"Sound," "Vital Energy,""Heart-mind" And The Root Of Music:on Ji Kang’s Without Grief And Joy In Sound

This thesis concentrates on the concepts of "sound"(sheng),"vital energy"(qi)and"heart-mind"(xin)to investigate Ji Kang’s Without Grief and Joy in Sound and consequently the root of music.Without Grief and Joy in Sound is an important article in Chinese aesthetics.However,it has been obscure and controversial because of the mixed usages among"sheng","yin" and "yue".To solve this dispute,this thesis examines the phenomena and the reason of mixture and distinguish among the three and their respective connotations,characteristics."Qi"and "harmony"(he)bond "sheng","yin" and "yue"."Qi" runs through the three as the basis and "he" is their goal.Simply speaking,the essence of music is "qi",and everything is originated from Qi of yin and yang.Not only "sheng","yin","yue"but also humans are "qi".Both playing and listening to music are the activities of "qi".Being attracted to music means the interaction between the "qi" of human and the "qi"of music.Whether "qi" or music is good or bad is judged by "he".This thesis attempts to clarify the similarities and differences between ancient and modern states of pure music,which is argued in Without Grief and Joy in Sound.Some other related issues,including Ji Kang’s attitude towards noble and vulgar music in the last part of his essay,would also be discussed.The issues of "sound" and "qi" ultimately leads to "heart-mind",i.e.,the relationship between music and emotions.By referring to Western aesthetics,this thesis distinguishes the emotional expression of music from the emotional appeal of music,and argues that the study of music and emotion would be separated from that of object and emotion.This thesis also examines emotion itself,pointing out that the disadvantages of using emotion to describe music,and the absurd of emphasizing the importance of musicianship to music aesthetics.The emotional appeal of music lies in the dynamic characteristics of music.This is quite similar to the characteristics of "qi"which Ji Kang has pointed out.So,through the comparison with Western music aesthetics,this thesis shows the modern implications of Without Grief and Joy in Sound.