Yu Boya is good at playing the piano and Zhong Ziqi is good at listening. When Yu Boya played the piano, he thought of the mountain in his mind. Zhong Ziqi said, "Well, I seem to see a towering Mount Tai standing in front of my eyes!" Yu Boya thought of running water in his heart, and Zhong Ziqi said, "Well, I seem to see a rushing river!"

Yu Boya thought, Zhong Ziqi will know his mind. After Zhong Ziqi's death, Yu Boya felt that there was no bosom friend in the world, so he broke the piano and severed the relationship with the strings, and never played the piano for life. This is the story of "Yu Boya thanked his bosom friend with the piano". Yu Boya sadly missed his childhood, which made people sigh that bosom friends were hard to find.

From then on, because of this story, people compared "mountain stream" to a hard-to-find bosom friend, or a bosom friend with wonderful music, and compared "bosom friend" to a person who knows his own heart and has the same language with himself. The word "an excellent scholar" gradually evolved into a meaning: to give up a specialty or hobby because of the death of a bosom friend as a token of mourning.

2. A gentleman's friend

During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, before Xue became a great man, he lived in a broken cave with his wife, with no food and clothing, and was supported by the Wang couple on a regular basis. Later, when Xue joined the army and followed the crusade of Emperor Taizong, he was named "King Liao Ping" because of his great contribution to Xue.

Once on the Longmen, it is worth a hundred times. There was an endless stream of civil and military ministers who came to give gifts and congratulations, but they were all declined by Xue politely. The only thing he accepted was the "two jars of wine" sent by the common people Wang.

As soon as the jar was opened, the deacon in charge of unsealing turned pale with fear, because the jar was filled with water instead of wine! "Report to your report, this person is so bold to tease your report, please punish him severely!" Unexpectedly, Xue was not angry, so he ordered the deacon to get a big bowl and drink the clear water from the king in public.

The civil and military officials present were puzzled. After drinking three bowls of clear water, Xue said to him, "I used to rely on the support of the Wangs when I was in trouble." Without them, I wouldn't be as prosperous as I am today. Now, I don't drink or accept gifts, but I want clean water from Brother Wang. I know that Wang Ge is poor, and it is also a beautiful thing for Wang Ge to deliver clean water. This is called a gentleman's friend pushing a boat with fresh water. "

Since then, Xue has a close relationship with the Wang family, and the story of "a friendship between gentlemen is as light as water" has been passed down to this day.

3. High mountains and flowing water

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Yu Boya was good at playing strings, while Zhong Ziqi was good at listening to sounds and distinguishing meanings. Once, when Boya was visiting the northern part of Mount Tai, he was suddenly caught in a rainstorm and had to stay under a rock. Lonely and sad, he took out his guqin and played it. At first, he played piano music reflecting the continuous rain; Then, he played music like a landslide.

Just then, Zhong Ziqi, the woodcutter, couldn't help shouting after a bunch of wild chrysanthemums nearby: "Good song! What a great song! " It turned out that Zhong Ziqi, who was chopping wood on the mountain, was also hiding from the rain nearby. He felt relaxed and happy when he heard Boya playing the piano. He listened for a long time, and when he heard the climax, he couldn't help but express his heartfelt appreciation. ?

Yu Boya heard the compliment, quickly got up and said hello to Zhong Ziqi, and then continued to play. Boya was absorbed in the mountains, and his intention was in the tune. Zhong Ziqi nodded frequently after listening: "Well, it's so majestic, it's really like a very high mountain!" Boya meditates in the running water, a story outside the melody.

Hearing this, Zhong Ziqi clapped his hands and said, "Great! As vast as a running river! " ! "Every time Boya plays a piano piece, Zhong Ziqi can fully recognize its intention and interest, which makes Boya overjoyed.

He put down the piano, sighed and said, "Good! Very good! Your skills in listening, identifying directions and understanding meanings are really brilliant. What you said is exactly what I thought. How can my piano sound escape your ears? " So they became bosom friends and made an appointment to meet again the next year to discuss the piano.

But when Boya came to Zhong Ziqi the next year, he learned that Zhong Ziqi had died of illness not long ago. Yu Boya deplored his sadness, which was difficult to express in words, so he broke his guqin, never left his body, and never played the string again to thank his rare bosom friend.

4. It's Chu Jiu's turn

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a poor and studious scholar named Gong Shamu. After a period of hard study, I always thought that my study was limited and I wanted to enter Beijing Imperial College for further study. Gong Shamu's family is poor and doesn't have much money for him to study in imperial academy. So Gong Shamu went to a rich family in Wu You to make a husker.

Wu You served as Qi Xiang, Chang Shi and other official positions. One day, when Gong Shamu was in Xi Valley, Wu You came to see him. Wu You saw that Gong Shamu was polite and not like a clown at all, so he began to strike up a conversation with him.

During the conversation, You Wu found Gong Shamu knowledgeable and original. Wu You became friends with him before Chu Jiu, regardless of the disparity between the rich and the poor. In feudal society, rich and poor counties were different and hierarchical. It is rare for a rich man to condescend to make friends with a poor scholar, so it is passed down as a much-told story.

5. Worship friends

In the Song Dynasty in China, there was a story in Shao Bowen's Lu Wenjian: Wen Yanbo heard that Ji Li was very arrogant and unhappy. He said to people, "Ji Li's father used to be my master, so he should be my junior by seniority. He is so arrogant that I have to teach him a lesson. "

On one occasion, Wen Yanbo was stationed in Beijing. When Ji Li heard about this, he came to offer his condolences. Wen Yanbo deliberately let Ji Li sit in the living room, and it took a long time to come out to meet him. After meeting Ji Li, Wen Yanbo said, "Your father is my friend. Please make eight obeisances to me." ?

Due to his junior qualifications, Ji Li dared not expect anything, so he had to make eight obeisances to Wen Yanbo. Wen Yanbo lost Ji Li's pride as an elder. The idiom "Eight Worship Friends" came into being. Later, people used "eight sworn brothers friendship" to express the courtesy of two generations of friendly disciples when they met each other's elders. In the old days, they were also called sworn brothers with different surnames.