- 02/17/2025
A Chinese history story that took place more than 2,300 years ago shows how the Chinese view the “Korean president singing ‘American Pie’ for the U.S. president Biden”, it may not be a sign of friendly relations.
There is a famous story in ancient Chinese history, called “The Meeting in Mianchi” or “The King of Qin Strikes the Fou“. (Fou is a low-end instrument made of ceramic tile) It happened in 279 BC during the Warring States period.
Once, the king of Qin, who was a powerful state at that time, invited the king of Zhao, who was relatively weak, to a meeting in a place called Mianchi.
The king of Qin said to the king of Zhao that he had heard that the king of Zhao was good at music, so he asked the king of Zhao to play the Se (an instrument similar to a zither), and the king of Zhao, forced by the power of Qin, reluctantly played a song.
After playing, the king of Qin suddenly said to the imperial historian of Qin to write down that on a certain day, the king of Qin ordered the king of Zhao to play music for him.
The king of Qin and the king of Zhao were practically equal, both were kings of one state, and it was an insulting act to make the king of one country play music.
The minister of Zhao, Lin Xiangru, heard this and immediately went up and said, “We, the king of Zhao, have heard that the king of Qin is especially good at Qin music, so let’s ask the king of Qin to play Fou (a low-end instrument made of ceramic tile) for entertainment.
At this time, the king of Qin looked angry and did not answer Lin Xiangru. Lin Xiangru fetched the Fou, but the king of Qin refused to play it.
Lin Xiangru said loudly, “King Qin, do you think Qin is very powerful? Today I can die with you within five steps(which means very close). The king of Qin was afraid that Lin Xiangru would do something out of the ordinary, so he had no choice but to strike the Fou.
After hearing this, Lin Xiangru immediately asked the royal historian of Zhao to record that on a certain day, the king of Zhao asked the king of Qin to strike Fou for him.<Story End>
On this day in 2023, what will the people of South Korea think of this? Does South Korea have Lin Xiangru？
From the perspective of Chinese history stories, perhaps this is not considered a way to reflect friendly relations. If nations are equal, then state kings are not distinguished by size or respect.
Of course, perhaps again, it can be interpreted or self-deluded from being a cultural difference.
Reference News:
Watch South Korean president sing ‘American Pie’ for Biden
Use a real and interesting story of Chinese history, combined with news and events happening in the world today, to broaden your mind and become wiser.
