BY XUEFEI
WHEN I WAS AT UNIVERSITY, I
READ ENGLISH LOUDLY EVERYDAY.
IT IS THE SAME AS I READ CHINESE. FOR EXAMPLE TODAY I READ
ABOUT YUBOYA AND ZHONGZIQI.
I WAS CRYING A LOT. TEARS SHED FROM MY EYES. IT WAS SO MOVING.
WHEN I LEARNT GUQIN, THERE IS ONE PIECE CALLED HIGH MOUNTAINS AND FLOWING WATER.GAOSHANLIUSHUI.
IT WAS A STORY ABOUT BOYA AND ZIQI . IT WAS ABOUT MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING.
IT WAS REALLY MOVING.
BOYA LOVED GUQIN AND PLAYED AT A BOAT STAYING AT THE FOOT OF A MOUNTAIN. BUT HE SUDDENLY BROKE ONE STRING. BOYA FELT STRANGE. THERE MUST BE SOMEONE LISTENING TO MY PLAYING.
BOYA WAS RIGHT. THERE WAS A
FARMER LISTENING TO HIS PLAY.
BOYA INVITED THE FARMER COMING ONTO THE BOAT AND ASKED HIM
WHAT WAS HIS NAME.THE FARMER SAID HE WAS CALLED ZHONG ZIQI.
HE COULD UNDERSTAND PERFECTLY
ABOUT WHAT BOYA WANTED TO EXPRESS. BOYA PLAYED A PIECE AND ZIQI TOLD HIM ABOUT THE QIN INSTRUMENT HISTORY, THE STORY BEHIND THE MUSIC AND WHAT BOYA WANTED
TO EXPRESS.That was high mountains and the flowing water.
AFTER HEARING WHAT ZIQI SAID, BOYA HUMBLED HIMSELF AND TALKED
WITH ZIQI AS IF THE LATTER WAS HIS REAL BROTHER.
THEY TALKED FROM MIDNIGHT TO DAYBREAK.
BOYA ASKED ZIQI WHY HE DIDN'T GO TO TAKE AN EXAM AND BECAME AN OFFICIAL. ZIQI SAID HE WAS 27 YEARS OLD。HIS FAMILY WAS POOR AND HE HAD OLDER PARENTS AND NO
OTHER RELATIVES, HE HAS TO TAKE CARE OF HIS PARENTS。
HEARING ABOUT THIS, BOYA RESPECTED ZIQI EVEN MORE。 ZIQISAID WHEN PARENTS WERE ALIVE, AS THEIR SON, I SHOULD NOT GO OUT TO TRAVEL FAR AWAY。
THUS BOYA AND ZIQI MADE AN APPOINTMENT。 NEXT MID AUTUMN FESTIVAL, BOYA WOULD ROW THE BIG BOAT TO COME TO THE SAME PLACE TO MEET ZIQI。 ZIQI SAID OK AND SAID GOODBYE TO BOYA。
NEXT MID-AUTUMN, BOYA REALLY CAME OVER TO THE SAME PLACE TO WAIT FOR ZIQI。 BUT ZIQI DIDN‘T
SHOW UP。
WHY?MAYBE HIS PARENT DIED AND HE HAD TO STAY AT HOME? BOYA THOUGHT。
THEN BOYA DECIDED TO GO TO THE VILLAGE TO VISIT ZIQI’S HOME。
ON THE WAY THEY MET AN OLD MAN。 BOYA MET THE OLD MAN AT A T
FORM ROAD AND DIDN‘T KNOW IF HE
SHOULD GO TO THE RIGHT OR LEFT。
BOYA ASKED THE OLD MAN AND TOLD HIM ABOUT HIS APPOINTMENT WITH ZIQI。 AFTER HEARING THE STORY,
THE OLD MAN CRIED AND TOLD BOYATHAT HE WAS ZIQI’S FATHER。 ZIQI DIED A HUNDRED DAYS AGO。
RIGHT AFTER ZIQI‘S MEETING WITH BOYA LAST YEAR, ZIQI BEGAN TO READ MORE BOOKS AND STUDIED HARDER。 HE ALSO HAD TO TAKE CARE OF HIS PARENTS。 SO HE GOT SICK。A hundred days ago,he died.
Where was he buried? I like to see his grave. Boya said.
The old man said to Boya, let's go backward along the road by the water where your boat was staying. I buried him there according to his will because he told me it was there he met you.
They went back to the grave and when they arrived there, Boya
began to play his Qin again to express his extreme sadness. Yet people around listening to him laughed a lot and went away. Boya asked the old man why people laughed. The old man said because they didn't understand the music melody, they thought it was a happy melody.
After hearing this, Boya became very angry and smashed the Qin into the stone and put the Qin on the grave of Ziqi.
"Why should I play again when no one else could understand me anymore? Only you could understand me very well. I will never play the Qin again." Boya said.
Boya gave the old man two pieces of gold, one piece is for him to buy a new house and the other is used to build a beautiful big graveyard. He decided to resign from his post next year and will live near the graveyard to take care of Ziqi's parents on behalf of Ziqi. What a friend! What a friendship!
This story has been carried on either by mouth or by written form or by music for three thousand years.
From then on thousands of thousands of people played the melody of High Mountains and Flowing Water, the most beautiful melody in the world.
In the real world, Deng Hong, famous Chinese Guqin expert HAD PLAYED IN sWEDEN ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO WITH THE EXPLAINATION OF SINOLOGIST CECELIA LINDQVIST。