"The great sound is loud, but the elephant is invisible" means that the most beautiful music is the most concise and simple. Its beauty lies in the silence and emptiness in the music, which transcends the music itself; The most beautiful things have no form, yet exist in all things.

Source

The source of this sentence is Chapter 41 of Laozi's "Tao Te Ching".

Excerpts from the original article

Be generous and have no corners, and a great tool will be easy to achieve.

The big sound is loud, but the elephant is invisible.

Translation

The more square and rigid it is, the more likely it is to have flaws and imperfections; the more generous and arbitrary it is, the easier it is to be unrestrained.

The more beautiful the music, the more silent and ethereal it is; the more beautiful things are, the more invisible and formless they are, yet they are everywhere.

Appreciation

This concept expresses Laozi’s idea of ??advocating the beauty of nature, advocating following nature, respecting nature, and pursuing inner essence rather than external appearance. The most beautiful music lies not in the number or complexity of notes, but in the silent parts of the music. This silence and etherealness make the beauty of the music more profound and lasting. Similarly, the most beautiful things do not lie in their form and appearance, but in their inner essence and invisible existence. This essence and existence are everywhere and will not lose their essential beauty due to external changes.

Creative background

Laozi was an ancient Chinese philosopher. He lived in the late Spring and Autumn Period and the early Warring States Period, and had an important influence on ancient Chinese literature and philosophy. At that time, China was going through a period of wars and wars between princes, the society was unstable, and people's lives were full of anxiety and uneasiness. Under this circumstance, Laozi put forward the idea of ??"Tao follows nature" and advocated conforming to nature and returning to the original nature. He believes that the beauty of nature lies in its nature and authenticity, and the beauty people pursue is often the external appearance rather than the inner essence. Therefore, he put forward the aesthetic concept of "big sounds sound, elephants are invisible" to express his Praise and admiration for the beauty of nature.

Notes

Dayin: refers to the most beautiful music;

Xisheng: refers to silent and ethereal sounds;

Elephant : Refers to the most beautiful things.

Life Inspiration

In my personal experience, I have found that the best works of art are often those without obvious flaws, and their beauty lies in their integration with nature. For example, a natural landscape painting may not require too much artificial modification, but allows the beauty of nature to appear naturally. In the same way, a person's success is often based on natural talent and hard work, rather than artificial changes.

This sentence also tells us that the pursuit of perfection does not require excessive pursuit of external forms and expressions. In fact, excessive pursuit of superficial beauty may obscure true inner beauty. For example, a person may be very beautiful on the outside, but lack kindness and wisdom on the inside. This beauty may be false and will not last.

Therefore, when we pursue beauty, we should try to maintain a harmonious state with nature. We should not excessively pursue the superficial form and performance, but should pay attention to the inner quality and spirit. In life, we should keep it as natural, simple and real as possible, so that we can truly feel the beauty of life.