Philosophy Of Listening In Pre-Qin

My study on the philosophy of listening is based on the writings from the Pre-Qin period. Theoretically speaking, the first question is:what is listening? According to the Pre-Qin texts, we need to "listen with our ears, mind, breath (Qi,气)and spirit (Shen,神)”.While the idea of "listening with our ears" refers to listening at intuitive and rational levels, the idea of "listening with our mind" has a bias towards rational listening. It was a consensus among the majority of Pre-Qin philosophers that the mind played a leading role in the process of listening, which means neither "listening with our ears" nor "listening with our mind" can happen without the involvement of people. In addition, Gan (感)and Xiang(象)have a close relationship with listening. In their interaction, the role of people becomes even more prominent."Listening with our breath" and "listening with our spirit" are transcendence over "listening with our ears and mind". According to The Zhuangzi and The Wenzi, they represent the highest state of listening. The attribute of "breath" and "spirit" ensures that the listener can feel empathy with what (s)he is listening during the process of listening. Their difference lies in the point that the "breath" stresses the material side while the "spirit" focuses on the spiritual. If we can rely on the help of "pulse condition" (mai-xiang,脉象),we will be able to understand the two different states of listening more deeply.The second question is why we should listen. Listening is a fundamental element in the process of political decision. The relationship between listening and the culture of the " rite s and mus ic " (li-yue,礼乐)further reveals the significance and value of listening. Listening is important in shaping the ideal personality, which is reflected in the relationship between De (德),Dao(道)and Sheng(圣)An individual can, through the process of listening, cultivate his innate spiritual virtue and put his learning into practice. Thus (s)he will be able to feel and understand the Dao, live up to its ideal and becomes a sage in the end. In fact, listening is not only a kind of cognitive ability, but also a kind of moral ability and value pursuit, which is closely related to "the way of becoming a consummate person (成人之道)”.Practicing listening appropriately in actual life is the ultimate goal of listening, which will require the right principles and attitudes. "Listening to both sides" and "balanced listening" are the two most distinctive methods of listening in the Pre-Qin era. In the process of listening, the listener will discriminate what (s)he is listening by following certain standards, and try to "listen to both sides" after initial screening. This process shows the active involvement of the listener all the time. Listening and Speaking is interrelated, and Action is the end result of listening. If one takes listening only in its verbal form and fails to translate it into real behavior, (s)he will miss the meaning and value of listening totally.In the light of the relationship between the various concepts and categories of listening, we know that listening is not just a momentary act, but an ongoing process of behavior. For this reason, listening is deeply related to ears, sounds, Gan, Xiang, mind, saying, action, De, Dao, Sheng, and so on. It is also in the communication with these concepts and categories that listening is able to occur, and to be seen and understood. As a result, with the help of listening, we will be enabled to discover a different world and a different inner self.