Abstract

The ancient Chinese believed that the complex universe is actually a process of systematic and progressive development that can be traced to its simplest beginning, the Supreme Ultimate. In addition, the universe is also a well-coordinated system in which all things are interrelated. This composer strongly believes that such a theory of cosmic development can be applied equally to all things in the integral universe, including musical composition. He views the creation of art as reproducing the complex universe in miniature by reflecting the interacting flow of yang and yin through space or time. The understanding of the Law of Nature is the indispensable prerequisite for an organic masterpiece; ignorance of this law predicates the arbitrary creation of mediocrity. ;Based upon the symbolism, structures, and orderly sequence of the sixty-four hexagrams, this composer formulated the "I Ching Compositional System" in 1994. By using this system, he composed Under the Red Eaves for Orchestra in the same year. In the ICCS, the composer first determines the yin and yang musical elements and selects the pre-determined background structure, then constructs the middle-ground level and foreground fabric. The background structure is based on the "T'ai-chi Series" that represents the yang-yin-yang transformational path, whereas the middleground level is governed by the "Yin Yang Series" built up from the yang and yin subsets. The foreground fabric is in fact the composer's musical interpretation of the interaction of the yin and yang primal musical ideas. The procedure of the yin-yang interaction throughout the composition is guided by the composer's interpretation of the Judgments, Commentaries, and Orderly Sequence of the hexagrams. All compositions by the ICCS is the universe in miniature: music is the microcosm, Nature the macrocosm