When he set foot on earth, he had to teach a lot, but he was very sad for his nature, and he had not yet awakened many people. He prayed to the Ancestor Buddha to give favor to all sentient beings, soon woke up from his nightmare, and when he heard his advice, he immediately knew how to turn his head towards goodness. Just like Zhong Ziqi, when he heard Boya’s voice, he immediately understood the meaning.
Boya, whose clan name was Du Thụy, had musical talent on the zither that few could match and served as a high-ranking official in the Song dynasty.
One day, returning from a diplomatic mission to the state of Chu, on a Mid-Autumn night with a bright moon, Bá Nha stopped his boat at the bank of the Han River and took out his zither to play. Suddenly, a string broke, and Boya suspected someone was eavesdropping, so he ordered soldiers to search the shore.
Zhong Ziqi then spoke up: ‘I am a humble man, just returning from gathering firewood, and I happened to pass by and heard Your Excellency play. I am not a person of ill will, so please do not punish me.’
Boya said:
‘In this remote and wild forest, how could anyone know to listen to my playing?’
Ziqi replied:
‘Why would a person like Your Excellency come here to play the zither? If there is someone who can play, surely there is someone who can understand it!’
‘Then, do you know what piece I was just playing?’
‘You were playing the piece in memory of Master Yan Hui, whom Confucius mourned, a man of great talent but short life.’
Boya was amazed and invited Ziqi onto the boat. He then adjusted the strings, imagining himself on a high mountain playing…
Ziqi praised: ‘Truly marvelous! The mind of a great person is lofty like a high mountain.’
Boya began adjusting the strings again.
Boya played another tune on his qin, thinking he was following the flow of water… Ziqi exclaimed: ‘Truly, a great man is as mighty as flowing water.’ At that moment, Boya recognized Ziqi as a kindred spirit, someone who could appreciate the deep meaning in his music, and so he became close friends with Ziqi. The two of them ate, drank, and conversed until dawn before parting, agreeing to meet again at the same place at the same time the following year. The next year, Boya arrived at the usual spot as promised, but not seeing Ziqi, he took out his qin and played. The music sounded mournful and heartbreaking. Suspecting something, he went up to shore to search and luckily met Ziqi’s father, through whom he learned that Ziqi had died. Boya then went to Ziqi’s grave, offered tributes, and played on his qin. The elegiac tune sounded pitifully sorrowful, and then he smashed his musical instrument (, believing that with Ziqi gone, who else could appreciate his music? ‘The qin broken grieves the phoenix-hearted, Without Ziqi, who to play music with? Spring winds touch all friends, Seeking a kindred spirit, oh, how difficult!’ Since then, this story has often been referenced to signify a friend who truly understands one’s heart.
Boya’s Background,
From Wikipedia, Bo Ya (Chinese: 伯牙; pinyin: Bó Yá) was a Chinese qin player and composer from the state of Chu (楚),[1] which is roughly equivalent to modern-day Jingzhou, Hubei. He lived mostly during the Spring and Autumn period and later the succeeding Warring States period. His complete name is often incorrectly given as Yu Boya (俞伯牙) in Stories to Caution the World (警世通言), so he is sometimes referred to with the name of Yu Boya in modern literature. However, Bo Ya is the correct name, which is clarified in Lüshi Chunqiu (吕氏春秋).[2]
Life
Learning Guqin
Main article: Qin Cao
Bo Ya is well known in the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period for his Guqin skill. According to Qincao (琴操) written by Cai Yong, He learned his Guqin skill from Chenglian, another famous Guqin player. When he was studying Guqin, his teacher brought him to Mount Penglai and left Bo Ya. Bo Ya was immersed in the natural sound of the waves and the mountain forest, and wrote down a piece of music called Shuixiancao (水仙操). After this experience, he becomes one of the best Guqin players in his times.[3][4]
Story about Zhiyin
“Zhiyin” redirects here. For the Wuhan Metro station, see Zhiyin station.
Bo Ya was good at playing the qin. Zhong Ziqi (锺子期) was good at listening to the qin. When Bo Ya’s will was towards high mountains in his playing, Zhong Ziqi would say, “How towering like Mount Tai!” When Bo Ya’s will was towards flowing water in his playing, Zhong Ziqi would say, “How vast are the rivers and oceans!” Whatever Bo Ya thought of Ziqi would never fail to understand. Bo Ya said, “Amazing! Your heart and mine are the same!”[5] After Zhong Ziqi died, Bo Ya broke his guqin because he thought that no one else can understand his music.[2]
Bo Ya’s story with Zhong Ziqi generates the term Zhiyin (Chinese: 知音, original meaning: someone who knows music well), which means close friends that can completely understand each other.[6]
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