Gong Zhi-qiao’s Zither
故事全文
One day, Gong Zhi-qiao came across a fine block of Paulownia wood. He chipped away at the wood, and turned it into a beautiful zither. After attaching the strings, he ran his finger across it, and found that it made delightful sounds like the melodious chime of metal and jade when struck together. Gong Zhi-qiao thought it was the finest zither in the world. So, he happily presented it to the palace’s music official.
The music official invited the most famous musician in the country to examine the zither. However, after a close look, the musician shook his head and said, “This zither does not look ancient enough. ” and so, Gong Zhi-qiao was told to take his zither and go home. Feeling sad and disappointed, Gong Zhi-qiao went home with his zither. He decided to seek the help of a painter and a carver, to paint a faint and intricate pattern on the zither, and also carve ancient characters on it. Then, he placed the zither inside a wooden box and buried it in the ground.
After a year, Gong Zhi-qiao dug up the zither, and took it to the market to sell. As luck would have it, the zither caught the eye of a high-ranking official who thought it was very exquisite. He paid Gong Zhi-qiao a lot of money for the zither, and planned to present it to the emperor as a royal gift. When the zither arrived in the palace, the music officials were amazed and exclaimed, “This zither is such a rare and beautiful treasure! ”
Upon hearing what happened, Gong Zhi-qiao sighed and said, “Alas! Such a society! How sad it makes me feel! Surely, judging something’s value by its appearance does not stop at a zither! Are all people in the world like this? If I don’t look out for myself, I might end up getting corrupted too! ” In the end, Gong Zhi-qiao decided to leave, and went somewhere unknown.
