The story of Boya and Ziqi comes from: "Boya and Zhong Ziqi" in "Liezi·Tangwen", the author is Li Yukou in the Warring States Period.

Original text of "Bo Ya and Zhong Ziqi":

Bo Ya is good at playing the harp, and Zhong Ziqi is good at listening. Boya plays the drum and harp, aiming high in the mountains. Zhong Ziqi said: "How good! The mountains look like Mount Tai!" Aiming at flowing water, Zhong Ziqi said: "How good! The mountains look like rivers!" What Boya wanted, Zhong Ziqi would definitely get.

Bo Ya was traveling in the shadows of Mount Tai. He encountered a heavy rain and stopped at the foot of a rock. Feeling sad, he played the harp and drums. At first it was the movement of rain, but now it was the sound of mountains collapsing. Every time a piece of music is played, Zhong Ziqi is constantly exhausted. Boya abandoned his qin and sighed: "How good! How good! You listen to your husband! My ambitions and imagination are still in my heart. Where can I escape?"

Vernacular interpretation:

Bo Ya was good at playing the harp, while Zhong Ziqi was good at appreciating music. When Boya was playing the piano, he was thinking about climbing the mountain. Zhong Ziqi said happily: "You played so well! I seemed to see a big mountain!" Boya thought about the flowing water again, and Zhong Ziqi said again: "You played so well! I seemed to see the vast ocean!" Every time Boya thought of something when he played the piano, Zhong Ziqi could understand what Boya was thinking from the sound of his piano.

Once, Boya went to the north of Mount Tai to enjoy the sightseeing. When the tour was in full swing, there was a heavy rain in the sky, so he came to take shelter under a rock. Boya suddenly felt very sad, so he took the He started playing the piano. At first it played the sound of continuous drizzle, and later it played the sound of mountains collapsing. Every time he plays, Zhong Ziqi can hear the meaning expressed in the sound of the piano. Boya then put down the piano and said with a sigh: "Okay, okay, you can imagine the artistic conception I have in mind when I play the piano, and the sound of my piano can never escape your hearing no matter what!"

Extended information:

Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi are a pair of close friends that have been passed down through the ages. Boya was good at playing, Zhong Ziqi was good at appreciating. This is the origin of the term "bosom friend".

After Zhong Ziqi died of illness, Boya was deeply saddened. He believed that if there was no music in the world, there would be no one in the world who could understand the artistic conception of his playing like Zhong Ziqi. So I broke my favorite piano into pieces and stopped playing the piano for the rest of my life.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Boya Zi Period