노자철학의 音聲 개념 연구 : 도가 악론 연구의 출발점으로서

Abstract

The Lao-tsŭ 老子 has been studied and commented constantly for about 2000 years, and yet there remain some passages that need to be further clarified. Among them the chapter 41, ‘Ta-yin Hsi-shêng’ 大音希聲, and the chapter 2, ‘Yin-shêng Hsiang-ho’ 音聲相和, can be picked up as one of the most important passages concerning Lao-tsŭ's philosophy of art. This paper begins with the shortcomings of previous studies regarding the interpretation of these chapters. Most of the commentators have failed to give an adequate account of the concept of ‘Yin-shêng Hsiang-ho’ because they failed to understand that yin 音 and sheng 聲 stand in opposition. Contemporary Chinese scholars specialized in the philosophy of music also fail to show the relationship between ‘Ta-yin Hsi-shêng’ and ‘Yin-shêng Hsiang-ho’; although they take a step forward in understanding the relationship between yin and sheng, they come to an absurd conclusion that Lao-tsŭ rejects the culture of music as well as culture in general. This paper shows that yin and sheng in the Lao-tsŭ have a relation so called ‘Hsiang-fan Hsiang-ch'êng’ 相反相成; it means that yin 音 refers to “the sound to which humans give meanings” and sheng 聲 refers to “the sound in a spontaneous natural state.” Yin further refers to “the musical note comprehended conceptually by human mind,” sheng to "the actual musical sound." In sum, Lao-tsŭ tries to express the Tao 道 that makes music through the concept of ‘Ta-yin Hsi-shêng’; nevertheless, he also attempts to show that yin and sheng complete each other and that they are not to be misunderstood as building a hierarchical structure.