Title

What Did Qin Ke Hear? The Corporeal Technique of Knowing in Ji Kang’s “Sheng wu aile lun”

Author

Yen Hsueh-cheng

Genre

Article

Pages

1-29

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

hearing, corporeal techniques, gesture, mapping, empathy, sign

Abstract

　　The“Sheng wu aile lun”聲無哀樂論 presents an epistemological debate on the problem of whether a person can grasp the music producer’s emotions and intentions without the help of symbols. Dongye Zhuren 東野主人, who represents the author Ji Kang’s 嵇康 perspective, denies this possibility. His opponent, Qin Ke 秦客, by contrast, proposes a theory that explains why certain music listeners could connect to the inner state of the music producer through music. While Dongye Zhuren’s point is similar to Saussurean structuralism, it is Qin Ke’s position that has the potential to offer a breakthrough. This article examines Qin Ke’s reasoning and compares it to several theories of the body that also try to make a similar type of breakthrough.