S2E01 | Too Rich for My Blood | 曲高和寡
Saying: “If the tune is too highbrow no one will sing along”
Pinyin: Qǔ Gāo Hè Guǎ
Chinese: 曲高和寡
Welcome back to Season 2 of the Chinese Sayings Podcast!
This time Laszlo digs deep into the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to introduce a Chinese Saying with a story that tells why some music just isn’t for everybody.
Special thanks to Zhou Wei and the team at Chengyu Research Center.
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Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Chéngyǔ | 成语 | Chinese Saying or Idiom |
| Chǔ | 楚国 | The Chu State, headquartered in Hubei |
| Cí | 词 | Often referred to as Lyric Poetry |
| Duì Chǔ Wáng Wèn | 对楚王问 | Replying to the Chu King’s Questions |
| Dòngtíng Lake | 洞庭湖 | Lake in northern Hunan…it divides Hunan from Hubei |
| Fù | 赋 | Another kind of poetry combined with rose |
| Guǎ | 寡 | few or scant |
| Gāo | 高 | high or lofty |
| Gāo Chǎnggōng | 高长恭 | Gao was a general in the Northern Qi and also a handsome devil |
| Gǔdài Sìdà Měinán | 古代四大美男 | the four most handsome men in Ancient China |
| Hè | 和 | to join in the singing or to chime in |
| Kūn fish | 鲲 | A huge legendary fish which could change into a roc (鹏) |
| Mìluó River | 汨罗江 | River in northern Hunan where Qu Yuan drowned himself |
| Pān Ān | 潘安 (也潘岳) | the Western Jin literary great and one of the four good lookin’ guys from ancient China along with…… |
| Qín | 秦国 | The Qin State of the Ying Family…they were the ones to defeat all the Warring States |
| Qū Yuán | 屈原 | Great poet, patriot and upright official. His suicide in 278BCE inspired the Dragon Boat Festival |
| Qǔ | 曲 | song, a kind of sung poetry |
| Qǔ Gāo Hè Guǎ | 曲高和寡 | If the tune is too highbrow no one will sing along |
| Shī | 诗 | Another kind of poetry |
| Sòng Yù | 宋玉 | a handsome official and literary great (too great for his own good perhaps) |
| Wèi Jiè | 卫玠 | Jin dynasty official. Fifty women knockin’ on his door! |
| Yáng Chūn Bái Xǔe | 阳春白雪 | Sunny Spring and White Snow – a big hit from ancient China |
