The son of a court musician from the previous dynasty, he escaped the massacre when the capital fell because he was away collecting musical scores. Ten years later, he became the greatest zither player in the martial world, but his identity was exposed when he performed the forbidden piece “Sacrifice to the Mountains and Rivers.” In the end, surrounded by enemy troops, he snapped his strings and played his final notes atop the old palace wall where his father had died for his country. Even after taking twenty-six arrows, he remained in the posture of playing the zither, matching its twenty-six strings.
