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Abstract
After conquering the Chen in 589, the Sui became a powerful empire that ruled over both the northern and southern regions, a vast territory that featured distinct regional cultures and customs. To foster an impression of political unity, the Sui court initiated a series of projects aimed at implementing central control over remote areas and reconciling interests of different cultural groups. This ideology of concordia discors found no better avenue of expression than music, which included musical performance, lyric composition, and standardization of pitches and musical scales. This article investigates the politics of music and the creation of an “audible empire” in the first decade of the Sui. Specifically, it examines how imperial subjects at the time perceived and articulated the Sui court ritual music, including both its history and its public display. Based on court memorials, historical records, and poems, I argue that the Sui’s musical lineage—how the music of orthodoxy was transmitted and inherited by the Sui—was carefully constructed and often contested in the empire’s early years and that poems that describe viewers’ experience of observing the Sui music performance reveal courtiers’ ambivalent attitudes towards music as an imperial tool of persuasion.
Acknowledgments
I wish to thank Xiaofei Tian and the two anonymous reviewers for their critical feedback and suggestions that helped me improve this article. Any remaining mistakes are my own.
Notes
1 On the building of a “syncretic ideology” in the Sui and its reforms at both the central and local levels, see Arthur Wright, “The Sui Dynasty,” in The Cambridge History of China Vol. 3: Sui and T’ang China: 589–906, ed. Denis C. Twitchett (Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge Press, 1979), 73–93.
2 Erica Brindley, Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony in Early China (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2012), 31, 55.
3 For a detailed study of the creation of court music and its relation with other fields of knowledge, see Howard Goodman, Xun Xu and the Politics of Precision in Third Century AD China (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 161–277. The connection between sounds and governance is most explicitly articulated in the “Great Preface” to the Classic of Poetry (Shi jing 詩經): “The sounds of a well-managed age are at rest and happy; its government is balanced. The sounds of an age of turmoil are bitter and full of anger; its government is perverse. The tones of a ruined state are filled with lament and brooding; its people are in difficulty” 治世之音安以樂, 其政和. 亂世之音怨以怒, 其政乖. 亡國之音哀以思, 其民困. Maoshi zhengyi 毛詩正義, 1.564, in Ruan Yuan 阮元 (1764–1849) ed., Shisanjing zhushu 十三經註疏 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2009). The translation is from Stephen Owen, Readings in Chinese Literary Thought (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992), 43. All translations in this article are mine unless otherwise noted.
4 This quote is from Niu Hong’s 牛弘 (545–610) memorial presented to the throne in 581, which will be discussed in detail below. Wei Zheng 魏徵 (580–643) et al., comps., Sui shu 隋書 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1973), 15.351; hereafter SS.
5 I borrow the term “audible empire” from the essay collection Audible Empire: Music, Global Politics, Critique. This volume seeks to examine “the sound of empire—the sound that creates and is created by empire” and proposes “music as a means of comprehending empire as an audible formation, whose very audibility draws the listener (and even the hearer) into a vast network of language, supra-linguistic sensory fields, regimes of knowledge, and new modes of subjectivity.” See Ronald Radano and Tejumola Olaniyan, eds., Audible Empire: Music, Global Politics, Critique (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2016), 13. It should be noted that court musical performance in pre-modern China involved both aural and visual aspects. Yet, as Erica Brindley suggests, when yue is mentioned, the emphasis is placed more often on the “sound or the patterning of the sound.” Dancing and other visual aspects were of secondary importance. This observation is true of the texts cited in this article. Brindley, Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony, 6.
6 For example, Chen Yinke 陳寅恪 argues that the Sui yayue 雅樂 (formal court music) was derived from the Liang and Chen, but the most “popular” music in the Sui was “tartar music” 胡樂 (huyue), which was inherited from the Northern Qi. See Chen Yinke, Sui Tang zhidu yuanyuan lüelun gao 隋唐制度淵源略論稿 (Beijing: Sanlian shudian, 2001), 128–36. Wang Xiaodun 王小盾 maintains that there was no one dominant music style in the Sui. Instead, Sui music shows stylistic inclusiveness and assimilation. Wang Xiaodun, Sui dai yinyue ji qi zhoubian 隋代音樂及其周邊 (Shanghai: Shanghai yinyue xueyuan chubanshe, 2012), 173–78.
7 SS, 14.345–48.
8 SS, 14.347; Sima Guang 司馬光 (1019–1086), comp., Zizhi tongjian 資治通鑑 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1956), 177.5524.
9 SS, 15.349.
10 For the history of the early fourth century, see Albert Dien and Keith Knapp, eds., The Cambridge History of China Volume 2: The Six Dynasties, 220–589 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2019), 96–118.
11 Murong Yong 慕容永 (d. 394), one member of the Murong royal family, was taken to Chang’an, the capital of the Former Qin 秦, after the fall of the Former Yan 燕 (337–370). Towards the end of the Former Qin, when Chang’an was in turmoil, Murong Yong at first supported the enthronement of Murong Zhong 慕容忠 (d. 386) and then proclaimed himself the emperor in 386 at Zhangzi after Murong Zhong was killed. “Yue” 樂 here refers to the personnel (both performers and ritualists) and ritual equipment related to court music performance. I translate it as “musical professionals and instruments.”
12 SS, 15.349–51; Yan Kejun 嚴可均 (1762–1843), comp., Quan Sui wen 全隋文, 24.8317–19, in Yan Kejun, comp., Quan Shanggu sandai Qin Han Sanguo liuchao wen 全上古三代秦漢三國六朝文 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1958).
13 Also known as gongxuan 宮懸 (suspended instruments in the palace), yuexuan refers to the frames and the musical instruments suspended on frames, like bells and chime-stones.
14 Wei Shou, comp., Wei shu 魏書 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1974), 109.2827; hereafter WS.
15 WS, 109.2828.
16 According to Wang Sengqian 王僧虔 (425–485), a Southern Qi (479–502) courtier and music expert, the “Clear Shang Mode” was a kind of music invented and favored by the Cao family (specifically, Cao Cao 曹操 [155–220], Cao Pi 曹丕 [187–226], and Cao Rui 曹叡 [204–239]) in the early third century that then became popular in Luoyang in the Western Jin. After the “Yongjia Chaos,” many of the songs were lost in the South. Shen Yue 沈約 (441–513) included some lyrics of the songs in the “Clear Shang Mode” from the third century in his History of the Song Dynasty (Song shu 宋書). See Shen Yue, Song shu 宋書 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju), 19.553, 19.608.
17 WS, 109.2843.
18 Yayue here is taken as synonymous with zhengyue, hence translated as “orthodox music.” A word search for yayue in early medieval historical records shows that the term is often used together with zhengsheng 正聲 (“orthodox sounds”), generally referring to the musical performance and lyrics for various formal court ceremonies.
19 WS, 109.2828.
20 The “Three Halls of Harmony” refer to the “Palace Academy” (biyong 辟雍), “Hall of Brightness” (mingtang 明堂), and “Numinous Terrace” (lingtai 靈臺), important ritual spaces for court ceremonials. The “Four Beginnings” are the four categories of Shi jing: “Airs,” “Greater Odes,” “Lesser Odes,” and “Hymns.”
21 SS, 75.1714; Yan Kejun, comp., Quan Sui wen, 12.8164–65.
22 There are many anecdotes from the early medieval period that show that the acquisition of “orthodox” musical instruments or pitch standard was a result of pure luck. For example, the Western Wei (535–557) dynasty in its early years lacked proper ritual protocols for court music. Then one strange bell was found in Shu; no one knew what it was. Only Husi Zheng 斛斯徵 (529–584), a courtier familiar with ritual precedents, recognized it as a zhunyu 錞于 bell and used Zhou li 周禮 to corroborate his claim. The court then happily adopted this instrument for its musical performances. Another anecdote involves Zhangsun Shaoyuan 長孫紹遠 (506–565). He was commissioned to supervise court music at the end of the Northern Wei, but was not able to get the base pitch right. One day, as he was walking on the street of Luoyang, he suddenly heard bells ringing on a Buddhist temple. He realized that this was exactly the note that he had been trying to find. Linghu Defen 令狐德棻 (583–666), comp., Zhou shu 周書 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1971), 26.432, 26.430.
23 The southern states, which often confidently claimed cultural legitimacy, also had to make compromise when faced with the tremendous loss of ritual knowledge and precedents after the relocation to the South. Wang Sengqian, a Southern Qi courtier, even suggested that the Southern Qi should send envoys to the North to enquire about and study the northern state’s musical performance because so much had been lost in the South. The request was rejected. Xiao Zixian 蕭子顯 (487–537), comp., Nan Qi shu 南齊書 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1972), 33.595–96.
24 For example, the Sui courtier Zheng Yi even proposed a new seven-note musical scale for court ritual music based on what he had learned from a Kucha musician and his observation of the latter’s playing a “Tartar pipa zither” 胡琵琶. Then, Su Kui and Zheng Yi engaged in a debate over its appropriateness by citing poetic, ritual, historical, and musical texts. Sometimes even a blatantly “unorthodox” ritual decision can be made “orthodox” by adducing as evidence the claim that “the three epochs in antiquity adopted different ritual protocols” 三代不同禮. SS, 14.345–47; WS, 79.1752.
25 SS, 14.345. Also see Xiaofei Tian, trans. with introduction and notes, Family Instructions for the Yan Clan and Other Works by Yan Zhitui (531–590s) (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2021), xxi–xxii. The “Monograph on Music” in Sui shu details how, in the first several years of the Sui, the court’s attempt to establish the orthodox music failed. SS, 14.343–48.
26 SS, 15.359; Quan Sui wen, 24.8319.
27 SS, 15.377–78.
28 It is difficult to gauge the audience of the performance of the finalized music. Considering the court music was performed in various ritual settings and on ceremonial occasions, one feels safe to speculate that the audience must have constituted the imperial court officials, royal families, and envoys from other states.
29 Lu Qinli 逯欽立, comp., Sui shi 隋詩, 6.2722, in his Xian Qin Han Wei Jin nanbeichao shi 先秦漢魏晉南北朝詩 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2008). The sage-king Shun 舜 ordered his official Kui 夔 to take charge of musical performances that would educate his people and harmonize humans and deities. Kui responded, “When I beat and tap the rocks, hundreds of beasts dance together” 於予擊石拊石, 百獸率舞. Shangshu zhengyi 尚書正義, 3.276, in Ruan Yuan, ed., Shisanjing zhushu.
30 Lu Qinli, comp., Sui shi, 2.2658.
31 These two couplets contain allusions to Jizha 季札 (576–484 BCE), a Wu envoy who traveled to Lu in the Spring and Autumn Period (771–476 BCE). During his official visit there, he observed the performance of the Zhou songs, including the “Airs,” “Odes,” and “Hymns.” After listening to the “Airs of Qi,” he exclaimed: “Beautiful indeed! How expansive! Great airs indeed! As the exemplar of the eastern seas, this must be the Grand Lord! The domain cannot yet be fathomed” 美哉, 泱泱乎! 大風也哉! 表東海者, 其大公乎? 國未可量也. The “Grand Lord” refers to Jiang Shang 姜尚 (fl. 11th c. BCE), who was enfeoffed by King Wu of the Zhou (fl. 11th c. BCE) at the Qi area. As for the “Airs of Tang,” Jizha commented: “Profound longing indeed! Do they not have the people remaining from those ruled by the Tao and Tang lineages! Otherwise, why would their concerns reach so far back? If they were not descendants of those of exemplary virtue, how could they be capable of this?” 思深哉! 其有陶唐氏之遺民乎? 不然, 何其憂之遠也? 非令德之後, 誰能若是? The “Tao and Tang lineages” refer to the ancient sage-king Yao 堯. See Chunqiu zuozhuan zhengyi 春秋左傳正義, Lord Xiang 29, 39.4357–58, in Ruan Yuan, ed., Shisanjing zhushu. The translation is from Stephen Durrant, Wai-yee Li, and David Schaberg, trans. and intro., Zuo Tradition: Commentary on the “Spring and Autumn Annals” (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2016), 2:1242–45.
32 Bianwu 徧舞 is a term generally alluding to “musical performance of the Six Epochs,” including that of the Yellow Emperor, Yao, Shun, Xia dynasty, Shang dynasty, and Zhou dynasty. Here it refers to the Sui court music that He Tuo is currently observing.
33 “Eight lines” (bahang 八行) should mean bayi 八佾, a dance that features altogether sixty-four dancers divided into eight lines and eight rows, the scale of which befits the status of the Son of Heaven. The “colorful plumes” allude to a poem in the “Hymns” of Shi jing: “Blind men, blind men, / in the courtyard of Zhou. / We have set up the cross-board, the stand, / with the upright hooks, the standing plumes” 有瞽有瞽, 在周之庭. 設業設虡, 崇牙樹羽. The translation is from Arthur Waley, trans., The Book of Songs: The Ancient Chinese Classic of Poetry, edited with additional translations by Joseph R. Allen (New York: Grove Press, 1996), 297. According to Zheng Xuan’s 鄭玄 (127–200) interpretation, the meaning of the poem is: “When a king pacifies the realm, he establishes ritual; when great achievement is accomplished, he creates music” 王者治定制禮, 功成作樂. Maoshi zhengyi, 19.1281.
34 According to the Zhou li, “Six Virtues” refers to “wisdom,” “benevolence,” “sageliness,” “righteousness,” “loyalty,” and “harmony.” See Zhou li zhushu 周禮注疏, 10.1523, in Ruan Yuan, ed., Shisanjing zhushu.
35 The Shao, or Xiaoshao 簫韶, is a music repertoire associated with Shun. Hu was the music played in the court of King Tang of the Shang dynasty.
36 “The music of the eastern barbarians is called Mo; the music of the southern barbarians is called Ren” 東夷之樂曰韎, 南夷之樂曰任. Zhou li zhushu, 24.1730.
37 “Fire Star” appears in the poem “The Seventh Month” (“Qiyue” 七月) in Shi jing. The “Fire Star” signifies the beginning of the chilly months of autumn.
38 The “Record on Music” (“Yue ji” 樂記) in Records of Rituals (Li ji 禮記) describes the perfect music in the following way: “The supreme music must be easy; the supreme rites must be simple” 大樂必易, 大禮必簡. Li ji zhengyi 禮記正義, 37.3316, in Ruan Yuan, ed., Shisanjing zhushu. The translation is from Owen, Readings, 55.
39 For Jizha’s visit to Lu, see Chunqiu zuozhuan zhengyi, Lord Xiang 29, 39.4355–61, in Shisanjing zhushu.
40 Maoshi zhengyi, 1.566; The translation is from Owen, Readings, 46.
41 As Howard Goodman shows, Xu Xun’s 荀勖 (d. 289) musical rectification in the Western Jin very much depended on his design of a new flute to set the “right” pitch and his discovery of musical instruments in ancient tombs to corroborate the new standard. Goodman, Xun Xu, 225–77, 290–325.
42 Lu Qinli, comp., Sui shi, 2.2658.
43 The couplet recapitulates what is described in the “Record on Music” in Li ji about ritual and music: “Since music comes from within, it belongs to genuine affections; since rites are formed without, they have patterning. The supreme music must be easy; the supreme rites must be simple. When music is perfect, there is no rancor; when rites are perfect, there is no contention” 樂由中出故靜, 禮自外作故文. 大樂必易, 大禮必簡. 樂至則無怨, 禮至則不爭. Li ji zhengyi, 37.3315–16. The translation is from Owen, Readings, 55.
44 Linglun 伶倫 was a musician commissioned by the Yellow Emperor to establish a pitch-standard. Legend has it that he came to the Xie Valley and turned bamboo into a flute. Once he blew it, the pitch-standard was finalized. It is also recorded that Linglun distinguished the twelve pitch-standards based on the sounds of female and male phoenixes.
45 When Shun was about to yield his throne to Yu 禹, hundreds of talented artists harmonized with one another and sang the tune of “Auspicious Clouds” (qingyun 卿雲). Guo Maoqian 郭茂倩 (fl. 11th c.), comp., Yuefu shiji 樂府詩集 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1979), 83.1166. “White Snow,” the name of a song, appears in “Reply to the King of Chu’s Questions,” attributed to Song Yu’s 宋玉 (fl. 3rd c. BCE), anthologized in Wen xuan 文選. According to the author, the song “White Snow” was so profound that only a few in the city could understand and harmonize it. See Xiao Tong 蕭統 (501–531), comp., Liuchen zhu Wen xuan 六臣注文選 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2012), 45.839.
46 The “Great Preface” to Shi jing introduces the Six Principles (liu yi 六義): airs, exposition, comparison, affective image, odes, and hymns. Maoshi zhengyi, 1.12; Owen, Readings, 45.
47 Jizha described the Zhou dynasty Hymns thus: “The five sounds harmonize; the eight winds are balanced” 五聲和, 八風平. Chunqiu zuozhuan zhengyi, 39.4359. The translation is from Zuo Tradition, trans. Durrant, Li, and Schaberg, 2:1247. “Eight winds” are winds rising from the four cardinal directions with the added half points. See Lü Buwei 呂不韋 (fl. 3rd c. BCE), comp., Lü shi chunqiu jishi 呂氏春秋集釋 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2009), 13.280–81.
48 Juntian 鈞天, often appearing as juntian zhi yue 鈞天之樂 (Heavenly Music), alludes to Zhao Jianzi 趙簡子 (d. 476 BCE), a minister of the Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period. He once fell into a coma and woke up after two days. He related what he had experienced: “I became rapt to arrive at the realm of the Ruler of Heaven. I roamed with hundreds of deities in Heaven. The nine pieces of the immortal music were played along with wan dancing performance. They are not like the musical performance of the Three Epochs. The sounds moved my heart” 我之帝所甚樂, 與百神游於鈞天, 廣樂九奏萬舞, 不類三代之樂, 其聲動人心. Sima Qian 司馬遷 (ca. 145–ca. 86 BCE), Shi ji 史記 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1982), 43.1787. To preserve the effect of parallelism, I translate jun as a verb and tian as its object: harmonizing with Heaven.
49 Kuo 括, the version adopted in Chuxue ji 初學記, has another variant of guo 聒 (to clamor) in Wenyuan yinghua 文苑英華. Li Fang 李昉 (925–996) et al., comps., Wenyuan yinghua 文苑英華 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1966), 212.1050. While the former contains the connotation of the music influencing expanded territories, the latter emphasizes the music’s sonorous quality and aural impact.
50 Xian alludes to Xianchi 咸池, the music associated with Yao. Wuying 五英, abbreviated here as ying, is the music played during the rule of the mythical king Ku 嚳.
51 In Zhou li, it is recorded that an artisan with the surname of Fu invented bells (Fu shi wei zhong 鳧氏為鐘). Yet fu can also mean “duck.” Zhou li zhushu, 40.1980.
52 Pheasant feathers were used in court ritual dance to promote “cultural accomplishment.” Maoshi zhengyi, 2.650.
53 Zhou li prescribes the appropriate use of ritual paraphernalia by occasion and official status: “Jade can be made into six kinds of vessels to honor the Heaven, Earth, and the four directions. The grey jade disc is used to honor the Heaven” 以玉作六器, 以禮天地四方, 以蒼璧禮天. Zhou li zhushu, 18.1644.
54 For example, the Western Wei statesman Su Chuo 蘇綽 (498–546) composed “Great Remonstrance” (“Dagao” 大誥), which adopted the style of Shangshu as the standard model for official communication. The purpose was to redress the increasing stylistic ornamentation in writings since the Cao-Wei and Western Jin dynasty. Zhou shu, 23.391–94. In the Sui, the courtier Li E 李諤 (fl. early 7th c.) also proposed to abandon the ornate style popular in the South, adopt the Classics as the model, and exact punishment on those who wrote in flowery language. SS, 66.1544–45.
55 See Stephen Owen, The Poetry of the Early T’ang (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1977), 14–26.
56 SS, 15.377–78.
57 Lu Qinli, comp., Sui shi, 6.2708.
58 Weiyang 維陽, also weiyang 維揚, refers to the city of Yangzhou and, by implication, the Southern Dynasties.
59 This refers to Zhao Jianzi. See note 48.
60 “Zhanlu” (“Dense Dew”) is the title of a poem in the “Lesser Odes” of Shi jing that was played, according to the Mao interpretation, when “the Son of Heaven held a banquet for his dukes” 天子燕諸侯. In the preface to the poem “The Sixth Month,” it is also noted that “if ‘Dense Dew’ were abandoned, myriads of states would drift astray” 湛露廢則萬國離矣. Maoshi zhengyi, 10.900, 10.907.
61 Jing, or Liujing 六莖, was the music of Zhuanxu 顓頊. Wuying was the music of Ku. “Deep sorrowful longing” alludes to Jizha’s comment on the “Airs of Tang.” See note 31.
62 Marquis Wen of Wei 魏文侯 (fl. 5th c. BCE) once asked Zixia 子夏, the disciple of Confucius, about the difference between the “ancient music” and “new music.” The Marquis described his experience with the following words: “When I put on my ritual cap and listen to the ancient music, I do not lie down for fear that I might fall asleep. When I listen to the music from Zheng or Wei, I do not know weariness” 吾端冕而聽古樂則唯恐卧, 聽鄭衞之音則不知倦. Li ji zhengyi, 38.3334.
63 Weizi 微子 was a loyal official of the Shang dynasty. After King Wu of the Zhou conquered the Shang, Weizi was pardoned and reappointed as the official of the new dynasty. Two allusions are associated with Weizi and his songs. One is about his lament for the fallen state. It is recorded that Weizi was on his way to the Zhou court when he passed by the ruins of the former capital. When seeing the grain grow lushly around the former capital area, he lamented: “This was once the country of my parents, and now the ancestral temples and altars to the gods of earth and grain [of the former dynasty] are gone” 此故父母之國, 宗廟社稷之亡也. Then, “His mind was stirred and he felt heart-broken. He wanted to cry [but he could not] since he was on the way to serve in the Zhou court; he wanted to weep [but he could not] since it would make him resemble a woman. He thus extended and externalized his emotions, and composed an elegant tune” 志動心悲. 欲哭則爲朝周, 欲泣則近婦人, 推而廣之作雅聲. Yuefu shiji, 57.831. The second reference is to “Weizi’s Tune” (“Weizi cao” 微子操): “Weizi lamented the looming collapse of the Shang dynasty, but there was nothing that he could do. Seeing swans flying high in the sky, he plucked the zither and composed this tune” 微子傷殷之將亡, 終不可奈何, 見鴻鵠高飛, 援琴作操. It is cited by Huan Tan 桓譚 (23 BCE–56 CE), in Huan Tan Xin lun jiao zhu 桓譚新論校注 (Anhui: Huangshan shushe, 2017), 111.
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Lu Kou
Lu Kou is Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University. His primary fields of teaching and research are classical Chinese poetry, early medieval Chinese literature, and cultural history of medieval China.