Gao Shan Liu Shui

“High Mountains and Running Water” is the zither piece Su Xiangwan chooses after the musical program at the Lu Family gathering becomes uncertain. More than an item in the evening’s entertainment, it becomes the decisive first display of her concealed breadth of talent: the piece wins Shen Hui’s immediate approval, draws sustained applause, and prepares the room to reassess everything it thought it knew about Su Xiangwan.

Choice and Occasion

Su Xiangwan is initially asked to select a musical instrument, but she explains that she knows a little about all of them without being proficient in any single one. Rather than allowing the situation to become awkward, she suggests moving to another room where the children can perform freely. The suggestion relieves Lu Cheng, who is worried that his daughter-in-law might make a mistake while the Lu Family is hosting the evening.

The performance changes the meaning of her modesty. Shen Hui remembers that Su Xiangwan had once described her chess ability in similarly understated terms, only to play extremely well. When Su Xiangwan eventually approaches the zither, she says that she has heard Shen Hui loves “High Mountains and Running Water” and asks Shen Hui to accept her performance despite her hesitation. The choice is therefore both practical and personal: it answers the musical challenge while directly acknowledging Shen Hui’s taste.

Performance and Immediate Effect

Shen Hui responds warmly before the music begins, and her smile remains bright whenever she looks at Su Xiangwan during the evening. Once the melody starts, the atmosphere in the room shifts. The piece holds the attention of everyone present so completely that the guests cannot remain seated without reacting; they repeatedly applaud as Su Xiangwan plays.

The response is not limited to polite approval. After hearing her performance, no one present dares to object to her musical abilities. The piece serves as the first convincing proof of a skill that her earlier self-effacing explanation had concealed. Its success turns an evening that might have exposed her to embarrassment into a public demonstration of competence.

Expansion of the Musical Revelation

“High Mountains and Running Water” is only the beginning of the revelation. After the zither performance, Su Xiangwan also plays the violin, accordion, erhu, and pipa. Each instrument renews the guests’ amazement. Instead of treating her as someone who can merely manage one familiar tune, they begin wondering how long she has studied and why she handles every instrument as though it were naturally hers.

The sequence creates a repeated reversal of expectation. Su Xiangwan first presents herself as someone who can play only a little; the zither performance disproves that impression, and each later instrument overturns the audience’s revised judgment once again. “High Mountains and Running Water” is consequently the turning point that makes the later performances legible: it establishes the standard of surprise against which the rest of the evening is measured.

Narrative Significance

The piece functions as a social and emotional bridge between Su Xiangwan and Shen Hui. Shen Hui’s stated affection for it gives Su Xiangwan a way to perform not simply for the assembled guests but for a particular family member whose approval matters in the scene. The music also allows Su Xiangwan to answer concern without confrontation. Lu Cheng worries about appearances, while Su Xiangwan initially tries to avoid becoming the center of attention; the performance resolves that tension by making excellence, rather than embarrassment, the evening’s public fact.

Its effect finally carries a cost. Because the audience wants to hear more, Shen Hui notices that Su Xiangwan is becoming tired and orders music and dancing so that the guests will disperse from the dance hall. The piece thus marks both the height of the gathering’s admiration and the moment when Shen Hui’s affection becomes protective. “High Mountains and Running Water” leaves behind more than applause: it changes the family’s view of Su Xiangwan and anchors the evening’s memory in the contrast between her apparent modesty and her exceptional versatility.