高山流水
- Literal
- high mountains and flowing water
- Figurative
- Sublime music or art; and above all the kindred spirit (知音) who truly understands your heart, the rare friend who is so hard to find.
Where does 高山流水 come from?
The master qin player Bo Ya played his instrument, and only his friend Zhong Ziqi could read what the music meant. When Bo Ya's thoughts turned to mountains as he played, Ziqi exclaimed, "Magnificent! Towering like Mount Tai." When his mind flowed toward the waters, Ziqi said, "Vast, like the great rivers!" Nothing Bo Ya felt escaped him. Later tradition added a famous ending: when Zhong Ziqi died, Bo Ya broke the strings of his qin and never played again, certain that no one was left in the world who could understand his music.
Source (出处): 《列子·汤问》
How is 高山流水 used? Two examples
- 我们俩一聊起音乐就停不下来，真是高山流水。
Once the two of us start talking about music we can't stop; we're true kindred spirits.
- 他的钢琴弹得高山流水，听得大家都入了迷。
He plays the piano so sublimely that everyone was spellbound listening to him.
In Wanyu, all 400 chengyu have audio on every sentence, and you can save them to your decks and review them with spaced repetition. Free.
