Yong, Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, Yu, and Su: Seven Scales of Human Tone
When ancient medical texts speak of “tones,” many readers first think of Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, and Yu and their Five-Phase correspondences. The Mirror Classic of Bian Que is more mathematical: it first establishes a “standard,” then generates different tonal measures by proportional operations.
The text says:
Weight, balance, compass, square, and standard are instruments for measuring tone. Half of the inherited tone is the standard.
It then lists:
Open the seventh root of the standard: this is the measure of Yong. Multiply the standard twice and open the seventh root: the measure of Gong. Multiply the standard three times and open the seventh root: the measure of Shang. Gong multiplied by Gong is the measure of Jue; Gong multiplied by Shang is the measure of Zhi; Shang multiplied by Shang is the measure of Yu; Shang multiplied by Jue is the measure of Su.
How the terms “root” and “multiply” in the received text should be reconstructed numerically requires further textual collation, but the structure is clear: the different tones are not arbitrary names; they are generated from one reference through proportional operations.
What is the “standard”?
Section titled “What is the “standard”?”The text says, “Half of the inherited tone is the standard.” A basic measure is first derived from an individual’s inherited tone, and that becomes the reference from which other tonal measures are inferred.
This resembles the first series:
- in time, first establish one breath;
- in space, first establish proportional bone measure;
- in tonal scale, first establish a standard.
Without a baseline there is no meaningful high/low or deviation.
Why are Yong and Su added to the Five Tones?
Section titled “Why are Yong and Su added to the Five Tones?”The Mirror Classic does not list only five tones. It gives seven classes: Yong, Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, Yu, and Su.
It also explains the two extra names: Yong is associated with the qi of gradual breathing during sleep, while Su is called “the tone of channel-departing fluid qi.” This suggests that the tonal system is not merely transplanted from musical theory, but expanded to cover different physiological states.
It is therefore best to treat the seven tones first as the Mirror Classic’s own basic tonal-coordinate classes, and only then investigate their relationship with ancient music theory.
The purpose of tonal measure is not musical appreciation
Section titled “The purpose of tonal measure is not musical appreciation”The text says:
Weight and balance concern the governing responses of Hou and She; compass and square concern the transformational measures of tone and lü. All are methods for setting the standard of tone and making breath clear.
The tonal scale ultimately returns to Hou, She, breath, and channel qi transformation. It is not judging whether someone sings in tune; it makes tone and voice into tools for distinguishing differences in qi transformation.
Seven tones are only the first classification layer
Section titled “Seven tones are only the first classification layer”Even two states both classified as Gong are not necessarily identical. The Mirror Classic next divides each basic tone into ten degrees: Zheng, Shao, Zhong, Kai, Pan, Zhi, Yu, Jia, Tai, and Shang.
Thus the seven tones answer “which class?” while the ten degrees answer “where within that class?”
The next article examines this high-resolution structure of ten degrees within one tone.