Legend of Le Sheng

"Legend of the Music Saint" is based on the life of Shi Kuang, a musician from the Jin Dynasty during the Spring and Autumn Period. It tells the legendary story of a blind musician who used music as his sword to stick to his faith in troubled times and influence the destiny of the country. Shi Kuang, also known as Ziye, was originally a folk musician from Pingyang (now Xintai, Shandong Province). In order to pursue the ultimate in music, he blinded himself and became a court musician of the Jin Dynasty with his extraordinary hearing. He could hear the subtle differences in the tone of the bell, predict the outcome of the battle from the music, and even sang "Qingzheng" to make the Chu army retreat without a fight. He was not only a skilled musician, but also a virtuous minister who dared to offend Yan Zhijian: when Duke Ping of Jin lamented that "no one dares to disobey your words," he hit his qin against the wall; when Duke Ping of Jin was obsessed with the music of Mi Mi, he bluntly said, "This is the sound of the country's subjugation." In his later years, he retired to his hometown and integrated court music into folk music, leaving behind eternal famous songs such as "Yangchun" and "White Snow". The novel takes music as the main line, connecting the changes in the turbulent times of the Spring and Autumn Period, and demonstrates Shi Kuang's musical thought of "music to carry the Tao" as well as his focused, pure and upright personality charm.