Confucius Learing to Play the Zither

Do you know that Confucius is a great musician and connoisseur? He could know everything in a piece of music!

He learned to play the zither from Shi Xiang, a musician of Lu. After practicing the same tune for 10 days in succession, the musician informed Confucius that he could switch to another tune, but Confucius said he had not yet grasped the technique. After some time Shi Xiang praised Confucius that he had gained a good mastery of the technique, but Confucius said he had not yet comprehended the composer's inclinations. After another period of time, when the musician told Confucius he had already grasped the inclinations of the composer, Confucius felt he had not realized the composer's mode. Only after a further period did Confucius, on his own initiative, finally stop practicing the same tune. He declared, “Now I understand the composer well. He is tall and slender with dark skin and a pair of bright and penetrating eyes. lt seems that he is a monarch ruling a country. Who can compose such tune other than King Wen of Zhou?” Struck dumb, Shi Xiang rose from his seat and said, “lt was indeed King Wen who composed the tune entitled Virtue Advocated by King Wen.”