Page 12 - 2020 December 1 Bonhams Hong Kong, Eternal Music in Chinese art

The Six Dusts, Eight Sounds, and Ten Directions

六塵、八音、十方

Keason Tang 唐冶

‘The Great Master: wield in ones hands the six 「大師：掌六律、六同，以合陰陽之聲。⋯⋯皆播之
tones in harmony, encapsulating the sound of 以八音：金、石、土、革、絲、木、匏、竹。」
Yin and Yang… all emitted by the eight sounds
of: metal, stone, earth, animal hide, silk, wood, ———《周禮·春官宗伯》
gourd, and bamboo.’
-The Rites of Zhou - Offices of Spring
「是故空中無色。無受想行識。無眼耳鼻舌身意。
‘Consequently, there is no colour in the void. 無色聲香味觸法。無眼界。乃至無意識界。」
No feeling, no thought, no consciousness. ——— 《般若波羅蜜多心經》
No eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body or will. No
colour, sound, fragrance, touch. No vision.
Even unconsciousness.’
「十方一念，黑暗光明，如晝裝飾眼睛。唯心可
-Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra 造，喜惡陰晴，直到清淨。」

‘In the ten directions there is one thought, ———《十方一念》
darkness and light, adorn the eyes like the day.
The heart-mind can be cultivated, joy and evil,
cloudy and sunny, lead to pure stillness.’

-‘The Ten Directions and One Thought’

Music is difficult to describe and write about. Words often fail to fully The Eight Sounds refer in fact to eight materials in nature which were
capture the essence of a multi-dimensional phenomenon such as used by the ancestors to make musical instruments. Music before
music. What was considered ‘ideal’ music in the imagination of the the ‘Eight Sounds’ was the sound of the wind, rain, mountains and
ancients? The Book of Documents records that: forests, and the sound of birds and beasts. ‘Emotions are moved by
the heart, but the form is in the words, but words are not enough,
The emperor said: ‘Kui! I command you to take charge of music and so it is rhapsodised and sung’ (Mao Commentary, circa 221 BC).
teach the eldest son, [that it should be] upright and mild, broad and Furthermore, in the natural world, there is the human voice. However,
trembling, firm and without jest, simple and without arrogance. Poetry humans are dexterous beings and with a pair of hands can make more
speaks of the ideal, song is the chanting of speech, chanting relies on than eight instruments from the eight materials, thus allowing both the
the sounds, and sounds rely on harmony. The eight sounds capture Prince and the common people many ways to express their emotions
harmony, without which the cardinal relationships crumble, and there is and desires. Regardless of whether music is considered ‘official’ or
no harmony between the gods and man.’ Kui said, ‘Indeed! When I hit ‘folk’, ‘refined’ or ‘popular’, the starting point is human expression,
stone upon stone, even the hundred beasts dance’. where words fail. But how can a human-based art detach itself from
ears, noses, tongues, body, mind, colour, sound, and fragrance?
Since the Western Han dynasty, generations of scholars have
interpreted this passage as nothing less than expressing the ideal Music is an art form that arguably belongs only to human beings. It
of harmony that should exist between sovereign and minister, can transcend across the world and all things including the spirits and
government and people. This is not limited to interpretations of the gods and can best express the differences between ethnic groups
Book of Documents; most of the interpretations of music mentioned and historical characters. The bells and ritual music unearthed from
within the Thirteen Classics are usually considered allegories of the the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (ca. 433 BC) must be regarded as
relationship between monarch and ministers. Were the Eight Sounds what Confucius saw as the ‘Zheng [state’s] lewd sounds and perils of
and harmonies just for managing the affairs of heaven and the sycophants.’ After hearing the guqin, emperor Xuanzong of the Tang
monarch? Where did the people fit in this order? dynasty exclaimed: ‘Quickly order Huanu (Prince Li Jin, d. 750 AD)

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