高山流水　(gāo shān liú shuǐ)

Finding Source of Inspiration

It may sound bizarre if someone likens a good friend or wonderful music to Gao Shan Liu Shui, or “high mountains and flowing rivers.”

However, this popular Chinese idiom comes from a touching story about Yu Boya, a legendary virtuoso of guqin (a seven-stringed plucked instrument similar to a zither).

Yu lived during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) and when he was young, Yu loved playing guqin. He later became a student of Cheng Lian, the best guqin player of the time.

Under Cheng’s tutoring, Yu made remarkable progress and after three years of practice he had almost mastered the instrument.

However, Yu felt that he still wasn’t a real guqin virtuoso and could not use it to express his feelings freely.

One day, Cheng told his student: “I have taught you whatever I know, but I can see that you aren’t quite satisfied. So, I’ll recommend you to another teacher who can bring your playing to perfection.”

Next morning, Cheng took Yu to the top of a mountain cliff overlooking the sea. “You wait here and your new instructor will arrive in a few minutes.” Then Cheng went away leaving Yu alone on the top of the mountain.

Yu waited and waited, but no one showed up. Then, gradually, he became enthralled by the sound of the sea waves crashing on the rocks below and the singing of the birds and whispering leaves in the nearby woods.

When the sun began to set, it suddenly dawned upon Yu that the new instructor recommended by Cheng was none other than nature herself. Yu realized that only by learning from nature could he gain virtuosity of the instrument. So, he found an inexhaustible source of inspiration and energy.

Yu finally reached the level of perfection he had sought and became the best guqin player of his time. But because of the profundity of his musical works, Yu found few people who could really understand them. Only his bosom friend, Zhong Ziqi, could actually appreciate his talent and performances.

When Yu was playing a new tune one day, Zhong became very excited. He said: “It’s wonderful, I can see lofty Mount Tai in front of me.” Then Yu played another tune and Zhong clapped his hands, saying: “Bravo! It’s just as melodious as the flowing rivers.”

Since then, people use “high mountains and flowing rivers” to describe a soul mate like Zhong Ziqi or wonderful music such as the works created by Yu Boya.