Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony in Early China (SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture)

Winner of the 2013 Reading Committee Accolade for a Specialist Publication in the Humanities presented by the International Convention of Asia Scholars In early China, conceptions of music became important culturally and politically. This fascinating book examines a wide range of texts and discourse on music during this period (ca. 500–100 BCE) in light of the rise of religious, protoscientific beliefs on the intrinsic harmony of the cosmos. By tracking how music began to take on cosmic and religious significance, Erica Fox Brindley shows how music was used as a tool for such enterprises as state unification and cultural imperialism. She also outlines how musical discourse accompanied the growth of an explicit psychology of the emotions, served as a fundamental medium for spiritual attunement with the cosmos, and was thought to have utility and potency in medicine. While discussions of music in state ritual or as an aesthetic and cultural practice abound, this book is unique in linking music to religious belief and demonstrating its convergences with key religious, political, and intellectual transformations in early China. Explores the religious, political, and cultural significance attributed to music in early China. In early China, conceptions of music became important culturally and politically. This fascinating book examines a wide range of texts and discourse on music during this period (ca. 500100 BCE) in light of the rise of religious, protoscientific beliefs on the intrinsic harmony of the cosmos. By tracking how music began to take on cosmic and religious significance, Erica Fox Brindley shows how music was used as a tool for such enterprises as state unification and cultural imperialism. She also outlines how musical discourse accompanied the growth of an explicit psychology of the emotions, served as a fundamental medium for spiritual attunement with the cosmos, and was thought to have utility and potency in medicine. While discussions of music in state ritual or as an aesthetic and cultural practice abound, this book is unique in linking music to religious belief and demonstrating its convergences with key religious, political, and intellectual transformations in early China. Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony in Early China 4 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Prologue 10 Introduction: Music and Cosmological Theory 14 Part One: Music and the State 36 Chapter One: Music in State Order and Cosmic Rulership 38 Chapter Two: A Civilizing Force for Imperial Rule 56 Chapter Three: Regulating Sound and the Cosmos 76 Part Two: Music and the Individual 100 Chapter Four: Music and the Emergence of a Psychology of the Emotions 102 Chapter Five: Sagely Attunement to the Cosmos 124 Chapter Six: Music and Medicine 144 Conclusion 170 Notes 176 Works Cited 216 Index 226 Music In State Order And Cosmic Rulership -- A Civilizing Force For Imperial Rule -- Regulating Sound And The Cosmos -- Music And The Emergence Of A Psychology Of The Emotions -- Sagely Attunement To The Cosmos -- Music And Medicine. Erica Fox Brindley. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 203-212) And Index.