Boya Breaks His Zither
Inauspicious
The poem
Original: 君子莫体小人为 / 事若差池各是非 / 琴鸣须用知音听 / 守常安静得依稀
The story
Yu Boya, a minister of Jin, played the zither superbly. On a river journey he met the woodcutter Zhong Ziqi, who heard the high mountains and flowing water in his playing, and they swore friendship, agreeing to meet again the next year. When Boya returned, Ziqi had died. He played once at the grave, cut the strings, broke the instrument, and never played again.
What it means
The image is needing to meet someone who understands you, and the counsel is to keep to the ordinary. You need not imitate a small mind, and where matters have gone wrong each side has its own case. However well you play, the music requires an ear that can hear it. Staying quiet suits you better now than performing. The problem is a mismatch, not a defect, since the occasion and the audience are wrong. Wait for the person who can hear.
By area of life
Wealth
Understand the market properly before entering it. Going in without knowing the conditions will certainly produce a loss for you.
Love
Find someone you can actually talk to. This is not a matter to hurry; wait for the person who fits.
Work
If you want a real future, understand the market, and be clear about what actually makes your own product distinctive.
Health
Establish the underlying cause first. Only once the root has been identified can any treatment be genuinely effective at all.
Travel
Learn what the place is really like beforehand, and then consider honestly whether its character suits your own temperament at all.
Advice
Do not play for people who cannot hear it; wait for the one who can.