Yu Boya was very interested in music and he learned music from a good musician, Cheng Lian. In order to make greater improvement, Cheng Lian took him to visit a new teacher, Fang Zichun. Zichun lived on an island in the East Sea. Unluckily, when they arrived, Zichun was away. Cheng Lian left and asked Boya to stay. Boya played his qin while waiting for the teacher.

One day, when he was walking on the beach, the wind suddenly blew strongly and it started to rain heavily. He was amazed at the sound of the storm and started to play his qin. When he finished playing, Cheng Lian arrived. "What do you think about your new teacher?" Cheng asked with a smile. "New teacher? Ah, I see!" Boya suddenly realized why Cheng took him here. Boya created many pieces of beautiful music including High Mountains and Flowing Water but he felt no one really understand his music.

One day, Boya started to play qin on the boat. While he was playing High Mountains and Flowing Water, a woodcutter, Zhong Ziqi stopped to hear his music. Ziqi closed his eyes and listened carefully. When Boya finished the part about high mountains, Ziqi said: "How wonderful! It sounds like Mount Tai." Boya didn't speak and went on playing. This time the tune (曲调) was different. Ziqi said: "How amazing! It sounded like the great river!" Boya felt very touched and said: "You are the one who knows my heart!" They promised to meet each other the same day next year. Unluckily, Ziqi didn't come because he died some time before. Boya was so sad that he smashed his qin and promised never to play again.

People were deeply touched by the friendship between Boya and Ziqi. Today people will use "high mountains and flowing water" to refer to beautiful music and understanding between friends.