Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning: An Exposition and Translation of Ruan Ji's Essay on Music

Criddle, Reed Andrew.

Asian Music, Volume 38, Number 2, Summer/Fall 2007, pp. 44-70 (Article)

Published by University of Texas Press DOI: 10.1353/amu.2007.0034

For additional information about this article

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/amu/summary/v038/38.2criddle.html

Access Provided by University Of Nebraska @ Omaha at 11/30/10 11:11AM GMT

Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning: An Exposition and Translation of Ruan Jis Essay on Music1
Reed Andrew Criddle
Mystical Learning is a form of Neo-Taoism effused with Confucianism. It dominated several important social circles during the Wei-Jin dynastic periods, including the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove, a loose association of musical philosophers. One of these Seven Worthies, Ruan Ji, adopted the pure talk form of debate through the rhetoric of written assertions. Ruans most convincingly authenticated work, Essay on Music, emerged in this setting during the rst half of the third century. Essay on Music passionately advocates a return to traditional notions of propriety. It is a fundamentally subversive work, pointing out the licentious behavior of those then in power. Commenting shrewdly on the corrupt practices of his day, Ruan leans on the authority of legendary stories to prove his thesis. Essay on Music begins by evaluating third century societys adherence to traditional Confucian values, as laid out by the Book of Rites, and concludes with a discussion of the interplay between emotion and song throughout history. Part of a larger dialogue among the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove, Essay on Music and other discourses on the emotive content in music explore the contemporaneous fascination with the connection between human sentiment and the cosmic relationship of heaven and earth.

Notes about the Translation

During the process of translating Essay on Music, whenever possible, I have tried to remain faithful to Ruan Jis grammatical structures to maintain the avor of his reasoning. The result may seem, at times, formulaic and repetitive, but if that is the case, it is only because the original has these characteristics. As Ruans sentences are often intentionally vague, I have sought to translate his ideas in such a way that the ambiguities remain unresolved, while still transmitting every clue for their interpretation that exists in the original. Where extra explanation is required, it is included in typical footnote format. I have also attempted to use consistent terminology, but where appropriate I have varied the word choice to enliven the text for the modern English reader.
2007 by the University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819

Criddle: Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning

45

Because Essay on Music has not been translated previously into English, I relied substantially upon two modern Chinese translations. Oftentimes they would open my eyes to different ways of reading the text, but other times I felt that the modern Chinese translations added too many unreliable connotations, particularly when creating compounds from single classical Chinese terms. More often than not, after consultation with one or both of these translations and unsatised with their answers to difcult translation issues, I was obliged to wrestle one-on-one with the original terms to nd suitable English equivalents. However, I am greatly indebted to the authors of those two modern Chinese translations, Lin Jiali and Ji Liankang , without whom I could not have nished this project. The phonetic system I have employed is pinyin. Over the last few decades, pinyin has become the most universally understood system of Romanization for Chinese characters. Therefore, though Ruan Jis name in pinyin is most standard, for instance, readers should be advised that in older systems of Romanization, he is catalogued under such spellings as Juan Chi or Yan Chi. For simplicitys sake, this paper uses only pinyin unless other phonetic systems occur in the title of a book or article for which converting them into pinyin would prove unhelpful.

Reclusion and Disengagement2

Disturbed by the political upheavals that were so pervasive in the aftermath of the fall of the Han dynasty, several legendary literati lost hope in the applicability of teachings from the Confucian school of thought. The strong leaders were corrupt, and the upstanding rulers were weak. Various competing factions had broken the kingdom into pieces. The most notable ruling party was the Sima clan. In the midst of societal commotion and instability, legend has it that one particularly uninhibited young man identied as Ruan Ji3 from the principality of Chenliu4 would occasionally withdraw from literati circles at court, joining his nephew and ve close friends for excursions among groves of bamboo. Word of the utopian setting spread quickly as well as information about the attitude of drunken merriment in which Ruan Ji, Xi Kang, Xiang Xiu, Shan Tao, Ruan Xian, Wang Jie, and Liu Ling5 roamed. Thereafter, they became widely known as the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove.6 Praised for their lofty ideologies and wisdom amid chaos, they were elevated to a legendary, supernal status analogous with that of Confucius or Mencius. Like Confucius or Mencius, the names of Ruan Ji and his six companions, while drawn from real people, took on caricatured personas based on literature attributed to them and on a plethora of anecdotes scattered throughout the vast corpus of early Chinese literature dealing with the chaotic Wei and Jin dynastic eras.

46 Asian Music: Summer/Fall 2007 The Worthies of the Bamboo Grove, perhaps more than anything, became celebrated for their exceptional musical abilities. Foremost among them, Ruan Ji was famed for his long, shrill whistle,7 Xi Kang was renowned for his virtuosic lute playing,8 and Ruan Xian was known for his talents on the pipa.9 Music was a subject of great debate during this period of political and social disorder because of strong philosophical ties between the cosmos, political reign, and musical theory. Out of this discourse came Xi Kangs Music Has in It Neither Joy nor Sorrow and Poetical Essay on the Lute, as well as Ruan Jis Essay on Music. Ruan Ji was especially fond of the philosophies of Zhuangzi and Laozi, which signicantly inuenced his writings. With his comrades, he would participate in pure talk,10 a term which encapsulates many aspects of their conversations; a reluctance to speak on current political affairs, a format for witty banter, a renewal of Laozi and Zhuangzi thought (a movement also termed Mystical or Dark Learning11), and a devotion to argumentation through rhetoric.12 The style of rhetoric adopted was one of thesis and rebuttal. Essay on Music emerges in this context of exposition and refutation: Ruan Ji sets up a dialogue between personages called Liu-zi and Master Ruan as a stage for proposing his own views on the origin of music and its role in shaping the political arena. Ruans other works are not as traditionally straight-laced in Confucian ideology, but only by expounding fundamental principles of order, hierarchy, and harmony could he make subversive, indirect attacks on the Sima clan. This was a form of passive protest, pointing out the usurpatory abuses of the times without explicitly accusing those in power.

The Contents of Essay on Music

Rather than directly assuming the position of dogmatic lecturer in Essay on Music, Ruan Ji sets up a scenario in which a seeker of knowledge provokes him into imparting wisdom. He assigns this disciple the generic name of Liu-zi. Quoting Confucius, inquisitive Liu-zi outlines previous notions of the relationship between music, ritual, and governance and seeks clarication on these topics from the venerable Ruan Ji. Ruan Ji begins to answer the questions posed by Liu-zi by relating his creation of music theory, detailing how by imitating the perfect conguration of heaven and earth, the ancient sages established harmonious pitches. The natural consequence of the creation of proper music was the formation of a world in which all creatures instinctively acted according to ritual, propriety, and order. However, time after time the people ignored ritual and order, and their music invariably reected their utter disregard for propriety. Ruan alludes to these

Criddle: Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning

47

corrupt forms of music to illustrate that music quality and moral uprightness are highly interconnected; the corruption of one will inevitably signify the downfall of the other, ultimately resulting in a state of ubiquitous lasciviousness. Ruan also outlines three basic societal functions of music. First, music functions to unify customs, bringing the people in concordance with the way of the sages. Second, it cements hierarchical relationships by settling mans emotional self and drawing him into ritual practice. Third, by stirring up qi, or vital energy, between heaven and earth, music establishes truth and propriety. Discussions of these three functions are supplemented with an exposition on the importance of punishment, instruction, ritual, and music:
Punishment and instruction13 are one body, ritual and music are complementary. Supposing punishment was slackened, instruction could not proceed alone. Should ritual be discarded, music has nothing on which to stand. Performing ritual separates the honorable from the lowly, dividing superiors from inferiors. Playing music makes people content with their lives and dispels sadness . . . Ritual xes appearance, and music calms the heart. Ritual regulates the exterior, while music alters the interior. When ritual and music are correctly set, the world is at peace.

Concerns over the interrelatedness of ritual and music that Ruan Ji outlines in his essay echo back to the earliest discourses on music, most especially the Book of Music section of the Book of Rites:
The nature of music is based upon the combination of melody and poem [contents] without causing (any) incorrect (effects). Joy, pleasure, cheerfulness, and love are its purpose. Simplicity and precision without any deviation and change are the basis of ceremony [or ritual]; sobriety, courtesy, and modest regard are the methods of its performance . . . Music unites that which is common to all; ceremony indicates the differences among men. Therefore the system of music and ceremony refers to the entire essence of men. . . . Music acts upon the inner, ceremony upon the outer regions (of the human mind).14

Finally, Essay on Music concludes with commentary on the ongoing debate as to whether or not music has innate emotive content and the questionable validity of experiencing and labeling supposedly emotionally-charged songs happy or sad. Possibly in response to Xi Kangs famous essay, Ruans treatise lists historical examples of people who took pleasure in sad music as illustrations of people who have fallen into licentiousness. The composition ends with a rhetorical question, pleading for the reader to take to heart what he has shown. This conclusion echoes back to the start when Master Ruan, assuming the authoritative voice of Confucius, stated that he would explain the major points, but that ultimately it is the responsibility of readers to answer Liu-zis questions for themselves.

48 Asian Music: Summer/Fall 2007

Authorship and Contextualization of Essay on Music

Essay on Music is found in the Yiwen leiju , Chu xue ji , Taiping Yulan , Ming Zhangxies Qi shi er jia ji , Ruan bu bing ji , and Yan Kejuns Quan san guo wen .15 According to Ruan Jis biographical entry in the Jinshu, his generation most valued his Songs which Sing of my Innermost Feelings, and secondarily valued his discourse on Zhuangzi. Accordingly, modern Chinese literature scholarship maintains this focus. The entry ends with the succinct remark, many of his other writings are not recorded,16 leaving historians to wonder if they are recorded elsewhere and to question whether or not Essay on Music or a dozen other essays, rhapsodies, and expositions should be attributed to the legendary Ruan Ji. When writing the Jinshu during the Tang dynasty, why did Fang Xuanling place such importance on Ruan Jis Songs which Sing of my Innermost Feelings and Essay on Understanding Zhuangzi, but not his other works? Perhaps Fang was establishing a precedent and a legacy for the burgeoning poetic generations of the Tang. Besides Songs which Sing of my Innermost Feelings, the most likely candidate to be included in Ruan Jis body of collected works is not necessarily Essay on Understanding Zhuangzi, but rather his Essay on Music. Essay on Music is the easiest to authenticate because of external references verifying its existence. The Taiping Yulan contains multiple quotations of Ruans Essay on Music in the form of a debate.17 Xia-hou Xuan (209254 AD) was a contemporary of Ruan who criticized the ideals Ruan spelled out in his musical treatise. Called Disputing Essay on Music (Bian Yue Lun), this refutation argued against specic points in Ruans logic and expounded on alternate narratives that dismiss mysticism. Ruan Ji was forty-four when Xia-hou Xuan was executed in 254 AD at the age of forty-ve. Thus, unless Xia-hou Xuans refutation was also forged, the Essay on Music is probably authentic. Scholars can also ascertain that Ruan wrote his Essay on Music during one of his earlier life phases since it had to have been written and refuted prior to 254 AD. Many scholars use this logic, which closely resembles evidential scholarship of the early Qing, to defend their claims on Ruans character and their interpretations regarding his oeuvre. By labeling Ruans Essay on Music a piece from his early compositional and philosophical phase, and by placing the more overtly Taoist texts in his corpus of later works, scholars create an author which reects the changing philosophies of the time. They seek out what Michel Foucault calls an author-function18 and in so doing, demand that readers subject themselves to the boundaries of that single author. When an author-function is dened and a name afxed, a work must be received in a certain mode and that, in a given culture, must receive a certain status.19 The reader determines the persona of the author by the content and style of the authors most central

Criddle: Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning

49

texts and then discards any dissimilar texts. Therefore, rather than dening the author by choosing the texts that t the historical personage by that name, the reader chooses texts (or believes what has been chosen for him) which cumulate to create a new persona under the same name. Ruan Ji and the other six supposed Worthies of the Bamboo Grove are no exception. Four of the seven20 do not even have texts ascribed to their name. They are credited with words and deeds, but not with writings.21 It appears as though these four are considered to have no true genius simply because none of their writings have been transmitted and retained. They are often classied as having uncomplicated ideologies; as passive participants in the theoretical dialogue that purportedly took place while the group meandered among bamboo shoots. Ruan Ji, Xi Kang , and Xiang Xiu , however, are considered true philosophers. Each of them, but most especially Ruan Ji, is thought to be plagued with ideological vacillation and unsatised lofty ambition. Scholars claim that Xiang Xius philosophy represents a conglomeration of Confucian and Taoist ideas; they assert that for Ruan Ji and Xi Kang, the opposition between Confucianism and Taoism could not be mitigated. This portrayal of Ruan Jis psyche is nearly ubiquitous in the corpus of literary criticism dealing with this period. In part, the construction of this Ruan Ji persona lls the author-function quite reasonably for some of his most noteworthy prose: Essay on Music, Essay on Understanding Zhuangzi, Essay on Understanding Laozi,22 and Essay on Understanding Changes.23 After all, the third century was a time of great political turmoil and philosophical debate. The fall of the mighty Han Empire brought a break with tradition and a renewed interest in Taoism. Who better to represent the societal trend that was leading the peoples hearts away from Confucian hierarchical piety and toward Taoist self-cultivating traditions than a Confucian turned Taoist convert! Ruans position in the center of literati circles from birth,24 his nonchalance toward ofcial advancement, his unwillingness to take up a post higher than that of Colonel in the Infantry, and his association with the Worthies of the Bamboo Grove combine to suggest that his was a full conversion toward Taoism. To scholars, he embodied the changing trends in attitude so prevalent among literati during the Three Kingdoms Period. However, this representation of Ruan Ji is simplistic and chronologically unstable. Essay on Music, Ruans primary Confucian writing, is usually assigned to his youth, a time when the stability of the state attracted Confucian piety. Then his writings on Zhuangzi, Laozi, and the Book of Changes are assigned to his nal phase. Under these attributions, he is upheld as a model for the newly sprouted revival of Taoism, commonly called Mystical Learning. Together with Xi Kang, he becomes a Worthy and a paradigmatic representative of this new school.

50 Asian Music: Summer/Fall 2007 On the other hand, if Essay on Music were not written as early on as many assume, Ruans character, literary motivations, and full conversion to Taoism may be much more complicated. With the assumption that Xia-hou Xuans Disputing Essay on Music is authentic, since it comes from a widely accepted text25 in current Chinese literature scholarship, the only evidenced fact concerning Essay on Musics date of composition is that it was sometime before the death of Xia-hou Xuan in 254 AD. Given that Ruan was forty-four in 254 and he only lived another nine years, it is likely that Essay on Music was written in his early adult life, after he received Taoist teachings. In fact, within Essay on Music, he uses terms like the Way and Nature,26 which are terms central to Taoist thought that could be indicative of his interest in multiple schools of thought. Although Essay on Music was commented on before he was forty-four years old, it was not necessarily written in his childhood or teenage years. Ultimately, records currently available give no denitive answer as to when Ruan Ji wrote Essay on Music, when he was rst inuenced by Mystical Learning, and when he composed his discourses on the Zhuangzi, the Laozi, and the Book of Changes. Supposing Ruan wrote his discourse on music after encountering Mystical Learning and during either the Zhengshi (240249 AD) or Jiaping (250253 AD) reign periods, interpretation of the text and of his persona as an author would be far more complicated than if he had written it earlier. Recalling dynastic periods when sage-kings ruled the empire, Ruan called for a return to propriety, harmony, and ritual in Essay on Music. Although inuenced subtly by Taoist ideas, his Essay on Music was one nal attempt at communicating how the practice of simple Confucian principles, as laid out in the Book of Rites, could restore the empire and bring about civil harmony. Occasional glimpses of Taoist ideology shone through his logic, but for the most part he transmitted his thoughts using the Confucian terms of his youth, terms that were universally familiar to all his contemporaries. Ruan Jis personality, as recorded in A New Account of Tales of the World, was likewise complicated. At times he was considered a model of Confucian virtue, even though he would occasionally act totally uncharacteristically for a follower of the Confucian school. For instance, when his mother passed away (ca. 255 AD), instead of mourning solemnly, he was seen reveling at the house of Prince Wen of Chin. Ruan was also uninhibited in his consumption of meat and wine, which would be aberrant behavior for any serious scholar during a period of grieving. When Pei Kai went to pay homage to Ruan Ji and his recently deceased mother, he found Ruan in a state of drunken stupor. Weeping, Pei offered his words of condolences and left. In response to Ruans seeming indifference toward his mother, Pei suggested that Ruan is a man beyond the realm of ordinary morality (fang-wai) and therefore pays no homage to the rules of propriety. People like you and me are still within the realm of custom (su-chung), so we

Criddle: Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning

51

live our lives after the pattern set by etiquette.27 Descriptions like this serve to remind readers that these author-sages are multifaceted beings who can write on a topic like Confucian thought and still act in a manner contrary to his writings without being condemned. To the modern scholar, Ruans actions may seem hypocritical and may even indicate that either this account or his Confucian writings are bogus since they are not congruent in content and principle. However, one would do best to approach this problem as Pei did, recognizing the irony of the situation, but remaining unprejudiced toward his friend.28 To further understand Ruan Ji as an author, it is important to trace the transmission of his works through time. Tracing Ruans oeuvre through subsequent dynastic periods shows how changeable and untrustworthy literary collections have been over the past two thousand years, and elucidates the difculty of attributing any work to an authors name. Beginning with the Sui shu,29 Ruan had thirteen juan30 credited to his name. By the publication of the Jiu Tang shu,31 his collected works were diminished to merely ve juan. The same number of juan appears for his collected works in the Xin Tang shu.32 Ruan Jis number of works jumped up to ten juan in the Song shi33 records. The uctuating nature of these collections from one dynasty to the next is a clear indication that attribution of Ruans works was not xed. Furthermore, Ruan is no anomaly when it comes to confusion over author ascription. The transmission of Xi Kangs collected works was likewise subject to error. In the Jiu Tang shu,34 his collected works were composed of fteen juan. Again, in the Xin Tang shu,35 his collection had fteen juan. However, at some point between the Tang and Song an error occurred because in the Song shi36 he had only ten juan. There are several explanations for this uctuation in collected material. First, it is possible that the system of cataloguing changed between dynasties such that works were compressed into fewer juan. More probable an explanation, however, would be the acknowledgement that these texts have historically been uid, sometimes ascribed to an author-identity and other times not. Also possible is an act of deception in which works were added or subtracted from the collection to change the authors perceived persona. For instance, somehow in the Jiu Tang shu, Ruan has eight fewer juan than in the Sui shu. This could mean that several texts were extracted. When the number of juan increases by ve between the Xin Tang shu and the Song shi, we have no way of knowing if those ve are the same as some of the eight originally lost between the transmission of the Sui shu and the Jiu Tang shu, or if they were forged or newly discovered works introduced into the collection for the rst time. For this reason, it is highly signicant that the attribution of Essay on Music under Ruan Jis name is veriable through an outside source of a contemporary acquaintance. Without Xia-hou Xuans Disputing Essay on Music, the authenticity of Ruans treatise on music would be highly suspicious given its principally Confucian philosophical content.

52 Asian Music: Summer/Fall 2007

Concerning Brilliantly Sad Music

If there is too much music (and joy), sadness will follow. If there is too much ceremony, one-sidedness will ensue. Only the great sage can create the right music that brings no sadness and ceremony that causes no one-sidedness.37 (Book of Music)

Correlating music with sadness always brought about tremendous debate among early Chinese musician-philosophers. Early accounts like the Book of Music suggest that ancient philosophers believed sagacious forms of music contained no element of negative emotion, but when distorted or performed in excess, grief was the unfortunate consequence. Ruan Ji and Xi Kang addressed a new angle that arose during the post-Han confusion: Can music be inherently sad, or is the source of emotion experienced during musical performance the performer or the audience member? Is it right to take pleasure in sad music? Subjects of music and emotion were perfect fodder for the pure talk conversationalists of the Bamboo Grove. Since talk of contemporary political disorder could be grounds for execution, the topic of emotive music was a safer, yet provocative topic, given the many historical accounts of rulers whose emotions played an integral part in their demise. Music Has in It Neither Joy nor Sorrow,38 an essay by Ruan Jis associate Xi Kang, is the quintessential discourse in early Chinese literature on the validity of emotive values attributed to music.39 Embodied concisely in the title of his essay is his main thesis: there are no intrinsic sentimental traits in music. He explains his position in the form of a debate, much like the format of discussion between Liu-zi and Master Ruan in Essay on Music. The crux of Xi Kangs argument is that the same two people can listen to the same qin performance and react in entirely disparate ways. In his rhapsody on the lute, Xi Kang expresses it simply: Truly [music] can be used to stir the heart, and release deep emotions. . . . Thus, if the downhearted and dejected hear it, they will not fail to shudder and shake from sorrow and sadness . . . If the content and happy hear it, they will be joyful and glad, clapping and dancing, they will leap about.40 Essay on Music does not broach the question of whether or not emotion is intrinsic in music, but presupposes sentiment imbedded within music. Totally ambivalent to Xi Kangs question, perhaps because of the chronology of the composition of these two essays, Ruan is primarily concerned with the morality and propriety of using music to mix perceptions of positive and negative emotion. Citing cases of rulers who took pleasure in music that would make them weep, he condemns the identication of sad music with happiness. Ruan seems especially concerned with labels, calling negative emotion sad and positive emotion happy. As he puts it in Essay on Music : If one takes pleasure in sadness, what happiness is there? After a lengthy discussion of musics function in society and warnings against corrupted music, it seems at rst strange that Ruan Ji

Criddle: Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning

53

would choose to end his essay abruptly with a tirade on taking pleasure in sad music. This nal assertion decrying improper usage of emotional categorization surely followed suit with philosophical debate on the emotions during the post-Han era, but is there a connection between Ruan Jis dissatisfaction with the treatment of emotions in relation to music and his attitude toward the moral character of society and its music? Ruans anxiety over the confusion of happy and sad terms could be a reection of his discontent toward the chaotic political atmosphere surrounding him. The Sima clan, outwardly honored for its martial strength, was secretly referred to as abhorrent usurpers of the Cao clans rightful title. Though unable to publicly denounce the Sima rulers, Ruan Ji indignantly demands that things, be they usurpers or emotions, be labeled truthfully.

A Contemporary Third-Century Rebuttal to Essay on Music

Xia-hou Xuan was one of many aristocratic intellectuals who supported the Cao family regime. Openly attacking Ruan Ji and his philosophies, Xia-hou quoted select phrases of Essay on Music and gave logical explanations to discredit Ruans arguments. Disputing Essay on Music is not recorded in its entirety, but is found in the form of two brief fragments in the Taiping Yulan collectanea. Chosen to represent the whole, these remnants are assumed to be highlights of Xia-hou Xuans refutation because of their inclusion in the Taiping Yulan. In translating the fragments, I present them out of order from the sequence in which the Taiping Yulan gives them, mostly to counteract assumptions that one followed the other. They are not listed together and nothing indicates that one arrangement is more valid than another since there is no obvious connection from one to the next. One portion constructs an alternative creation story for the beginnings of music. It names each of the three legendary Sovereigns, Fu Xi, Shen Nong, and the Yellow Emperor, and how their inventions led to the introduction of music. Fu Xi, to whom the inventions of shing, the Trigrams, and the zither are commonly attributed,41 is credited with the rst songs, which appropriately address the topic of shing. Shen Nong, or Divine Farmer, was the second legendary Sovereign and taught people the art of farming. Thus, it is not surprising that Xia-hou Xuan assigns him the invention of songs about agriculture. Huang Di, or the Yellow Emperor, was best known for his invention of the wheel and military prowess, but his lady consort is thought to be the inventor of silk production, and so, Xia-hou adds silk production to the musical legacy.42 Xia-Hou Xuans narrative addresses the origin of music question anthropologically, citing early human beings who inspired song as a response to temporal labors. This story runs contrary to Ruans proposal that music is founded in cosmic powers associated with heaven, spirits, and the supernatural.

54 Asian Music: Summer/Fall 2007 The other fragment of Disputing Essay on Music speaks much more directly to Ruans proposed theorems for the relationship between music and man. Juxtaposing two statements from Ruans essay, one from the beginning and one from the end, Xia-hou Xuan argued that it is ridiculous to consider natural disaster the fault of mankind, especially when linked to the balances of pitches and tones. Xia-hou Xuans refusal to acknowledge the mystical powers of music is signicant in that he represents a separate philosophical school during the chaotic Three Kingdoms period than that of Ruan Ji and his friends; he circumvents all supernatural explanations by purely recognizing man and the whims of nature. Ruan, however, is more inclined to attribute natural phenomenon to idealistic spiritual and musical roots. This proclivity toward acknowledging the divine cosmos and its interaction with the world of man is an indication that the Mystical Learning school, which blended contemporary Confucian morality with Neo-Taoist cosmology and mythology, heavily inuenced Ruan Jis ideology.

A Translation of Essay on Music, by Ruan Ji (210263 AD)

Liu-zi asked:
Confucius said, When it comes to ensuring security to the upper-class and ruling the people, there is nothing better than rites; and when it comes to changing customs and altering habits, there is nothing better than music. Now, rites are that which separates males from females, distinguishes between father and son, establishes master and servant, and creates peaceful stability among the masses. As no tool of government comes before this [rites], therefore when it comes to ensuring security to the upper class and ruling the people fairly, there is nothing better than rites. However, of what benet to government are the sounds of metal, stone, silk, and bamboo (comprising bells, drums, woodwinds, and strings) and the appearance of shields, axes, plumes, and oxtails43 (combined with convoluted choreography44)? If these were taken away, what harm would this incur to moral transformation? Furthermore, why did Confucius say, When it comes to changing customs and altering habits, there is nothing better than music?

Master Ruan replied:

What an excellent question you have asked! Formerly when Confucius addressed this topic, he laid out a general framework, but failed to raise its key points.45 I will now discourse on its main points, and you can ll in the details yourself.

Now, music embodies the conguration of heaven and earth and the nature of all creatures. When the conguration of heaven and earth is in accordance, and the true nature of all creatures is obtained, there is harmony; when heaven and earth depart from this conguration, and the nature of all creatures is lost, there is discordance. Formerly, when the ancient sages created music, they followed

Criddle: Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning

55

the conguration of heaven and earth, and sought the nature of all beings. Subsequently, they established pitches46 corresponding with the worlds eight directions to match the sounds created by the yin and yang forces in the eight winds; tempering the pitch of the Yellow Bell47 and thus initiating the emotional energies of all creatures. Thereupon when pitch pipes were balanced, yin and yang were in harmony; when musical sounds were complementarily tuned, beings were grouped in their kinds.48 Male and female did not seek to alter their status, master and servant did not transgress each others position, all within the four seas49 had the same views, and the nine provinces were unied in their metric standards. Performing music at the Round Hill altar caused the gods of heaven to descend. Performing at the Square Mount altar caused the gods of earth to ascend. Heaven and earth were coupled in their life-giving power and all creatures were linked in their vitality.50 Punishments and rewards were not necessary because the citizens were naturally peaceful among themselves. Because the world was simple, rened music was not complicated. Since The Way and Virtue were plain, the ve tones were likewise avorless.51 This lack of complexity allowed the yin and yang to ow uninterrupted, and the avorlessness of musical tones resulted in the spontaneous happiness of every creature. There was daily improvement and transformation, and they were not even aware of it, for the habits and customs52 of the people readily shifted in accordance with this music. This is the natural Way and the origin of music. Thereafter, there were no more sages and The Way and Virtue were abandoned and corrupted. Government and justice were not institutionalized, cunning and intelligent men disturbed everything, moral reforms were discarded and passions pursued, resulting in disparate customs and habits for each region. Therefore, that which they began to teach, they called custom; that which they became accustomed to and practiced, they called habit. The custom of the states of Chu and Yue was to esteem military bravery, and thus their habit was to treat death lightly. The custom of the states of Zheng and Wei was to esteem wanton pleasure, and thus their habit was to treat unrestrained behavior lightly. Treating death lightly, Chu and Yue had songs about braving re and water; treating lasciviousness lightly, Zheng and Wei had the melodies53 Sang-jian and Pu-shang.54 Each state sang about what it enjoyed, and each state recited those things it practiced. Those who sang shed tears, those who listened let out a sigh. When it was time to turn and go, there were none who were not moved with passion. Everyone was lled with emotion for the days pleasures, and stayed wrapped up in sighs all night long. Then they would again come together to sing, gathering in one place, and performing the songs effeminately without end. With disregard for intimacy between father and son, disrespect for the institutions of ruler and servant, an absence of ritual in the home, the abandonment

56 Asian Music: Summer/Fall 2007 of agrarian livelihood, they no longer sought life-long happiness, but rather to exalt habits of licentiousness and indulgence. Thus, south of the Jiang and Huai rivers, the people indulged in violence, while those people between Zhang and Ru were fond of eloping.55 The state of Wu had the integrity of the two swords.56 The state of Zhao had the instance of the lute-playing retainer.57 Vital energy58 exudes from the center; sound enters in the ear. Hands and feet it about, not knowing the harm they cause. Inclinations toward military bravery brought uprisings against superiors whilst inclinations toward debauchery brought a lack of regard for kin. Uprisings against superiors led to distrust between kin and servant, while disregard for kin led to estrangement of fathers and sons. When estrangement and distrust combined, destruction arose and calamity was born. Out of arising destruction and calamity came extreme discrepancies in ideas and differences in thought. Therefore, the people of the eight directions had their distinctive customs, the nine provinces had their differing habits, and there was estrangement, separation, division, and avoidance such that no exchange could exist. Musical sounds differed, their vital essence separated, and tunes and rhythms lacked uniformity. Thus, the sages established a proper temperament for pitches, a balanced and harmonious sound, rhythmic patterns for each task, and obedient bearing, in such a way that, among those who made music, none dared not follow their model. From top to bottom, passing through each stage until it reached the masses, everyone heard the sages music. Those who sang prophetic songs praised the former sage-kings virtue. Those who danced, raising and bowing their heads, exhibited the sage-kings bearing. The instruments and props they used resembled the sage-kings model. The decreed number reected those instituted by the sage-kings. The sages music entered the peoples minds and permeated their vital energy. As their minds and vital energies harmonized, their customs and habits became unied. The sages movements of advancing, retreating, raising, and bending over dictated the way the people bowed, causing them to be humble in spirit, aiding their self-cultivation, and bringing peace of mind in their affairs. Singing songs and intoning melodies proclaimed peace and also revealed shortcomings. Bells and drums functioned to control the ears; plumes and oxtails functioned to direct the eyes. Those who heard the music did not turn away; those who watched the dancing did not decline. As such, customs and habits were changed. Thus, when it comes to changing customs and altering habits, there is nothing better than music. The eight tones have their own instrumental timbre59; the ve sounds have distinct identities,60 and those of the same type are distinguished by their size and class. Because they have distinct identities, they cannot be confused; because they can be distinguished by size and class, they can be made even. For instance, the lutes61 of Empty Mulberry, the zithers62 of Harmonious Clouds,63 the

Criddle: Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning

57

woodwinds of isolated bamboo stalks, and the chimes of the Si Rivers shore64 are all pure and balanced with mutually apt sounds. As a result, it is necessary to have standard locations of production. When it comes to differing sizes and classes of instruments, they match the Yellow Bells resonant energy, so there must be a standard of measurement. With a standard location, the instruments become valuable; with a standard of measurement, their quality will not degenerate. As they become valuable, they are then worthy to be used to serve the gods; as they stay constant, they are worthy to be used to reform the people. Since these instruments are modeled after heaven and earth, they must not be made haphazardly. Their tones resemble those of faraway instruments, so they should not be haphazardly altered. Airs65 and hymns66 are distinguishable; therefore, secular music and sacred music are not mixed. There are rules of rhythm and tempo so the melodies do not fall into disarray. There are conventions for whirling dance movements so the choreography is not muddled. There is a director for singing and recitation so the words are not out of sync. Lead the people with excellent music, pacify them with harmony, protect them with genuine sincerity, and preserve them with what endures. By breaking up their cliques, comparing their cultural ways, decreasing infant mortality, and helping the elderly, society will be rid of the dubious practices that derive from customs and habits, and will return to the great transformation of the sage-kings. The former sage-kings made music to control the emotive state of all creatures and to unify their wills, such that their voices were balanced, their appearances harmonious, subordinates did not long for the music of their superiors, and superiors did not lust after their subordinates.67 Superiors and subordinates did not quarrel, all of which perfected loyalty and righteousness. Now, rectifying music is to eliminate licentious music. When proper music is set aside, licentious sounds arise. Han emperor Ai was not fond of music and eliminated the Music Bureau,68 not knowing how to institute proper ritual. Because proper music was not cultivated, licentious music arose. Zhang Fang and Chun Yu Zhang were unrestrained and conceited beyond measure. Bing Jiang and Jing Wus69 wealth surpassed all others of their age. After proper music was eliminated, the empire only became more unbridled in its ways. Because of the emperors displeasure in music, wild lasciviousness got even worse, because rites were not established. Punishment and instruction70 are one body; ritual and music are complementary. If punishment was slackened, instruction could not proceed. Should ritual be discarded, music has nothing on which to stand. Performing ritual separates the honorable from the lowly, dividing superiors from inferiors. Playing music makes people content with their lives and dispels sadness. Chariots,

58 Asian Music: Summer/Fall 2007 apparel, banners, ags, palaces, rooms, food, and drink are tools of ritual. Bells, chimes,71 drums, lutes, zithers, song, and dance are instruments of music. When ritual goes beyond what has been xed, the honorable and the lowly become confused; when the order of music is lost, close and distant relations become indistinguishable. Ritual xes appearance, and music calms the heart. Ritual regulates the exterior, while music alters the interior. When ritual and music are correctly set, the world is at peace. In earlier times there was the story of a man of Wei who sought saddle girths, skins for his horses necks, and three-sided rack of bells of lords. This caused Confucius to sigh, since in former times ritual was abused and its instruments deled.72 Now, bells are the master of sound, and the three-sided rack regulates the bells. If the bells lose their regulation, sound will lose its master. When the master and regulation are irregular, then strange combinations of noises arise. Generations that rise and fall all come to this; changes of former and modern times are all the same. So it is that when the sages teachings are discarded, clever, intelligent men combine to produce odd music. King Jing of Zhou took pleasure in the pitch of the larger bells.73 Duke Ping of Jin loved the Yin melody presented him.74 Nobles and ministers applauded and marveled at it. The common people tumbled over one another in their eager desire to hear it. Thus, proper music was rejected and the sounds of Zheng ourished. The lyrics of airs and hymns went unspoken; only the evil and base melodies were sought after. Li Yannian composed the song about a city-overturning beauty, and it made Han Emperor Wu become obsessed with female beauty.75 Yong Men played tunes from pines and cypress, which caused King Min of Qi [not to wear his winter clothing]. Therefore, when sounds of longing distress appear, words of sorrowful resentment burgeon, and the people lust after pleasures and extravagance, only looking after and serving themselves. For these reasons, a gentleman despises the songs of Da Ling76 and abhors the dances of Bei Li.77 When regulating music, the former sage kings did not seek to indulge in pleasures of ear and eye or for greater enjoyment in their inner chambers. Their purpose was resolutely to transmit the vital energy of heaven and earth, pacify the spirits of all things, solidify positions of rank, and x the true essence of life. This is why the song of Qing Temple78 lauds their accomplishments and the song of Guests Imbibing Wine praises the principles of ritual and yielding. The people were transformed by musics goodness and the varying cultural habits became aligned with its virtue. This is why licentious sounds were regarded as contemptible and proper music was considered valuable. Since ritual and music change with time, the Five Emperors79 had different methods of rule, and the Three Kings80 each devised their own system. It is not that they aimed to reverse one another; their changes reect their time.

Criddle: Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning

59

Now, the people were accustomed to the lascivious sounds and also corrupted the propriety of the former-kings. Therefore later kings surely had to re-invent music, each proclaiming his merit and virtue to the world, and making it suitable for the times so that the citizens did not become weary. Therefore, they merely changed the names and contents of songs and thereby regained peace and harmony. This is why the Yellow Emperor sang of the spirits in Gate of Clouds, why his son Shao Hao sang about the miracle of the phoenix, and why the names of Salty Pool and Six Talents81 were changed, even though the tonic pitch of the Yellow Bell was not altered. Music can be investigated with those who have thoroughly mastered the Ways transformation, but those who merely love music are not worthy of discussing the pitches temperaments. Shun commanded Kui and Long82 to use musical strains in teaching his sons the virtue of harmony, saying: Poetry speaks of ones will. Songs incant speech. Sound relies on recitation. Pitches harmonize sound. When the eight timbres are in accordance and are not interfering with each other, this brings harmony to the spirits and mankind. He continued, I want to hear the six pitches, the ve tones,83 and the eight timbres, and with these observe the status of my ruling and with edicts and responses84 restore the ve virtues.85 Take heed to this. Complexly crafted, vulgar music that clouds the mind and stops86 up the ears causes one to forget peace and harmony. A gentleman will not listen to it. This says proper music is easy and straightforward and when the mind is clear, vital energy is pure. To listen to the xed pitches and timbres, edicts and responses will be in line with the ve virtues. Kui said: By banging87 the jade chime, pounding the fu drum,88 and reciting to lutes and zithers, the ancestors would come. The Guest of Yu89 was given rank and the feudal lords yielded to virtue. The Lower Flute90 and the small Zhao drum joined together and halted with the sounds of the zhu and wu.91 This was interspersed with the sheng92 and the yong drum, the patterned choreography resembling birds and beasts, nine verses of the Xiao Shao melody, and the phoenix come to dance. Kui went on, Oh, when I strike stones together, a hundred animals dance. The masses likewise fall into harmony. Poetry speaks of ones will. Songs incant speech. The sounds of ringing chimes and resonating lutes rely on pitches and tell of former kings virtues. For this reason the ancestors appear. With the sheng and the yong drum interspersed, proper music fades out; when ruling is rened and not abusive, all ourish in dance-like bliss. The music is patterned with only nine verses, yin and yang are balanced and accessible, harmony is even, and vital energy easily ows. Thus, faraway birds come participate in the rite. The Shao music had substance, but not beauty. So the four seas were united. This is why when you strike stones together, a hundred beasts dance together.93 This means that the world was ruled peacefully. All things had their place,

60 Asian Music: Summer/Fall 2007 musical sounds were not extravagant, and there were no signs of disturbances. Thereupon, all ofcials were in harmony. Because of this, Confucius, when he heard the music of Shao in the state of Qi, knew not the avor of meat for three months.94 This means music takes desire out of man, calming the mind and settling the qi, such that the avor of meat becomes undesirable. From this perspective, we know that the music of the sages is simply a matter of harmony. Ever since the music of Qingyang95 from the state of Xiling, bamboo was picked for the pipes so men could listen to the call of the phoenix. For the statue honoring the Long Wind, wood columns96 were selected from the Great Forest. Because these things were never before seen at that time, the people having barely heard of them, the whole world treasured their virtuosity, and the people were converted by their spirits. Now, rened music was universally accessible such that all creatures were made harmonious. Its substance was calm such that listeners did not become wanton. Its simplicity was such that the whole spirit felt orderly and temperate. Its solemnity was such that mens hearts became subdued. This was the former kings intent in devising music. The music making of decadent later generations involved impure materials. They were weak instruments of unreliable measurements made from nearby materials and made just like local folk instruments. Each sought after what pleased him, whatever his reckless thoughts xed on. The village sounds competed for dominance; the tunes of the inner palace fought for supremacy. The children gathered to recite poetry praising the wealthy. The laborers in the eld and on the roads sang of their destitute poverty. Although the ranks of lord and subject were not discarded, one man harbored the different minds of ten thousand men. During the later years of the Lord of Xia97 there were more than ten thousand female musicians. Their dresses were adorned with ne embroidery; their food was the choicest98 meat. At dawn they would croon morning songs. Those who heard them were saddened. The world suffered in calamity and the common people were injured by its poison.99 The last lord of Yin also listened to this music while indulging in pools of wine and forests of meat, night after day.100 This music of sighs had no end, even when their lutes and zithers were conscated by the enemy.101 People lled the courts, drinking wine, but when the music was played they shed tears. It is not that they had something to be sad about; rather, the music was just not happy. When Wang Mang102 was prime minister, a new kind of music was played in the temple. Those who heard it were moved to tears. When Emperor Huan103 heard the lute of the state of Chu, misery inicted his heart. Leaning against a screen and moved with emotion, he let out a long sigh, saying, How brilliant! With lute playing like this, after just one song I am fully satised. On his way up to his fathers tomb, Emperor Shun104 passed by Fan Qu,105 heard the call of a bird, and was saddened. Tears streaming down his cheeks, he exclaimed,

Criddle: Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning

61

What a brilliant bird noise! He had his attendants sing it, saying, If the sound of plucked strings could resemble this, would not that make everyone happy!106 Now this is what is meant by taking pleasure in sadness. If one truly takes pleasure in sadness, what happiness is there? A world without happiness, and yet one in which the yin and yang are balanced and harmonious and no disasters arise, is difcult to attain.107 Music brings peace and harmony to ones spirit, keeping withering vital energies from entering the body. Heaven and earth together become tranquil, and faraway creatures come assemble. This is why it is called happy.108 Music nowadays moves us to tears, our sighs disrupt our vital energy, winter and summer are not proportional, and all creatures are unable to grow. Even though ours is music produced by strings and bamboo, it should be called sorrowful. With all of your heaving and sighing, how can our music be termed happy?109 In former times, Ji Liuzi faced the wind and played the lute. Tears stained the garments of those who listened. His disciples exclaimed, Brilliant! Your playing has already become exquisite.110 Ji Liuzi replied, Those who nd it happy call it brilliant. Those who nd it sorrowful call it distressing. I call it sorrowful and distressing, not brilliant and happy.111 To speak like this, strings and bamboo are not necessarily music112 and the songs and chants are not necessarily brilliant. This attitude was Mozis reason for writing Criticizing Music.113 Sad are they who take pleasure in sorrow114: Hu Hais115 indulging in sorrow unceasingly made him wish he could be a commoner. Li Sis116 unremitting pursuit of sorrow made him think back fondly of when he hunted cunning rabbits. Alas, can a gentleman not learn something from them?

A Translation of Disputing Essay on Music, by Xia-hou Xuan (209254 AD)

Formerly, Fu Xis clan accorded with the times to cause what was protable to ourish. He taught the people to sh and to farm. The world submitted to him. With time they began singing songs about casting shing nets. Shen Nong carried on from this. He taught the people to eat grains. With time they began reciting songs about rich harvests. The Yellow Emperors palace was furnished with all things, and he was adorned in long robes. From this came the songs about dragon silk. (Taiping Yulan, 571) Scholar Ruan said: Thereupon when pitch pipes were balanced, yin and yang were in harmony; when musical sounds were complementarily tuned, all beings were grouped in their kinds . . . A world without happiness,117 and yet one in which the yin and yang are balanced and harmonious and no disasters arise, is difcult to attain.

62 Asian Music: Summer/Fall 2007 This states that pitches, tones, and sounds not only govern men and creatures, but can also harmonize yin and yang to ultimately avoid disasters. Now, when heaven and earth are xed in place, then hard and soft rub each other,118 so that there are seasons of plenty and seasons of emptiness. When Yao encountered nine years of ood, he worried that the people were starving. When Tang encountered seven years of drought, he sought to move his altar of the soil. How can these disasters be a result of the pitches being unbalanced and the tones and sounds being obstructed? Rather, they are the product of nature, not the result of mans doing.119 (Taiping Yulan, 16) Rochester, N.Y.

Notes
1 I would like to acknowledge the Stanford University Department of Asian Languages and Center for East Asian Studies for supporting the preliminary research for this study through Undergraduate Research Opportunity and Vice Provost Undergraduate Education grants. I am also indebted to Dr. Mark Edward Lewis for his input throughout the translation process. 2 This is the subject heading under which most stories of Ruan Ji can be found in A New Account of Tales of the World. 3 Ruan Ji , T. Ci Zong (210263 AD). Ruan Jis father, Ruan Yu was advisor to Cao Cao prior to the fall of the Han dynasty in 220 AD. During the ensuing Three Kingdoms period, Ruan Ji held ofcial posts in the Sima court, but refused any post higher than that of Colonel in the Infantry. 4 Modern Henan . 5 . 6 The earliest record identifying the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove may have been Ming Shi Zhuan , written by Yuan Hung (328376) of the Eastern Jin, but it has since become lost. The earliest extant record that makes mention of this group as a distinct set is Shishuo Xinyu (A New Account of Tales of the World), written by Liu Yiqing (403444 AD) of the Southern Song dynasty. The legend is further supported by the discovery forty-ve years ago of a depiction of the seven sages painted on bricks. These bricks were located in a tomb at Xishanqiao near Nanjing and are dated from the fourth century. Even if the idea of a collection of seven worthies was a product of posthumous historical ction, it was invented shortly after the period in which they actually lived. 7 Liu 2002, 354. 8 Van Gulik, 157. 9 Ruan Xian is responsible for the creation of the pipa-like round instrument bearing his surname, or the moon-lute. Tradition dictates that in the time of emperor Tang Xuan-zong, the pipa buried with Ruan Xians body was unearthed and all that remained was the round frame. Reconstructions were made and the result of these efforts was what is commonly referred to as the Ruan. (Chang 1993, 77)

Criddle: Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning

10 11

63

. . 12 Henricks 1983, 3. 13 Within the Book of Rites, the Book of Music also dictates this relationship between (punishment, instruction, ritual, and music), except it uses the character instead of . 14 Kaufmann 1976, 36, 41, 46. 15 http://202.116.65.193/jinpinkc/gudaiwenxue/ziyuan/ .doc 16 Wen duo bu lu . See Jinshu, Liezhuan , 49.3. 17 See Taiping Yulan 16.82 and 571.2581. 18 Foucault 1998, 211. 19 Ibid. 20 Shan Tao , Ruan Xian , Wang Jie , and Liu Ling . 21 Gao, 299. 22 Tong lao lun . 23 Tong yi lun . 24 Ruan Yu, father of Ruan Ji, held ofce as an advisor to during the years just preceding the fall of the Han in 220 AD. 25 The Taiping Yulan 26 Dao and Ziran 27 Liu Yiqing 2002, 404 (quoting the Jin shu, 49.3a.). 28 Tai Kuei (d. 396 AD), Chu-lin chi-hsien lun . 29 Xin jiao ben Sui shu , 35.1059. 30 Juan (scrolls or chapters). 31 Xin jiao ben Jiu Tang shu , 47.2057. 32 Xin jiao ben Xin Tang shu , 60.1580. 33 Xin jiao ben Song shi , 208.5332. 34 Xin jiao ben Jiu Tang shu , 47.2057. 35 Xin jiao ben Xin Tang shu , 60.1580. 36 Xin jiao ben Song shi , 208.5328 37 Kaufmann 1976, 36. 38 Sheng wu ai le lun . 39 Also intensely contested in Western philosophical circles, theorists tend to divide emotional response into various categories (affective, behavioral, physiological, phenomenological, sensational, etc.) before assigning emotional responsibility to compositions, instruments, performers, or audience members. For in-depth investigations by Western scholars, see Levinson 1990, Egan 1997, Nussbaum 2001, and Wierzbicka 1999. 40 Xiao Tongs Wen Xuan 1996, 299301. 41 Fuxi shenhua, , Vol. 1, p. 159. 42 Huangdi shenhua, , Vol. 1, p. 277. 43 Shields and axes were used in militaristic dances, whereas plumes and oxtails were used in other cultural dances. Plumes functioned to hide characters on stage. Oxtails were used in directing the music. (Lin, 86) 44 Literally advancing, retreating, raising, and bending over.

64 Asian Music: Summer/Fall 2007

Holzmans translation submits that Confucius only touched on the main points; he did not present a general outline of it. It is more plausible that Ruan Ji asks Liu-zi to ll in the details with what both of them are already familiar with in Confucius writings, implying that Confucius failed to pinpoint the most central arguments and now Ruan can ush those out. Ruan sets up the comparison of du and lue. While these terms are sometimes translated synonymously, I prefer Lins treatment of du as a generic, allencompassing term and lue as implying more focus and importance. Holzmans translation of this sentence reects his overall attitude of contempt for this essay because he sees it as [doing nothing] more than transmit Confucianist theories. My translation suggests that Ruan Ji is not merely transmitting verbatim the theories of Confucius, but adding layers of meaning to already canonic teachings. 46 Ba yin usually refers to the eight instrumental timber classications, but here Ruan does not seem to indicate the varieties of instruments as much as xed pitch. 47 All subsequent pitches are determined in relation to this fundamental standard set by the Yellow Bell, whose pitch is the lowest. 48 This sentence is quoted in Disputing Essay on Music. 49 i.e. all Chinese people. China is thought to be surrounded by four main seas. This is an allusion to The Analects (Yan Yuan, 12.5): . 50 An alternate interpretation would be to read as xing (true nature). 51 This ideal of simplicity with the Way reects Ruan Jis Taoist leanings. (Lin, 88) 52 The terms habits and customs are used here anachronistically. The next paragraph describes the historical context surrounding the origins of these terms. 53 The Song dynasty Taiping Yulan indicates that qu melody was originally written as . 54 Pushang was a tributary of the ancient Yellow and Jishui rivers. Sangjian was a place name on this river in the state of Wei. Sangjian Pushang became known as a lovers rendezvous location and thereby received its infamy (Hanshu and Yue Ji ). The term has since become synonymous with moral depravity and evil music. 55 Eloping (literally running away) refers to the practice of young women going contrary to traditional matchmaking procedure by running off and marrying the men they love. 56 During the Warring States period, in the state of Wu there lived a couple by the names of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye who were famous sword casters. They were once skilled, but for some reason with time their abilities waned and they were unable to re-create the superior swords of the past. Mo Ye decided to cut off her hair and hand, tossing them into the furnace. Thereafter, they were nally able to produce the swords for the King of Wu. As a reward, the King of Wu had Gan Jiang killed (Lin, 90). Besides inspiring an image of integrity or piety, this act is regarded as a sexual symbol in which the combining of body parts in a melting pot, the gyrating billows, and lubricating oils represent a sensual interaction between female and male. 57 In this case study, King Zhao Wu Ling dreamt of a beautiful girl playing the lute and singing. Thus, when Guang Cheng Ji of the state of Wu offered his baby daughter to the king, King Zhao was so ecstatic that he gave up his imperial post and offered it to the girls son. That son created chaos and killed all of Zhao Wu Lings kindred (Lin, 90). This story is a microcosm for one of Ruan Jis main theses: it explains
45

Criddle: Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning

65

how the wrong kind of musical inuence can cause passions to are and societies to go awry. Had Ruan Ji lived several hundred years later, he certainly would have also made allusion to the story of Yang Gui Fei and Tang emperor Xuanzong, who similarly neglected matters of state to indulge in his passions. 58 I borrow vital energy as a translation for from Scott Cooks Hiding the World in the World: Uneven Discourses on the Zhuangzi (2000, 93). It is interesting to note, Zhuangzi actually argues contrary to Ruan Jis statement. He believes that one should listen with their vital energy, not with their mind or even with their ear. This comes from a discussion between Confucius and Yan Hui in which Confucius states: . 59 These are metal, stone, silk, bamboo, earth, skin, gourd, and wood. They are rst listed in the Programs of Chou and are also mentioned in the Book of Documents (Dewoskin 1982, 52). 60 The ve sound names are almost universally referred to in canonic Han literature as gong , shang , jiao , zhi , and yu , in that specic sequential order. Some scholars hypothesize that the relationship between these ve tones developed into what Western music theorists call the pentatonic scale by the fth century BC, although this conjecture remains unsubstantiated. It is important to note that the ve sounds are not xed pitches, but rather notes dened by their relationship one to another, much like the system of moveable doh (Needham 1962, 140141). 61 Qin . 62 Se . 63 Empty Mulberry and Harmonious Clouds were the names of mythical mountains where the best trees for lute and zither timber grew. Harmonious Clouds became a collective term for lutes, zithers, and pi-pas (Lin, 94). 64 The banks of the Sishui , located in modern Henan province, were thought to have the best stones for instrument building. 65 Airs is the classication of song reserved for festivities and everyday events. 66 Hymns is the classication of song associated with temple and ancestor worship. 67 This could refer to either lusting after the boys at court or lusting after the wives and concubines of ministers. 68 The Music Bureau was a branch of government, founded during the Han empire, that lasted for one hundred and six years (Chang 1993, 49). Ministers of this Bureau collected tunes from the masses abroad and shared them with the imperial court. This served a double purpose: rst, to organize and record the music of the state, and second, to gauge the peasants satisfaction or displeasure toward their superiors, and ultimately the emperor, through song lyrics. The court was able to receive unsolicited opinions from the peasants in this manner, thus avoiding rebellion by staying in tune with the desires of the common people. 69 Zhang Fang, Chun Yu Zhang, Bing Jiang, and Jing Wu were all imperial ministers beloved by the emperor. 70 Within the Book of Rites, the Book of Music also dictates this relationship between punishment, instruction, ritual, and music , except it uses the term zheng governing instead of jiao instruction.

66 Asian Music: Summer/Fall 2007

These chimes were stone slabs made of black, calcareous stone, or jade, shaped like the letter L and hung from a wooden frame. During the Han they were hung as a set of nineteen, but by the Wei dynasty (386543 AD), they had grown to twenty-four. This was the only instrument in Eastern cultures to be tuned to the whole-tone scale (Kaufmann 1976, 103). 72 This man of Wei rescued Sun Huanzi of the state of Lu, and as a reward was offered a city. He refused the city, but asked instead for the strap around a horses belly, the skins for horses necks, and the crooked instruments of lords. These were accoutrements belonging to and associated with feudal lords and here represent the visage of nobility. Confucius regarded this as the abandonment of ritual because the man wanted the appearance of a lord without the position and responsibility. This record is found in the Zuo Zhuan ( 23.354). 73 Larger bells caused the two different sets of bells to be out of tune, one with another. See Guo Yu . 74 When Duke Ling of Wei traveled to Jin, he heard a musician playing a beautiful melody alongside the river. The musician taught him the song. When he arrived in Jin, he played the melody for Duke Ping, who also enjoyed it. However, when the song stopped halfway, the court musicians warned Duke Ping that this tune was from Yin and would bring great calamity. Duke Ping did not heed their counsel and demanded that the rest of the song be played. Shortly thereafter, the Jin was struck with a great famine. See the Han Feizi . 75 See the Hanshu . 76 Dalian is a place name in the state of Zheng. 77 Beili is a place name in modern Henan province. 78 This is probably an allusion to a song from the Book of Odes called Qing Temple . 79 No denitive list of emperors exists, but the Zhou Yi suggests that it would include Fu Xi , Shen Nong , Huang Di , Yao , and Shun . 80 Xia Yu , Shang Tang , and King Wen of Zhou . 81 The composition of these songs is unclear since tradition attributes Salty Pool to the sage-king Yao ( , , 1998, p. 1698) or to the Yellow Emperor (Hanshu). According to The Annals of L Buwei, Emperor Ku commanded Xian Hei to write Six Talents (Knoblock 2000, 147), but the Hanshu submits that it was written by Zhuan Du , and that Emperor Ku wrote another song entitled Five Talents. 82 Kui and Long were ministers of the sage-king Shun. 83 Commonly known as the pentatonic scale. 84 refers to the reciprocal transmission of commands from the emperor and messages to the emperor from subordinates. 85 , and . 86 Lin Jialis account contains the character (ta o), whereas the ` ). shows the character (gu or y
71

Criddle: Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning

87

67

Here jia of suggests an onomatopoeic word choice for the verb ji , rather than simply striking, which some modern Chinese translations suggest. 88 Legend has it the fu or fubo was made of boiled, stretched cowhide and lled with sugar according to pitch qualications (Lin, 104). 89 The guest of Yu refers to Dan Zhu , the son of Sage-king Yao. Yu is the state-name of Sage-king Shun. 90 Woodwind instrument performed below the temple hall. 91 The zhu and wu were percussive instruments used to initiate and conclude, respectively, ceremonial performances. 92 A reed instrument. 93 This is a quotation from the Shangshu :

This alludes to The Analects, 7.14: . 95 Qingyang is another name for Shao Hao . 96 According to the Han Wei liuchao baisan jiaji , the character here translated as wood columns is , the name of columns on either side of ancient palaces. However, according to Ji (85), the original commentary suggests the character is , which means to overlook. 97 This refers to Jie , the nal lord of the Xia , and one who is infamous for his cruelty. 98 Here I chose to use as found in Ji, rather than of Lins account because of the natural compound . 99 Guanzi, Qing zhong shen states: Formerly, in the time of Jie, there were thirty thousand female musicians, who at dawn would croon morning songs which could be heard for three blocks. Of these, there were none who did not wear nely embroidered clothing. 100 See Shi Ji .105 (www.sinica.edu.tw). 101 The kingdom of Zhou . 102 Wang Mang , T. Ju Chen (45 BC23 AD). See Han shu 99 ( ). 103 Emperor Huan was emperor of the Eastern Han from 147168 AD. 104 Emperor Shun ruled the Eastern Han from 126145 AD. 105 Unidentied place name. Fan Qu is also mentioned in the Jin shu Yue zhi . 106 is treated as a pun here meaning both happy and music (i.e. would not that be music!). This ambiguity shows the irony of the nature of music and emotions related to it.

94

68 Asian Music: Summer/Fall 2007

See the translation of Disputing Essay on Music (p. 000). See note 106. 109 See note 106. 110 Exquisite or , is also written as in the Han Wei liuchao baisan jiaji . 111 See note 106. 112 See note 106. 113 See Mozi 8 4, 9 1, and 9 2. 114 The modern Chinese translations by Lin and Ji here employ different punctuation, which drastically alters the meaning. Lin translates it as: . . . and the songs and chants are not necessarily brilliant. Mozis Criticizing Music is a sad case of taking pleasure in sorrow. Hu Hais indulging . . . I chose to adhere to Jis punctuation as it leads more naturally and logically into the vignette about Hu Hai. 115 Hu Hai (230207 BC) was Qin emperor and son of the founder of the Qin dynasty. The people wanted to kill him for his wanton lifestyle and disregard for state affairs. He begged to be demoted to the rank of a commoner as punishment, but they decided to execute justice by killing him. 116 Li Si (280208 BC) was Prime Minister of Qin, who, as he was being dragged off to be disemboweled by the state of Zhao, told his sons that he wondered if he would ever get to go hunting with them again. 117 Or music, see note 104. 118 A sexual reference to the regeneration of life through the mating of Heaven and Earth. 119 According to the Taiping Yulan, the nal clause is rendered , but the version found in the Han Wei yishu chao differs slightly: .
108 107

References Chinese:
, 2001. , 1964. , 1978. , 1994. , 2003. , 1990. 1997. , 1981. , 1998. 1994.

Criddle: Rectifying Lasciviousness through Mystical Learning , 1960. , 1971. ~tdbproj/handy1/ (Academia Sinica http://www.sinica.edu.tw/ , 3/2006) , 1986.

69

English:
Chang, Lulu Huangw 1993 From Confucius to Kublai Khan: Music and Poetry Through the Centuries. Ottawa, Canada: The Institute of Mediaeval Music. Cook, Scott, ed. 2003 Hiding the World in the World: Uneven Discourses of the Zhuangzi. Albany: State University of New York Press. Dewoskin, Kenneth J. 1982 A Song for One or Two: Music and the Concept of Art in Early China. Michigan Papers in Chinese Studies, no. 42. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. Egan, Ronald 1997 The Controversy over Music and Sadness and Changing Conceptions of the Qin in Middle Period China. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 57(1): 566. Falkenhausen, Lothar von 1993 Suspended Music: Chime-Bells in the Culture of Bronze Age China. Berkeley: University of California Press. Foucault, Michael 1998 What is an Author? In Aesthetics, Method, and Epistemology, vol. 2. New York: The New Press. Henricks, Robert G. 1983 Philosophy and Argumentation in Third-Century China: The Essays of Hsi Kang. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Holzman, Donald 1966 Yuan Chi and His Poetry. Ann Arbor: University Microlms. 1976 Poetry and Politics: The Life and Works of Juan Chi, A.D. 210263. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kaufmann, Walter 1976 Musical References in the Chinese Classics. Detroit: Detroit Monographs in Musicology, Information Coordinators. Knoblock, John, and Jeffrey Riegel, tr. 2000 The Annals of L Bu Wei. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Legge, James, tr. 2003 Yue ji. In Li Chi: Book of Rites. Montana: Kessinger Publishings Rare Reprints. Levinson, Jerrold 1990 Music and Negative Emotion. In Music, Art, and Metaphysics: Essays in Philosophical Aesthetics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

70 Asian Music: Summer/Fall 2007

Liu Yiqing 2002 A New Account of Tales of the World. Trans. Richard B. Mather. Michigan Monographs in Chinese Studies. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan, Center for Chinese Studies. Marks, J., and R. Ames, ed. 1995 Emotions in Asian Thought. Albany: State University of New York Press. Needham, Joseph 1962 Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 4, pt. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nussbaum, Martha C. 2001 Music and Emotion. In Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reddy, William M. 2001 The Navigation of Feeling: A Framework for the History of Emotions. Cambridge: Cambridge University. Roth, Harold D. 1999 Original Tao: Inward Training (Nei-yeh) and the Foundations of Taoist Mysticism. New York: Columbia University Press. Thrasher, Alan R. 2000 Chinese Musical Instruments. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Van Gulik, Robert Hans 1940 The Lore of the Chinese Lute. Tokyo: Sophia University. 1941 Hsi Kang and His Poetical Essay on the Lute. Monumenta Nipponica Monographs. Tokyo: Sophia University. Wierzbicka, Anna 1999 Emotions Across Languages and Cultures: Diversity and Universals. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Xiao Tong 1996 Wen Xuan or Selections of Rened Literature, vol. 3. Trans. David R. Knechtges. Princeton: Princeton University Press.