he also describes a positive role for music in human life. Unfortunately, we do not have space to pursue an extensive comparison here, though it surely merits further reflection. For present purposes, the main point is simply that the Xunzi is not much worried about the ways that music, through lyrics and the like, may conduce to inaccurate or harmful beliefs.
- 6.
It is possible that, though not stated explicitly in the passage, Xunzi conceives of ritual as having this effect indirectly rather than directly: i.e., it creates unity and harmony through its power to differentiate (compare HKCS 9/39/11–12, H 76.325–26). Even if that is so, it would still be the case that on Xunzi’s view it is not only music that has the effect of creating harmony and unity. We thank Wang Kai 王楷 for bringing this issue to our attention.
- 7.
Compare Mengzi 1B1.
- 8.
Besides considering Xunzi’s view in relation to Mozi’s criticisms in particular, it is also worthwhile to analyze Xunzi’s ideas in relation to the broader historical background of early Chinese views about music. Limitations of space preclude us from doing so here, but for other studies that do draw comparisons and contrasts of this sort, see Brindley 2012; Cook 1995, 1997 ; Wu 1994.
- 9.
See Van Norden 2007: 172–74.
- 10.
Note that Xunzi’s own presentation tends to move back and forth between these arguments, so the four “parts” outlined here should not be understood as four “steps” that Xunzi goes through. The presentation that follows here is a reconstruction and reorganization of the material in the text for the sake of clarity and assessment.
- 11.
A further point to note is that Xunzi’s remarks about the naturalness and universality of music are reminiscent of Aristotle’s : “the pleasure given by music is natural, and therefore adapted to all ages and characters” (Aristotle , Politics VIII, 1340a3–5).
- 12.
- 13.
One possible example of such a view from early China is discussed in Brindley 2006: 254–55.
- 14.
Following Ikai Hikohiro’s suggested emendation of 心 to 身. See ZB ad loc.
- 15.
Cf. Mozi , ICS 1.7/8/17 – 1.7/9/1, Johnston 2010: 7.1–3.
- 16.
Cf. HKCS 22/112/9–21, H 246.365 – 247.407.
- 17.
One might see hints of such an idea in HKCS 4/15/16–21, H 28.208–28. We thank P.J. Ivanhoe for prompting us to think about this point.
- 18.
There may be another, even more concrete and direct way in which Xunzi considers music to have benefits for individuals. As noted earlier, Xunzi thinks music can affect people’s qi , which was also a key medical notion in ancient China, and Xunzi may thus believe that the right kind of music can also benefit a person’s health. The following rhymed description of the gentleman in chapter 20 seems to hint at such a view: “When music is played, intentions gain purity. / When rites are studied, conduct turns out perfectly. / They make one’s ears acute and they make one’s eyes sharp; / They give one’s blood and qi balance and harmony” (HKCS 20/100/8–9, H 221.128–31). The latter two lines describe an excellent physiological state, and the way that they follow so closely on the first two lines implies that music has a role—but maybe not an exclusive one—in bringing about this physiological state. (See chapter 6 of Brindley 2012 for more discussion of the relation between music and medicine in early Chinese texts.) Of course, insofar as musical performance involves physical movements and dance , the idea that partaking of music might aid one’s health is not so far-fetched. When it comes to simply listening to music, though, some might feel skeptical. However, when one reads the descriptions of contemporary “music therapy” in Sacks 2008, in which post-encephalitic patients who are frozen nearly motionless because of their illness suddenly become “unlocked” and move freely upon hearing the right kinds of music, the idea that simply listening to music might confer certain kinds of health benefits becomes more plausible.
- 19.
This is not to say, however, that Xunzi is particularly concerned with small-scale, private musical performances; rather, his primary concern is clearly with more large-scale, public (or at least social) musical performances. Our point here is merely that Xunzi has the resources for criticizing Mozi even when Mozi’s anti-music position is interpreted in a rather restricted way.
- 20.
So understood, the argument of the passage is a case where, as in many other instances, Xunzi takes an idea from a rival, turns it against that rival, and at the same time uses it advance his own position. In the present case, Mozi had strongly advocated using incentives to attract worthy people to government. Xunzi is agreeing with that thought, but then pointing out that in banning music and advocating frugality , Mozi is actually undermining most of the things that could serve as incentives. (Indeed, the Mozi depicts people as being rewarded with wealth and power as incentives, but seems to leave them with few opportunities to use the wealth and power for any kind of enjoyments.) Xunzi then proposes an alternative way of setting up the incentive structure, one which includes music, but is also such that he can avoid Mozi’s criticisms of extravagance.
- 21.
Readers are urged to consult Hui-chieh Loy’s contribution to this volume for further, insightful discussion of these issues.
- 22.
There are, however, passages in the text that might be cited as indirect evidence for the idea that Xunzi sees music as also having non-instrumental value. For instance, Xunzi seems to use wen 文(“good form ”) to designate one kind of non-instrumental value (see the discussion in this volume, pp. 79–81), and in places he describes music as wen (e.g., HKCS 19/98/3–5, H 216.573–76). See also the considerations adduced by Hui-chieh Loy on pp. 369–70 here.
- 23.
See also Harold (forthcoming).
- 24.
Compare Xunzi HKCS 1/4/6–10, H 6.186 – 7.190, which warns against discussing the Way with people whose qi is zheng 爭 (“combative”).
- 25.
See Robinson 2005, especially part four: “Music and the Emotions.”
- 26.
- 27.
- 28.
E.g., HKCS 23/114/5, 23/114/17; H 250.86 – 251.129. For more on the connection between li 理 and the Way, see Hutton 2002.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank P.J. Ivanhoe, <Emphasis Type=”SmallCaps”>Wang</Emphasis> Kai 王楷, and Springer’s reviewers for their comments on earlier versions of this essay.
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Hutton, E.L., Harold, J. (2016). Xunzi on Music. In: Hutton, E. (eds) Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Xunzi. Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7745-2_9
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