Genes are DNA segments with genetic effects, which are the structural and functional units of an organism's inheritance.

As far back as 1885, Mendel introduced the term "genetic factor" and in 1909, the Danish geneticist Wilhelm Ludwig Johannsen introduced the term "gene", but it was only a product of logical reasoning at that time. In the 1930s, Thomas Hunt Morgan established the theory of chromosome and gene inheritance, proving the bead theory of gene: the inseparable trinity of genes due to mutations on chromosomes, recombination and certain genetic functions. 1944, Avery first confirmed that genes are composed of DNA, and in 1953 the double helix model of DNA was introduced. In turn, in the 1960s Dacod and monod studied bacterial gene regulation and discovered that genes are divisible and functionally distinct - structural genes (determining a certain protein) and regulator genes (encoding the blocking or activation of structural gene transcription). Later scientists discovered split genes, overlapping genes, jumping genes... Among the three pillars of biology in the 21st century, genetics is undoubtedly one of the most breathtaking, astonishing, delightful and worrying focal points, the code of microscopic life, the sharpest tool for mankind to peer into nature.

Curiosity and meditation are the flying vector for scientists and artists to "ask the way", the propeller of creation. In the genetic laboratory of the sericulture palace, gazing at the simple and complex, endlessly changing list of genetic sequences and sequencing peak curves of the silkworm, gazing at bottles of chemical solutions and instruments, I fell into a reverie, as if I had floated up, gently tiptoeing, diving into an unspeakable vastness of the primitive wilderness. The sound of shifting ruptures, the shock of water ripples spreading, the flickering light that cuts through the night sky like a meteor shower, sometimes swarming and sometimes fading, all is silent... With the sixth sense, I seem to perceive that there are waltz steps, the ritual music of chimes and tambourines, and the minor tune of "Jasmine" in the deep, but listen carefully to distinguish that sound is a kind of non-folk music, non-chant, non-crowded gongs, silent and moving, tranquil but audible rhyme, subtle but grand, a frenzy gathered up by the almost monosyllabic and tuneless rhythm of natural breathing, shaking the building when crossing the cosmic religious temple, a burst of reverberation feared and respected by the people. It is mysterious, distant, strange, a thousand miles away and everywhere, holding and embracing you…

In the dream, I thought that if I collect the waves of genetic fission, I will be able to compose the genetic music, but in fact, it is not, there is still a conversion process. According to scientific consultation and investigation, the rhythms of the gene-editing recombination movement will certainly sound from the oscillations, breaks and jumps by logic, but because they are so minuscule, they do not generate the so-called "bioelectric field", which is beyond the reach of current scientific testing instruments. However, in the face of this challenge, perhaps the combination of science, art and philosophy can be helpful. Deleuze noted that "philosophers focus on concepts, scientists on forms, and artists on perceptions", and that the day they mobilize together is the day when the music of the future, genetic music, is born. It is a kind of music that is silent, ethereal, pure and primitive, infinitely variable, like a soft and light and continuous trace of silk. There are many musical codes lurking beneath the crescents of the silkworm sequence, corresponding to either four, five, seven, or twelve tones? It is waiting for us to recognize and awaken it! "The origin of all things is the number", the ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Pythagoras once pointed out that a world can be inspected from the structural sequence of a leaf. Therefore, the importance of number for gene sequences, gene music, cannot be overstated. And the practice and occurrence of serialism music in the 1950s may provide us with many useful insights.

"Serialism" or sequentialist music is a type of music that follows a fixed order in its compositional approach. Dodecaphonic music, in which the twelve scales of the chromatic scale are arranged in a fixed order to form a melody and chorus and to compose a work, can also be a kind of serialism music, but the technique of this serialism music is only expressed in the pitch, and is generally called dodecaphonic music. In the 1950s, serialism was a method of composing works that used not only pitch but also other aspects such as rhythm, intensity, and timbre --Total serialism. Famous musicians such as Stravinsky and Copland have also joined the ranks.

The science of the 21st century has opened up a huge space in the mysterious kingdom of genetics. When I met with scientists, musicians, programming engineers, and literary theorists at a video conference in 2020, I was thrilled to be able to explore the inner logic of genetic testing wave maps and sound, based on our own insights and creative experiences.

If the sound installation "Listen to the Silkworm" I created in the past allowed the audience to listen directly to the natural "heavenly" sounds of silkworms pecking, spitting and butterflying in the silkworm room, creating a Zen state, then perhaps the exploration of genetic music is a scientific and artistic meditation to open up the deeper "spirit" hidden in nature - the beauty of order in all things, the beauty of silence and sound, the beauty of life.

November 8, 2020