Haiwang YUAN

This man plays a zheng, the instrument Yu Boya played to his friend Zhong Ziqi during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE). PHOTO BY PAUL AND BERNICE NOLL.
The Chinese call a close, sympathetic friend zhiyin (knowing the sound) or “one who truly appreciates the tune played by another.” This is an allusion to a legend about two friends named Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi.
Yu Boya refers to the