Music And Way:Study On Xunzi’s Music Thought

Focusing on Xunzi’s music thought, based on pre-Qin Confucianism and the historical background of the great turn of society，this paper analysis the foundation of Xunzi’s music thought from perspective of the way of heaven (tian), human nature and heart/mind, and then induce the content and form of Xunzi’s thought on cultivation, especially on music cultivation, and finally conclude the practical function of Xunzi’s music thought. This paper also analysis the contributions and deficiency of Xunzi’s music thought. This dissertation tries to answer three questions. The first one is why Xunzi advocated music cultivation, and does Xunzi’s thought of music still have significance for contemporary society? The second question is what is the theoretical foundation of xunzi’s music thought? The third question is what are the practical function of Xunzi’s music thought and how do these functions work?Prolegomenon firstly introduces the historical and academic background of Xunzi’s music thought, and then analysis the relations between Xunzi’s thought of music and Yuelun of Book of Rites, as well as the position of music cultivation in the cultivation of the six classics, which also summarize the researches on Xunzi’s music thought, and points out the deficiency of these studies, and finally present the academic value and contemporary significance of study on Xunzi’s music thought.This paper is divided into two parts. The first part is composed by chapter 1 to chapter 3, which are trying to answer what is the foundation of Xunzi’s music thought. Chapter 1 Music and Heaven analysis the division and unity between Heaven and human, and points out that human’s position and subjectivity is raising, so human being’s self-cultivation became possible.Chapter 2 Music and Human Nature (xing) summarize the contents and levels of emotions and desires, and the cathasis function that music played in human’s nature. Human nature is the foundation, and emotion and desire are the expression of human nature. Because of interaction between human nature and objects, emotion occurs; because of motivating of emotion, desire starts to move. Xunzi didn’t agree human nature is bad, because people can do good thing beyond personal interests. Xunzi emphasis the importance of ritual and righteousness, and trying to nourish and improve human’s emotion and desire by rituals and righteousness. Music cultivation guild and control emotion, lead and limit desires, and help people to have good life in the way.Chaper 3 Music and Heart (xin) tries to find the epistemology foundation of Xunzi’s music thought and how xunzi’s music thought can improve it. How does heart/mind know the way? Void and open your Heart/Mind, and find the principle of "one" in the complicated world, and then achieve the tranquil mind. With the cooperation of four kinds abilities of heart, which are ability of reasoning, ability of emotion and desiring, ability of morality, and ability of volition, heart/mind can know the way, love and follow the way, guard the way Because of these four abilities, human’s heart can know the way of heaven and earth, can happily accept and follow the way, as well as guard the way. This part also presents the relation between music and heart, and how music improves and elevates heart.The second part analysis practical functions of Xunzi’s music thought from perspective of individual and society. Chaper 4 Music and Cultivation explains the contents, forms and principle of Xunzi’s thought of cultivation, as well as music cultivation, which is one of the import ways of cultivation.Chapter 5 Music and Sage firstly summarize Xunzi’s three kinds of ideal personality, which are bachelor (shi), gentleman and sage, and then analysis how music cultivation can help people to achieve ideal personality. Music can let people in happy and free spirit, and help people to have independent spirit and ability of reflecting, and improve people to love, follow and practice the way.Chapter 6 Music and Society analysis the assistant functions by that music played in benevolence, rituals and harmony. Xunzi’s benevolence has two aspects, which are self-love and loving others. Music cultivation just fills the gap between self-love and loving others, and helps people to overcome the love of differences and to achieve mutual enjoyment between happy and good. Without rituals, the society will be in disorder. Therefore Xunzi emphasis the importance of rituals and the establishing of ritual is based on righteousness, which can secure the society to be justice. Music’s function is to bridge and close the alienation of people in different social positons regulated by rituals. Xunzi’s ideal for society is people living together as one in harmony, and music cultivation help people to achieve this social ideal. Music also helps people to achieve individual value in communities with harmonious relations with others, and help people play different social roles well in different occasions. It also reminds people to reflect the politics in real life and to live a life which is tallying with the way.Conclusion summarizes contributions of Xunzi’s thought of music. It presents how music cultivation improve people’s ability of emotion, knowing and morality, and points out the significance of music cultivation in education, ethics and politics, which also lines out a clue that music is the way and bridge to communicate and relate Way(dao) of Heaven and way of human. It also analysis drawbacks of Xunzi’s music thought, and trying to provide theoretical ideas of contemporary music theory and cultivation.