"The high mountains and flowing water" originates from Liezi: Tang Wen, telling the story of Boya, who was skilled at playing the qin, and Zhong Ziqi, who was skilled at listening. When Boya's mind was on the high mountains, Ziqi would say, "How towering, like Mount Tai"; when his mind was on flowing water, Ziqi would say, "How vast, like flowing water." After Ziqi died, Boya smashed his qin and broke its strings, and for the rest of his life never played again, believing that there was no one in the world worth playing for. Therefore, this idiom refers both to the excellence of music and to the rarity of finding a true friend or a kindred spirit who appreciates one. In cultural background, it represents ancient China's ultimate pursuit of spiritual resonance and soulful accord, and is often used to describe deep understanding and unspoken rapport between friends. In emotional coloring, it carries both praise for refined art and a lament over how hard it is to find a true confidant, along with a sense of loneliness. It is mostly used to describe artistic appreciation, the depth of friendship, or the feeling that no one understands oneself. Its deeper meaning lies in this: a true confidant can hear what is beyond the strings, transcending language and reaching the heart directly; and once lost, it becomes a sound never to be heard again.
📝 Example
1. One plays the qin while the other listens, truly a case of "high mountains and flowing water"—a friendship of kindred spirits that is the envy of many. (A metaphor for the mutual appreciation and deep understanding between true friends.)
2. In this noisy era, it is not easy to find a kindred spirit like "high mountains and flowing water." (A metaphor for the rarity of true understanding and spiritual resonance.)