A WOOD MODEL OF THE CHINESE MASTER BO YA PLAYING THE ZITHER

The sculpture alludes to the story known as the Legend of the Broken Strings. It concerns the scholar Bo Ya and his younger friend Zhong Ziqi of the Warring States period (475-221 B.C.). According to the legend, Boya was an accomplished qin player. But it was not until he met the woodcutter Zhong Ziqi that he found a listener who truly understood his music. The two became fast friends, and when Zhong died, Boya broke his strings and refused to ever play again. The camaraderie of these two men is commemorated by the phrase zhi-yin, “to know music”, which is a metaphor for close friendship.