THE SOUNDSCAPE OF THE HUAINANZI 淮南子 : POETRY, PERFORMANCE, PHILOSOPHY, AND PRAXIS IN EARLY CHINA

This article proposes that oral performance could be a philosophical activity in early China. The focus is on the Huainanzi , a densely rhymed philosophical treatise compiled by Liu An in the second century b.c.e. I show that the tome contains various sound-correlated poetic forms that are intended not only to enable textual performance but also, by means of aural mimesis, to encourage the intuitive understanding of its philosophical messages. Thus scholars of ancient poetry, philosophy, or intellectual history, despite being habituated to reading silently and observing disciplinary boundaries, should be attentive to these sonic patterns in order to do justice to the poetic-cum -philosophical richness and originality of this text. More importantly, I argue that these poetic forms enable readers and audiences to experience, embody, and, above all, enact the Way through textual performance. Thanks to the sound patterns of the Huainanzi , the somatic processes of aural reading and philosophical praxis can occur simultaneously. Vocalization becomes an actionable and repeatable spiritual exercise, which facilitates the intuitive understanding and internalization of philosophical values. In other words, the perennial knowing–doing gap is heroically closed by the Huainanzi .


Introduction: Expressing the Inexpressible
The marriage between poetry and philosophy sometimes begs the question of why such a tremendous literary effort has to be expended when one simply wants to make philosophical arguments.In 54 b.c.e., Lucretius wrote his only surviving work, the epic poem De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things), which lays out the key doctrines of Epicureanism.Lucretius says in Book 1 of the poem that he chose to circulate these philosophical lessons in verse in order to make his dense philosophical reasoning more palatable, as a doctor smears honey around the rim of a cup of bitter wormwood to trick a child into drinking it. 2But in the case of the Huainanzi 淮南子 (The Master of Huainan; c. 139 b.c.e.), one of the most poetic and densely rhymed philosophical texts in ancient China, 3 its compiler Liu An 劉安 (c.179-122 b.c.e.), king of Huainan, never explains why he crafted a poetic tome.
One possibility is that its poetic diction serves to facilitate textual performance.After analyzing the poetic language of the Huainanzi, Martin Kern argues that its postface, "A Summary of the Essentials" (Yao lüe 要略; chapter 21), is a fu-rhapsody 賦 that was performed at the imperial court when Liu An paid his state visit to his eighteen-yearold nephew, Emperor Wu 漢武帝 (r.141-87 b.c.e.), in 139 b.c.e. and presented him with the tome. 4His finding has been widely accepted. 5ichael Nylan goes further and suggests that "the Huainanzi chapters were performed when first presented to the Han court." 6Yet to say that the promotional postface is performable is one thing, to say that the entire book is a performance text is quite another.Although not only the postface but also all the Huainanzi chapters are poetic and densely rhymed, little or no scholarly effort has been made to prove that all or some chapters of the Huainanzi, in addition to the postface, were also performed.Moreover, the idea that the entire Huainanzi is a performance text may seem counterintuitive.Could such a lengthy text (130,000 words) be performed?Are there any special poetic forms in the Huainanzi that make it particularly suitable for performance?Do poetic forms in a philosophical text convey philosophical meanings? 7hat could be gained by transforming a philosophical treatise into a performable one?Above all, was textual performance in early China merely the aural presentation of (written) texts, 8 or could it also be a philosophical activity or spiritual exercise?To answer these questions, this preliminary study focuses on the first two chapters of the Huainanzi, the two early expositions of Zhuangzian philosophy, 9 which contain some of the text's most striking poetic forms. 10revious research has shed much light on how Huainanzi 1 and 2 allude to, interpret, or, according to Michael Puett, misread the 6.Michael Nylan, "Note on Logical Connectives in the Huainanzi," in The Huainanzi and Textual Production in Early China, ed.Queen and Puett, 261-63.
7. By far the most detailed investigation of the argumentative functions of early Chinese literary forms in philosophical prose is Joachim Gentz and Dirk Meyer, eds., Literary Form of Argument in Early China (Leiden: Brill, 2015).
8. For the vocality of texts, see Jennifer Richards, Voices and Books in the English Renaissance: A New History of Reading (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019).9. Opinions differ as to whether Huainanzi 1 is based primarily on the Laozi or the Zhuangzi.Although many scholars argue that it is an exposition on the Laozi, Fang Yong 方勇 has convincingly suggested that it is based on Zhuangzian philosophy.See Fang Yong, Zhuangzi xueshi 莊子學史, 3 vols.(Beijing: Renmin, 2008), vol. 1, 246-48.Note, however, that since the Zhuangzi quotes (and probably also fabricates) many Laozi sayings, it is not surprising that allusions to both the Laozi and the Zhuangzi abound in both chapters.
10.A limitation of this preliminary study is that it does not provide an exhaustive analysis of the use of rhyme and meter in the entire Huainanzi.That said, it can be observed that it is much easier to identify the special poetic forms under discussion in Huainanzi 1 and 2 than in the subsequent chapters.This impressionistic statement, which may be revised or refuted in the future, may make sense if one recalls that a big book like the Huainanzi was relatively new and rare before the era of Emperor Wu.In other words, the Huainanzi must have been unfamiliar to contemporary readers.Readability and readers' attention span become emergent issues when it comes to a big book like this.Thus, it is possible that these creative poetic forms were deliberately and densely planted at the beginning of the tome to quickly engage the readers and entice them to continue reading.
Zhuangzi. 11Puett's conclusion is striking, as he argues that by violently misreading the Zhuangzi the authors of the Huainanzi actually claim that they understand Zhuangzi better than Zhuangzi himself; 12 it is they who "explicate and make universalizable what Zhuangzi intuitively understood." 13 Indeed, Zhuangzi's emphasis on intuition is reflected in his distrust of language.According to the Zhuangzi, the Way is something inexpressible.It can be attained only by intuition and/or repeated practice of worldly techniques (such as dissecting oxen).This is why one can find such radical claims as "the great way cannot be spoken of" (dadao bucheng 大道不稱) and "the great argument cannot be put into words" (dabian buyan 大辯不言) in the Zhuangzi. 14In other words, the verbal representation of the Way is not sufficient to capture the essence of the Way, let alone allow for the daily praxis of the Way-the ultimate purpose of understanding the Way.
But if language is a necessary evil to transmit the Way to others and to posterity, then the Zhuangzi poses a tremendous challenge to the hermeneutics of its philosophy: how could one explicate and make universalizable the Way with the assistance of language without closing the door to intuitive understanding? 15 In the following, I suggest that the authors 11.Michael Puett, "Violent Misreadings: The Hermeneutics of Cosmology in the Huainanzi," Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 72 (2000), 29-47.
15.The propositional force of language confines, defines, and clarifies meaning.However, since the all-encompassing and constantly changing Way is indefinable and inexpressible, literary devices such as metaphors, puns, paradoxes, quotations, endless footnote continued on next page PETER TSUNG KEI WONG of Huainanzi 1 and 2, in response to the Zhuangzi's challenge, invented several sound-correlated poetic forms that are intended to create a space for intuitive understanding by conveying philosophical messages beyond the lexical level of meaning.Thus, to fully experience the book's philosophical richness, readers of the Huainanzi must move beyond the surface verbal meaning and pay attention to the text's acoustic dimension.More importantly, I show that these carefully crafted poetic forms enable readers to experience, embody, and, above all, enact the Way through vocalization. 16In other words, by inventing these poetic forms and transforming the Huainanzi into a performance text, Liu An and his retainers heroically closed the perennial gaps between "knowing the Way" (zhi dao 知道), "transmitting the Way to others" (chuan dao 傳道), and "practicing the Way" (xing dao 行道). 17In this light, the Huainanzi's contribution to Chinese philosophy is tremendous, and its originality, which has often been underestimated, is in fact profound.

Rhyme and Mimesis
Rhyme in early Chinese philosophical prose is by now welldocumented. 18But the reasons why these texts rhyme have yet to be thoroughly explored. 19In the following, I show that rhyme in the Huainanzi serves to mimetically represent the subject matters, such as the Way.The vocalization of these Way-related paragraphs thus enables the embodiment of the Way.

Mimetically Representing the Subject Matters
A paragraph in Huainanzi 1, "The Original Way" (Yuandao 原道), states-by evoking the Laozi 20 -that those who attain the Way, despite having weak intent as well as empty and tranquil minds, can always demonstrate strength and efficaciousness when reacting to urgent situations.The paragraph can be divided into five subsections on the basis of the semantic change, rhyme, and introductory markers (gu 故, suowei 所謂, and shigu 是故): 21

故得道者，
Thus, those who attain the Way: 志弱而事強， 陽平 A Their wills are supple, but their deeds are strong.心虛而應當。 陽平 A Their minds are empty, but their responses are dead on.Here, the rhymes convey meanings in at least three ways.First, the beginning of a new subsection is always marked by either a new rhyme (subsection 5) or an unrhymed sentence (subsections 2, 3, and 4; the discontinuities in rhyme are marked by asterisks.)Second, both the thesis statement (subsection 1) and conclusion (subsection 5) of the paragraph are highlighted by rhymes.Third, there is a striking correlation between the density of rhymes and the content in each subsection: the subsections (1, 3, 4, and 5) that contain strength-related words (gang 剛, qiang 強, and li 力) are all densely rhymed, whereas the sole "weakness" subsection ( 2) is sparsely rhymed.It seems that rhyme serves to mimetically represent the subject matter in each subsection, especially when the text is read aloud.A stark contrast between the "weakness" subsection and the "strength" subsections is created at both the semantic and acoustic levels.

On
Another paragraph in Huainanzi 1 states that the Way is characterized by tranquility.Thus, people who possess the Way should, as a corollary, possess tranquil minds.To possess tranquil minds, people must not be aroused or distracted by external things.If desires for external things persist, then emotions evolve and disturb one's mind, and eventually, the Way is lost.This Huainanzi paragraph initially seems only to paraphrase the Zhuangzi's teaching that people can enjoy freedom only after they are free from desires for external things. 22It can be divided into three subsubsections on the basis of rhyme and meter.歌平 D misfortunes will successively follow.

On Tranquility, the Ideal Mental State
故 Thus, 心不憂樂， 德之至也； when the mind is not worried or happy, it achieves the perfection of Potency.

通而不變， 靜之至也；
When the mind is inalterably expansive, it achieves the perfection of tranquility.

嗜欲不載， 虛之至也；
When lusts and desires do not burden the mind, it achieves the perfection of emptiness.

無所好憎， 平之至也；
When the mind is without likes and dislikes, it achieves the perfection of equanimity.

不與物殽， 粹之至也。
When the mind is not tangled up in things, it achieves the perfection of purity.

能此五者 則通於神明。
If the mind is able to achieve these five qualities, then it will break through to spirit-like illumination.

通於神明者
To break through to spirit-like illumination 得其內者也。 is to realize what is intrinsic.(Lau, 30-31) (Major et al., 1.14, 66-67) The first subsection presents the thesis statement, which defines the Way by first stating what it is not.The second subsection focuses on the harm brought about by the fluctuation of emotions.The third recapitulates the message of the first, but this time, it directly states what the ideal mental state is.Notably, the second subsection is densely rhymed whereas the first and last subsections are not rhymed at all.Again, a stark contrast is created, but why?I suggest that the highly musical subsection 2, characterized by its dense rhymes, mimetically represents the emotional fluctuations that it describes.More striking is that the A-B-A-B rhyme scheme, as shown in the first four lines of the subsection, perfectly mimics the fluctuation of emotions described by these lines.In contrast, subsections 1 and 3 are not rhymed, thereby mimicking the equanimity prescribed by the two sections.Furthermore, the mantra-like language, the recurrent syntactical patterns ("X 者, Y 之 Z 也" in subsection 1 and "X 不 Y, Z 之 至也" in subsection 3), and the anadiplosis (tongyu shenming 通於神明) in these "equanimity subsections" create a repetitive and monotonous aural effect that linguistically mimics (and potentially causes) a stable mental state.In other words, when the entire paragraph is read aloud, readers and audience first intuitively sense and experience mental stability, then mental instability, and, eventually, mental stability.

Mimetically Representing the Nondominant and Circular Way
Thus far we know that, from the perspective of human beings, the Way is related to tranquility.Once we possess a peaceful and undisturbed mind, the Way automatically resides in us.But what is the intrinsic nature of the Way, and how exactly does it operate?Huainanzi 1 explains that the Way gives rise to myriad things but does not exercise control over them.At first, the idea once again seems to be nothing more than a commonplace allusion to "Lao-Zhuang" non-action philosophy.It seems that the Huainanzi has contributed nothing original in terms of philosophy.After analyzing the rhyme scheme and metrical pattern, however, the originality of the Huainanzi becomes obvious.

夫太上之道，
The most exalted Way 生萬物而不有， 之上 A generates the myriad things but does not possess them, 成化像而弗宰。 之上 A completes the transforming images but does not dominate them.

The Myriad Creatures
累之而不高， [The myriad creatures try to] pile it up, but the Way will not get higher; 墮之而不下， 魚上 D collapse it, but it will not get lower.

益之而不眾，
Add to it, but it will not increase.損之而不寡， 魚上 D Take away from it, but it will not decrease.

斲之而不薄，
Split it, but it will not get thinner.殺之而不殘， 元平 E Kill it, but it will not be destroyed.

鑿之而不深，
Bore into it, but it will not deepen.填之而不淺。 元平 E Fill it in, but it will not get shallower.Based on the rhyme scheme and metrical pattern, this paragraph is divided into five subsections; the change in rhyme and meter coincides with and reflects the change in grammatical subject.In fact, the paragraph makes sense only after one realizes that the grammatical subjects of the five subsections are, in sequence, the Way, the myriad creatures, the Way, the myriad creatures, and the Way.In other words, the rhymes are not merely dispensable embellishment; without them, the shift in the grammatical subject becomes much less discernible, and, as a result, the meaning of the entire paragraph may well be distorted.Still, why did the authors design such a peculiar structure for a paragraph that describes the Way?Why not simply let the Way be the subject of the entire paragraph? 24Can the paragraph be paraphrased in a plain 23.The translation is slightly modified to emphasize that the Way is the subject.24.Compare Laozi 51, which is the source of the Huainanzi paragraph under discussion: "Thus, the way gives them life and rears them ["them" refers to the myriad creatures]; Brings them up and nurses them; Brings them to fruition and maturity; Feeds and shelters them.It gives them life yet claims no possession; It benefits them yet exacts no gratitude; It is the steward yet exercises no authority.Such is called the mysterious virtue."(故道生之，德畜之，長之育之，亭之毒之，養之覆之。生而弗有， footnote continued on next page and straightforward manner without any loss of I read the alternation of grammatical subjects, which are emphasized by the changes in rhyme and meter, as a consciously crafted literary form that conveys philosophical meanings.By allowing the myriad creatures to be the grammatical subject in some of the subsections of the paragraph that describes the Way, the idea of the Way being "nondominant," which is a description presented at the very beginning of the paragraph, is beautifully translated into the parallel linguistic realm: the Way does not dominate the real world that it creates, just as the Way as a grammatical subject does not dominate the paragraph devoted to it.More important, by performing this paragraph aloud, the reciter would activate the embedded rhyme scheme, discern the implicit change of grammatical subjects, role-play both the Way and the myriad creatures, and eventually gain the all-encompassing perspective and actualize the nondominant feature of the Way.

The Great
Notably, the paragraph is concluded by a subsection in which the Way is the subject.This concluding remark stands out as being the most densely rhymed of all the subsections.Furthermore, every sentence there ends with xi 兮, a poetic marker of exclamation.In other words, the greatness of the Way is now celebrated through the power of the highly emotional and musical language.This linguistic feature reveals that the nondominant Way is, after all, the ultimate source of and therefore superior to all things.
Curiously, the subject of both the first and last subsections of the paragraph is the Way.This cyclical textual structure emphasizes that the Way is both the source and the normative destination of all things.According to the Laozi, The Way begets one; one begets two; two begets three; three begets the myriad creatures. 25

萬物並作，吾以觀復。夫物芸芸，各復歸其根。
The myriad creatures all rise together, and I watch their return.The teeming creatures all return to their separate roots. 26e Way gives birth to myriad creatures, and myriad creatures eventually return to the Way.The textual structure of the therefore intuitively experience how the Way operates by reading the paragraph aloud.The cyclicity of the Way is also expounded in the Zhuangzi.There, the metaphor of a potter's wheel (tao jun 陶鈞), which is circular, is used to describe how the world operates. 27The wheel rotates so fast that the distinction between different points on the circumference (which signifies different perspectives and/or myriad things) blurs.The Zhuangzi adds that only those who attain the Way can stay at the center of the circle, remain impartial to various points on the circumference, and remain unchanged and unmoved themselves. 28Now, Huainanzi 1 endorses this Zhuangzian insight and frequently invokes the metaphor of the potter's wheel. 29As we can see at the beginning of Huainanzi 1, three adjacent paragraphs there describe the circular pattern of change, and all of them show a similar syntactical pattern "A 而 B." 30 (Note: er 而 can mean either "and" or "but.") Flowing along like a wellspring, bubbling up like a font, it is empty but gradually becomes full.Roiling and boiling, it is murky but gradually becomes clear.(Major et Ghosts departed and spirits entered.Dragons arose and phoenixes alighted.Like the potter's wheel turning, like the wheel hub spinning, they circled round and round.Both carved and polished, they returned to the Unhewn.(Major et al., 1.2, 49-50)   The pattern of the circular movement is only implied in the first two examples and is spelled out in example 3: "like the potter's wheel turning, like the wheel hub spinning, they circled round and round" (鈞旋轂 轉, 周而復匝).Note that the recurrent rhyming pattern of these circularmovement-related lines, namely, "the circular rhyming pattern," is remarkable.

Example 1: BABA (B-A-B and A-B-A) Example 2: ABCBABCB (A-B-C-B-A, B-C-B, B-A-B, and C-B-A-B-C)
Example 3: ABBA Admittedly, the rhyming patterns in examples 1 and 3 could be coincidental as "alternating rhyming" (jiaoyun 交韻) (A-B-A-B) is a common phenomenon in early Chinese texts. 31Yet, not only the adjacency of the three examples but also the exceptional ABCBA and CBABC patterns in example 2 strongly suggest that the recurrent rhyme scheme is a carefully crafted poetic form.Above all, the circular pattern of rhyming perfectly mimics the circular movement of the Way, which is described by these paragraphs.When the chapter is read aloud, readers and audiences can intuitively experience how the circular Way works.And when they perform these paragraphs regularly (similar to Cook Ding in Zhuangzi 3, who keeps dissecting oxen and eventually understands the Way), they are more likely to internalize and physicalize the cyclicity of the Way.Seen in this light, a text facilitates not only the cognitive understanding of the Way but also its praxis; theory and practice become one.In other words, one understands the nature of the Way and concurrently puts what one learns about the Way into practice during the reading process but not necessarily thereafter; Liu An intended to start a reading revolution.

Meter, Rhythm, and Mimesis
The functions of metrical patterns in early Chinese philosophical prose have rarely been discussed.In the following, I show that the metrical 31.On "alternating rhyming," see Wang Li 王力, Shijing yundu 詩經韻讀 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 1980), 70-75.patterns (and nonpatterns) in Huainanzi 2, "The Original Genuineness" (Chuzhen 俶真), 32 mimetically represent virtues and encode the process of inner cultivation. 33metically Representing the Virtues Huainanzi 2 denigrates humaneness (ren 仁) and rightness (yi 義) by claiming that they are derived from the fundamental Way (dao 道) and Potency (de 德): The Way has both a warp and a weft linked together.[The Perfected] attain the unity of the Way and then automatically join with its thousand branches and ten thousand leaves … Thus, they take the Way as their pole; Potency as their line; Rites and Music as their hook; Humaneness and Rightness as their bait; they throw them into the rivers; they float them into the seas.Through the myriad things are boundless in numbers, which of them will they not possess?(Major  et al., 2.4, 89)   Way and Potency are superior to and therefore more desirable than humaneness and rightness.Again, similar sayings abound in both the Laozi and the Zhuangzi. 34The message is also reiterated in the following paragraph in Huainanzi 2, which can be divided into four subsections on the basis of the change in subject matter: Now, to accumulate debt of gratitude and multiply generosity, gather up love and concentrate kindness.With a glorious reputation, love and protect the myriad people and hundred clans, causing them to be joyful and delight in their natures; this is Humaneness.

On Rightness
To achieve great merit, establish an illustrious name, support ruler and minister, correct superiors and inferiors, distinguish kin from stranger, sort out the noble and the base, preserve the endangered kingdoms, continue the broken [ancestral] lines.To break off the rebellious and control the disorderly, revive destroyed ancestral temples, and establish those with no descendants; this is Rightness.

On Potency
To block off the nine orifices, to store up the attention of the mind, to discard hearing and vision, to return to having no awareness, to vastly wander outside the dust and dirt and freely roam in the activity of effortless, to inhale the yin and exhale the yang, and to completely harmonize with the myriad things; this is Potency.

Thesis Statement
For these reasons, when the Way is scattered, there is Potency.When Potency leaks away, there is Humaneness and Rightness.When Humaneness and Rightness are established, the Way and its Potency are abandoned.(Major et al., 2.8, 96)   Old Chinese was a largely monosyllabic language: one Chinese character represented one syllable.Thus, the stark contrast in the metrical pattern between subsections 1 and 2 immediately captures one's attention.Although subsection 2 mostly consists of regular trisyllabic units, subsection 1 is metrically looser and less tidy.Furthermore, subsection 2 has a fast-paced and forceful 1-2 (verb-object) rhythm when read aloud, whereas subsection 1 is characterized by the frequent use of reduplicates and repetitive phrases (1.xinxinran 訢訢然; 2. oufu 嘔符, which is similar to yuyan 嫗掩; 3. jihui 積惠, which is semantically similar to zhonghou 重厚, leiai 累愛, and xien 襲恩; 4. wanmin 萬民, which is similar to baixing 百姓), which significantly slows the rhythm of this subsection.Again, one can argue that the contrasts in the metrical pattern and rhythm are coincidental.I will show, however, that there is actually strong correlation between 1) the contrast in the metrical pattern and rhythm between the two subsections; and 2) the contrast in humaneness (discussed in subsection 1) and rightness (discussed in subsection 2).
To begin with, the difference between humaneness and rightness is succinctly explicated in The Six Virtues 六德, a Warring States bamboo text from Guodian 郭店 tomb no.1: In the order within the [family] gates, goodwill holds check over rightness; in the order beyond the [family] gates, rightness cuts short goodwill.The manner of humaneness is flexible and cohesive; the manner of rightness is steadfast and uncompromising. 35t simply, humaneness is lenient, loving, forgiving, flexible, and loosely disciplined.It ties people together.In contrast, rightness is justice-driven, absolute, steadfast, and forceful.In this light, the two contrastive metrical patterns mimic humaneness and rightness respectively: the looser pattern of subsection 1 mimics the flexibility of humaneness whereas the regular and orderly pattern and the resulting vigorous rhythm of subsection 2 aptly mimics the resoluteness and steadfastness of rightness.
In fact, the correlation between moral qualities and aural effects was evident in early China; the two contrastive rhythms discussed above belong to two sound types in the Chinese musical tradition.Specifically, Wang Bao's 王褒 (d.61 b.c.e.) Rhapsody on the Panpipes 洞簫賦 compares and contrasts "sounds of humaneness" (ren sheng 仁聲) and "martial sounds" (wu sheng 武聲).Wang Bao defines "sounds of humaneness" as "docile and compliant, humble and meek" (優柔温潤): "Their sounds of humaneness are like the mild warmth of a southern breeze, generously dispensing kindness" (其仁聲，則若颽風紛披，容與而施惠).The gentleness of the sounds of humaneness thus captures and mirrors the characteristics of humaneness at the aural level, just as the loose metrical pattern of subsection 1 reflects the flexibility of humaneness.In contrast, in describing "martial sounds," Wang Bao states that "the morals and lessons contained in its measures and rhythms, correspond indeed principles of rightness.They surge with fury, are roused to passion-Oh, how like the brave warrior!" (科條譬類，誠應義理，澎濞慷慨， 一何壯士) and "their martial sounds are like booming blasts of thunder, speeding swiftly, rumbling and roaring" (故其武聲，則若雷霆輘輷， 佚豫以沸㥜). 36The swiftness and strength of the martial sounds mimetically represent the characteristics of "the principles of rightness" (yi li 義理) at the aural level, just as the regular trisyllabic metrical pattern and the resulting fast-paced, vigorous rhythm of subsection 2 mirror the steadfastness of rightness.

Mimetically Representing the Process of Inner Cultivation
Nevertheless, one may wonder why subsection 3 of the Huainanzi paragraph under discussion, which describes Potency, encompasses both types of metrical patterns discussed above: the metrical pattern of subsection 3 shifts from being trisyllabic (cf.subsection 2) to irregular and untidy (cf.subsection 1).There are, I suggest, two possible and compatible explanations.First, as mentioned above, both humaneness and rightness are derived from Potency.That is, Potency (the root) gives birth to and encompasses them.Thus, at the linguistic level, subsection 3 (Potency) also encompasses the metrical patterns of both subsections 1 (humaneness) and 2 (rightness).
Second, a notable intertextual parallel suggests that the metrical change within subsection 3 is not arbitrary or coincidental.More specifically, a paragraph in Huainanzi 7, which is also devoted to the explication of Zhuangzian philosophy, is both semantically and metrically similar to subsection 3.Both describe how one can attain the Way.

Part B 芒然仿佯于塵埃之外，
To vastly wander outside the dust and dirt, 而消搖于無事之業， and freely roam in the activity of effortless, 含陰吐陽， to inhale the yin and exhale the yang, 而萬物和同者， and to harmonize with the myriad things; 德也。 this is Potency.cultivate the techniques of the mind, 養以和， nourish these with harmony, 持以適； take hold of these through suitability.

Part B 樂道而忘賤， They delight in the Way and forget
what is lowly; 安德而忘貧， they find repose in Potency and forget what is base.性有不欲， Since their natures desire nothing, 無欲而不得， they attain whatever they desire.

心有不樂，
Since their minds delight in nothing, 無樂而弗為， there are no delights in which they do not partake.無益於情者不以累德， Those who do not exceed their genuine responses do not allow them to tie down their Potency.
不便於性者不以滑和， Those who find ease in their natures do not allow them to injure their inner harmony.故縱體肆意， Thus, with their relaxed bodies and untrammeled awareness, 而度制可以為天下儀。 their standards and regulations, they can become models for the empire.Lau, 239-40; Major et al., 7.14,  257-258.
By juxtaposing the two comparable paragraphs, 37 one immediately that they both begin with four trisyllabic units (part A).Furthermore, part A of both paragraphs emphasizes the importance of self-regulation and restraint.The metrical pattern then loosens in part B. Curiously, part B of both paragraphs contains numerous freedom-related phrases (such as fang yan 仿佯, xiao yao 消搖, zong ti 縱體, and si yi 肆意).Thus, I suggest that the change in the metrical pattern within subsection 3 of the above-noted paragraph in Huainanzi 2, which is an exposition of Zhuangzian thought, beautifully encodes the Zhuangzian cultivation process that is described in Zhuangzi 6: So I began explaining and kept at him for three days, and after that he was able to put the world outside himself.When he had put the world outside himself, I kept at him for seven days more, and after that he was able to put things outside himself.When he had put things outside himself, I kept at him for nine days more, and after that he was able to put life outside himself. 38 is said that one must exercise self-restraint and self-governance at the early stage of cultivation if one is to refrain from external things and remain mentally stable.Once the cultivation reaches a critical point, one eventually gains the utmost freedom-being free from the fear of deathas the boundary between life and death has now been forgotten and obliterated.In other words, one must first be self-disciplined in order to eventually be undisciplined and free.In this light, the change in rhythm within the discussed paragraphs in Huainanzi 2 and 7 mimics the Zhuangzian cultivation process on an aural level: from strictness to flexibility.Above all, rhythm can be contagious. 39Thus, in experiencing the process of inner cultivation through vocalization, oral performance, praxis, and the cognitive understanding of the Way once again become one.All the sound-correlated poetic forms noted above mark the Huainanzi as a performance text; at the same time, their poetic inventions elevate the philosophical depth of textual performance to an unprecedented 37.The difference between Potency and the Way is subtle: Potency is the Way actualized in the human realm whereas the Way exists everywhere.
38.The modern experience of reading any ancient text is that one silently reads the original text side by side with its commentaries.When one encounters a difficult word or expression, one consults dictionaries.The assumption behind this bookish approach is that if one knows the meaning of every single word in an ancient text, one knows or at least comes closer to the overall meaning of the text. 42In this light, the Huainanzi seems a particularly demanding text, which contains difficult phrases and complicated sentence patterns everywhere. 43Emperor Wu, however, did not have even a single written commentary in hand. 44How, then, could he possibly read and understand it?But could this be a wrong question?What if the Huainanzi was not intended for silent reading only?
The cumulative weight of all the evidence presented above strongly suggests that Huainanzi 1 and 2 are performance texts: the intended aural effect and philosophical implications of these sound-correlated poetic forms could be activated and brought out only by trained reciters fully versed in its linguistic artistry and complexities.One should also bear in mind that not only Huainanzi 1 and 2 but also other subsequent 40.With this, I do not mean to suggest that every use of rhyme and metrical pattern in the Huainanzi serves to convey meaning.A majority of these usages may simply serve aesthetic, mnemonic, and euphonic purposes.Nevertheless, it is likely that the reciters had access to script-like bamboo texts where particular passages were marked for emphatic performance while other rhymed paragraphs were to be read aloud in a plain manner.For evidence of such marks in early Chinese manuscripts, see the excellent discussion in Rens Krijgsman, "An Inquiry into the Liu An, the King of Huainan, was a person fond of texts and of playing the zither … He invited several thousand retainers and masters of prescriptions and techniques who created "inner writings" in twentyone bamboo rolls [that is, the Huainanzi] … At that time Emperor Wu was fond of art and literature.Because An was among the uncles of the Emperor, and he was eloquent, erudite, and skilled at literary expression, the Emperor respected him greatly.When responding to An's letters or rewarding him, the Emperor regularly summoned Sima Xiangru and others to inspect the draft before sending it out.
In the beginning, when An visited the court, he presented the "inner chapters" [that is, the Huainanzi] that he had created.As they were newly produced, the Emperor liked them and carefully stored them in the imperial library.He then tasked [An] to compose a fu-rhapsody on "Encountering Sorrow"; 47  Emperor] discoursed with him about success and failure and about prescriptions and They also chanted eulogies, which lasted until after dark. 48ements alluding to oral performance abound: Liu An is fond of both texts and music; the famous fu-rhapsodist Sima Xiangru is called on to review the Emperor's draft letters to Liu An; Liu An himself presents to Emperor Wu a fu-rhapsody on the poem "Encountering Sorrow" and two other performable "eulogies" (song 頌); 49 and the two men's recitations (fusong 賦頌) last into the night.Above all, the Han shu implies that it was only after Liu An presented the Huiananzi that Emperor Wu requested the rhapsody on "Encountering Sorrow."Note that only the Huainanzi chapters (Huainanzi 1 and 2 in particular), 50 not the postface, contain numerous allusions to the Chu ci 楚辭 anthology, in which "Encountering Sorrow" is the central text. 51In other words, the chronology given in the Han shu strongly suggests that Huainanzi 1 and 2, which contain numerous allusions to "Encountering Sorrow," had been performed first.The oral performance must have aroused the Emperor's interest in the Chu ci, and as a result, Liu An was asked to compose (and probably also perform) a rhapsody on "Encountering Sorrow."Stated simply, both the internal linguistic evidence and contextual information suggest that the Huainanzi was performed at the Han court.

Conclusion: Performativity and Originality
The Han shu passage cited above emphasizes that the Huainanzi was "newly produced" (xin chu 新出).Most likely because of its newness, Emperor Wu liked it very much.Paradoxically, the originality of the Huainanzi has often been challenged by modern scholars as it borrows extensively from an array of pre-existing texts. 52put, ancient reader(s) found the text new and exciting while quite a few modern readers found it unoriginal and mundane.How are we to make sense of such a considerable difference in terms of readers' perceptions between the ancients and the moderns?I suggest that although the Huainanzi often invokes the teachings of Zhuangzi (and Laozi), its originality is manifested in its carefully and beautifully crafted poetic forms.These literary forms not only convey meanings beyond the lexical level but also, perhaps for the first time in Chinese history, allow for the praxis of the Way in the process of reading and recitation.Liu An, having the chance to present the text to Emperor Wu in person, must have demonstrated to him its indispensable performative dimension in extenso.During the subsequent transmission process, however, the sounds were gone, and long live the written text.Not only the original performance context but also the linguistic-performative-philosophical dimension have gradually been forgotten.
Finally, one may ask, did the Huainanzi authors invent these soundrelated literary devices only to show off their originality, perhaps out of the anxiety of influence?The answer is yes and no.On the one hand, the authors of the Huainanzi responded creatively to the Zhuangzi's challenge by inventing highly original sound-correlated literary forms to convey meaning in a nonverbal and musical way.On the other hand, they designed these poetic forms precisely because they were heavily indebted to the Zhuangzi to the extent that they followed Zhuangzi's preference for sound and music, as implied by the following passage from Zhuangzi 6. heard it from Bookworm's grandson, who heard it from Wide-eye, who heard it Eavesdrop, who heard it from Gossip, who heard it from Singsong, who heard it from Obscurity, who heard it from Mystery, who heard it from what might have been Beginning.' 53 is suggested that music and sound are relatively closer to the Way than words and texts. 54I thus speculate that this is precisely the reason why the authors expended so much effort to invent these sound-related literary forms of argument: sound and music convey the Way better than words convey it.
To put it in Zhuangzi-style paradoxical language: the originality of the Huainanzi goes hand-in-hand with the unoriginality of the Huainanzi.
35.Translation adopted with minor modifications from Scott Cook, The Bamboo Texts of Guodian: A Study & Complete Translation (Ithaca: Cornell University East Asia Program, 2012), 791-92.

Huainanzi 2 : 2 :
On Potency 德 Huainanzi 7: On the Way 道 through to the Way are not like this.理情性， They regulate the genuine responses of their natures, 治心術， 36.Translation adopted with minor modifications from David R. Knechtges, trans., Wenxuan or Selections of Refined Literature, vol.3: Rhapsodies on Natural Phenomena, Birds and Animals, Aspirations and Feelings, Sorrowful Laments, Literature, Music, and Passions (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996), 239.PETER TSUNG KEI WONG 532 https://doi.org/10.1017/eac.2022.6Published online by Cambridge University Press Huainanzi On Potency 德 Huainanzi 7: On the Way 道 to store the attention of the mind, 棄聰明， to discard hearing and vision, 反無識； to return to having no awareness.

Weak Intent:
Huainanzi yundu ji jiaokan, with references to the page numbers in the text.The English translations of the Huainanzi passages are adopted with minor modifications from John Major et al., trans.,The Huainanzi.I cite them with their section and page numbers.
Huainanzi passage mimics this cyclicity beyond the immediate lexical level.Readers can 為而弗恃，長而弗宰。是謂玄德。) Here, the Way is exactly the grammatical subject of the entire paragraph.D. C. Lau trans., Tao Te Ching: A Bilingual Edition (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 2001), 72-75.

Reading the Huainanzi in Early China: Evidence from Han shu 44
See "Da zongshi" 大宗師, pian 6, in Wang Shumin, Zhuangzi jiaoquan, vol. 1, juan 1, 235.See also Watson, The Complete Works of Zhuangzi, 46-47.39.Haun Saussy, "Contagious Rhythm: Verse as a Technique of the Body," in Critical Rhythm: The Poetics of a Literary Life Form, ed.Ben Glaser and Jonathan Culler (New York: Fordham University Press, 2019), 106-27; Deidre Shauna Lynch, Loving Literature: A Cultural History (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2015), 178..40Vocalization thus becomes an actionable and repeatable spiritual exercise, which facilitates internalization of philosophical values-in particular, one assumes, for Emperor Wu of Han, the young and impressionable recipient who was known for his appreciation and promotion of verbal artistry.41 level Formation of Readership in Early China: Using and Producing the *Yong yue 用曰 and Yinshu 引書 Manuscripts," T'oung Pao 104.1-2 (2018), 2-65.On how medieval scribes visualized rhyming patterns in Latin poetry, see Ayelet Even-Ezra, Lines of Thought: Branching Diagrams and the Medieval Mind (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2021), 119-28.41.David Knechtges, "The Emperor and Literature: Emperor Wu of the Han," in Imperial Rulership and Cultural Change in Traditional China, ed.Frederick P. Brandauer and Chun-Chieh Huang (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994), 51-76.42.The essence of this semantic approach is best summarized by Dai Zhen 戴震 (1724-1777), who was one of the leading Qing philologists.See Qian Zhongshu, Limited Views: Essays on Ideas and Letters, selected and translated by Ronald Egan (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 1998), 199.43.See Wong Tsung Kei 王棕琦, Huainanzi pianzhang jiegou kao 《淮南子》篇章結構 考 (M.Phil.Thesis, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2019), 1-3.44.The earliest commentary appeared only in the second century c.e.chapters are examples of the Western Han fu-rhapsody, 45 that many Han fu were intended for oral performance.46Thus,to fully appreciate the philosophical richness and nuances of the Huainanzi, one should be attentive to its performance context.Admittedly, there is no explicit historical record indicating that the Huainanzi was performed in early China.Consider, however, Liu An's interaction with Emperor Wu, as described in the Han shu:
having received the order in the early morning, [An] submitted [his composition] by breakfast time.He also presented "