Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony in Early China SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture Roger T. Ames, editor Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony in Early China Erica Fox Brindley Cover image courtesy of Bigstock Photos Published by STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS Albany © 2012 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press www.sunypress.edu Production, Diane Ganeles Marketing, Michael Campochiaro Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brindley, Erica Fox. Music, cosmology, and the politics of harmony in early China / Erica Fox Brindley. p. cm. — (SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4384-4313-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Music—Political aspects—China— History. 2. Music—Social aspects—China—History. 3. Music—Philosophy and aesthetics. 4. China—History—Zhou dynasty, 1122-221 B.C. 5. China—History—Qin dynasty, 221–207 B.C. 6. China—History—Han dynasty, 202 B.C.–220 A.D. I. Title. ML3917.C6B75 2011 780.931—dc23 2011036271 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Acknowledgments vii Prologue ix Introduction: Music and Cosmological Th eory 1 part one Music and the State chapter one Music in State Order and Cosmic Rulership 25 chapter two A Civilizing Force for Imperial Rule 43 chapter three Regulating Sound and the Cosmos 63 part two Music and the Individual chapter four Music and the Emergence of a Psychology of the Emotions 89 vi Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony in Early China chapter five Sagely Attunement to the Cosmos 111 chapter six Music and Medicine 131 Conclusion 157 Notes 163 Works Cited 203 Index 213 Acknowledgments Many lovers of music, aesthetics, ideas, and the history of science and reli- gion helped in the making of this book. I am indebted to their insights and thank them all graciously for taking the time to peruse parts of the work and off er their thoughts. I am most grateful to the two anonymous review- ers for this book. It is clear that both reviewers put a lot of care into their feedback. One reviewer’s notes were so careful and on the mark that I have no doubt that the current version of this book is signifi cantly better because of them. Nancy Ellegate and Roger Ames at SUNY were also a pleasure to work with and have given me many reasons to want to continue to publish in this series and with this press. And many thanks to Joseph Lam, Scott Cook, David Schaberg, and Miranda Brown for providing invaluable com- ments on very early drafts of material that have since been incorporated into this book. At my home institution, Penn State, I would like to thank my col- leagues, especially my amazing senior colleagues involved in Asian Studies, who have all supported the publication of this book, if merely by the power of their virtuosic collegiality. In particular, I thank On-cho Ng for being a great mentor and friend and Eric Hayot for his friendship and our many philosophic discussions about scholarly pursuits. In addition, I am grate- ful to Penn State College of Liberal Arts, Asian Studies, and Department of History for their funding to help defray publication costs. I also thank Ronnie Hsia, Sophie de Schaepdrijver, Tina Chen, Carrie Jackson, Jen- nifer Boittin, Chunyuan Di, Yuexing Li, and Michelle and Todd Rodino- Colocino for their collegiality and friendship during the period of writing and publishing this book. I dedicate this book to my husband, Derek Brindley Fox, who never ceases to amaze me with his kindness, big heart, helpfulness, and empathic abilities. I also dedicate this book to my fi rst-born daughter, Claire “Pualani” vii viii Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony in Early China Brindley Fox (Qian Yeming 錢業明), most of whose existence has covered the period during which this book was created and refi ned. Incidentally, Claire’s Hawaiian name means “Flower of the Heavens,” and resonates not only with the work I have been doing but with my husband’s expertise in astronomy. And lastly, speaking of the heavens, I thank my lucky stars for my entire family, which includes the latest addition, Lia “Leilani” Brindley Fox (Qian Yexin 錢業欣). permissions Parts of chapters four and fi ve of this book were previously published as “Music and Cosmos in the Development of ‘Psychology’ in Early China,” T’oung Pao 92.1–3 (2006), p1–49. Parts of chapter three were published as “Sound Phenomena: Th e Cosmic Power of Sound in Late Warring States and Han Texts,” Journal of Chinese Religions 35 (2007), p1–35. Th e author thanks Koninklijke Brill NV and the Journal of Chinese Religions for their permission to reprint these articles in this book. Prologue Th e concept of harmony is central to music and musical endeavors. It also represents a foremost goal for political regimes all over the world, both ancient and contemporary. In coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, for example, newscasters on NBC read from Chinese scripts that explained various musical performances in terms of the ancient value of harmony. Viewers were presented with a picture of China as a world leader that hopes to contribute to human fl ourishing in a peaceful, innovative, and, indeed, splendid way. A multiplicity of ethnic groups entered the stage to represent the diverse faces of the People’s Republic. Th e message of “har- mony amid diversity” resonated throughout the Olympic Stadium, and the world smiled at such a noble and magnifi cent goal. Th e rhetoric of harmony in the People’s Republic, however, is com- plicated, and some might claim that it does not always point to a satisfac- tory reality for all. Recently, dissident voices in the People’s Republic have coined the term “he xie 和協,” the contemporary word for “harmony,” to point to the phenomenon of state censorship on the Internet.1 Th e ironic use of this term attests to an intrinsic confl ict between rhetorical uses of the notion of harmony by the state and the practices it supports. But it is important to be clear about the various defi nitions of “harmony” in Chinese culture. If “harmony” refers to the creation of a homogenous and unifi ed sense of culture without serious dissent, then the state’s use of “harmony” to justify censorship of “unsavory cultural content” on the web seems to be an appropriate use of the term. On the other hand, if harmony refers not merely to the conformity of similar items but to an appealing admixture of many diverse ones—as it is defi ned in the Zuo zhuan, the locus classicus for defi ning the term “harmony” in ancient China, then the state would be more hard-pressed to justify its actions—such as Internet censorship and the incarceration of dissident voices in the community—in terms of ix