Title

On the Shared Origination of Sound and Number: The Image-Number System and Philosophical Meaning of Musical Temperament in the Zhouyi shilun hebian

Author

Lee Chung-ta

Genre

Article

Pages

41-77

DOI

10.6503/THJCS.202203_52(1).0002

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

Zhouyi shilun hebian 周易時論合編, Fang Kongzhao 方孔炤, Fang Yizhi 方以智, musical temperament, image-number system

Abstract

Musical temperament is one of the major subjects discussed in the Zhouyi shilun hebian 周易時論合編. Several essays in the text show an interest in the metaphysical meaning and calculation of the twelve pitches. Inspired by the traditional Chinese chromatic scale, the work’s author, Fang Yizhi 方以智 (1611-1671), developed a unique philosophical interpretation of musical temperament. This article first investigates the Zhouyi shilun hebian’s discussion of musical temperament and mathematics; it then examines the way in which the image-number system from the Han dynasty influenced its expression in the text. It continues by analyzing the notion of the “shared origination of sound and number,” and describes the outline of Fang’s philosophical system and its relationship with musical temperament. Finally, it explains why Fang and several of his contemporaries felt that the study of sound, mathematics and other natural science disciplines represented a means of learning the metaphysical truth of the Zhouyi.