S2E06 | I Love You Man! | 高山流水

 
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Saying: “Lofty mountains and flowing waters”
Pinyin: Gāo Shān Liú Shuǐ
Chinese: 高山流水

 

This is a nice musical Chinese Saying to describe a soulmate or someone who can be called your 知音 (zhīyīn), a friend who is appreciative or understanding of a friend (and his talents). Like almost all of these Chengyu, it comes to us directly from the first half of the Eastern Zhou Period.


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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/TermChineseEnglish/Meaning
Chéngyǔ成语Chinese saying or idiomatic expression
Chǔ楚国Another Zhou Dynasty State centered around Hubei
Duì Niú Tán Qín对牛弹琴playing a zither to an ox (cast pearls before swine)
Gāotall, high or lofty
Gāo shān高山lofty mountains
Gāo Shān Liú Shuǐ高山流水Lofty Mountains and flowing waters
Gǔzhēng古筝Ancient Chinese plucked instrument, over 2500 years old (not the same as a guqin 古琴)
Hanyang汉阳one of the tri-cities that makes up the mighty city of Wuhan
Jìn晋国Zhou Dynasty State, located mostly in Shanxi
Kǒngzǐ kū Yán Huí孔子哭颜回Confucius Crying over the death of Yan Hui, an ancient tune from the Zhou period
Liúto flow
Liú Shuǐ流水the flowing waters of a river
Lǚ Bùwéi吕不韦291-235 BCE Early Qin high up official, regent to young Qin Shuhuang
Lǚ shi Chūnqiú吕氏春秋The Discourses of Lü Buwei
Pípa琵琶Another ancient Chinese plucked string instrument
Qínthe zither or lute
Shuǐwater
Shāna mountain
Sìchuān四川Province in southwest China, in ancient days, the Kingdom of Shu
Tān Xiaǒ Shī Dà贪小失大To covet the small and lose the big, pennywise and pound foolish (from previous CSP Episode S1E02)
Yú Bóyá俞伯牙Musical Jin official serving in Chu State
Zhōng Zǐqī钟子期Music loving woodsman

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S2E07 | Double Sorrow | 人琴俱亡

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S2E05 | A Man of Great Inability | 滥竽充数