Liu Shui
(
Flowing Water)
Guqin Solo: Wang
Fei
| This piece is more than 700 years old, and is perhaps the most famous
Chinese classical composition. The story behind it concerns the Guqin player Bo Ya and his friend the woodcutter Zhong Ziqi. The Guqin music played by Bo Ya was as grand as the high mountains and as lively as flowing water, but only Zhong Ziqi could perceive this in his music. Whatever Bo Ya played, Zhong Ziqi never failed to understand. As a result of this mutual appreciation they became very close friends. When Zhong Ziqi died, Bo Ya destroyed his qin and vowed never to play again, because he thought nobody else could understand his music . This is the origin of the Chinese expression zhi yin - "knowing the sound". It means a very close friendship. It was recorded that High Mountains and Flowing Water were originally a single piece, which were separated after the Tang Dynasty. |