Now we come to the third section. In this rhythm, I will briefly recap the previous content. One aspect is the rhythm of heaven and earth: “The sun goes and the moon comes; the moon goes and the sun comes; the cold goes and the heat comes; the heat goes and the cold comes. There is no departure without return, for this is the way of heaven and earth. What ends begins again, for this is the movement of heaven. The nobleman observes the processes of growth and decline, fullness and emptiness, for these are the movements of heaven. Acting contrary to this principle, the return after seven days is also the movement of heaven. The rhythm of heaven and earth brings about the four seasons. Advancement and retreat, coming and going, opening and closing, beginning and ending, growth and decline, fullness and emptiness—all these are rhythms.” Here, I will explain only one term: “消息” (xiāoxī). Today, we often interpret it as a two-syllable word meaning “information.” However, in this context, “消息” is divided into two parts: “消” (xiāo) means decrease, and “息” (xī) means increase. Let me give you an example to clarify. Some people have throat issues and develop polyps—the “息” here refers to growth. “消” and “息” represent a dynamic of waxing and waning, where “息” specifically means growth. I won’t elaborate further on this.
The second aspect is rhythm in artistic aesthetics. The Book of Music states: “Music is the movement of the heart; sound is the image of music. Ornamentation and rhythm are the adornments of sound. The nobleman moves from the root, delights in the image, and then refines the adornments.” Xunzi’s Discourse on Music says: “Rhythm refers to starting and stopping. When it starts, it is played; when it stops, it is restrained. Whether restraining or playing, it follows its nature to create. Rhythm combines to form patterns, and great music harmonizes with heaven and earth.” There is much more to this interpretation, but I will not expand on it here. In fact, the earlier discussion about the moon emerging from the center also carries this meaning.
Now, Section 4 of Chapter 2 discusses the beauty of resonance. First, the beauty of interactive resonance. The Tai hexagram in the Book of Changes states: “When heaven and earth interact, all things are connected; when above and below interact, their purposes are aligned.” The Xian hexagram says: “Xian means resonance. The soft ascends, and the hard descends; the two energies resonate and interact. Confucius said, ‘When heaven and earth resonate, all things are transformed and born. When sages resonate with people, hearts are moved, and peace prevails under heaven. By observing what resonates, the nature of heaven, earth, and all things can be seen.’” The Guimei hexagram in the Book of Changes states: “If heaven and earth do not interact, all things will not flourish.” The first part of the Appended Words in the Book of Changes says: “The hard and soft rub against each other; the eight trigrams influence one another. The hard and soft push against each other, producing changes. The Changes are without thought and without action, silent and unmoving. Yet, through resonance, they penetrate the reasons of heaven and earth. Who but the most divine under heaven could achieve this? The cold goes and the heat comes; the heat goes and the cold comes. The cold and heat push against each other, and the year is formed. What goes is bent; what comes is stretched. Bending and stretching resonate with each other, and benefit is produced.” The second part of the Appended Words states: “Heaven and earth interplay, and all things are transformed and refined. Man and woman unite in essence, and all things are transformed and born.”
Second, the interactions between heaven and earth, hardness and softness, man and woman, bending and stretching, love and aversion, nearness and distance, sincerity and deceit—all belong to resonance. I will not elaborate further. Thus, the first aspect is the beauty of resonance, ranging from material resonance to spiritual resonance, resulting in great harmony. This is illustrated in the diagram.
The fourth major point is the manifestation of resonance in aesthetics. “Xian means resonance. The soft ascends, and the hard descends; the two energies resonate and interact. Stillness and joy, with man below woman.” Xunzi’s Discourse on Music states: “Music is joy, an inevitable expression of human emotion. Thus, people cannot be without music. When music is practiced, relationships are clarified, ears and eyes are sharpened, blood and energy are harmonized, customs are transformed, and the world is at peace.” The theory of resonance in the joy of music, where beauty and goodness delight each other: “All music is born from the human heart. When emotion is stirred within, it takes form in sound. When sound is patterned, it is called music.” One particularly important line here is: “Music arises from within; ritual is enacted from without.” Thus, as we see here, all aesthetic experiences—the beauty of vision (as in the Li hexagram, where a child looks at flowers), the beauty of hearing (as in the Kan hexagram, where one listens to the sound of water), the beauty of touch (as in the Xian hexagram, where people embrace), the beauty of smell (as in the Xian hexagram, where like energies seek each other, like sounds respond to each other, two people of one mind can cut through metal, and words of one mind are as fragrant as orchids)—are manifestations of resonance.
发表回复
要发表评论，您必须先登录。