📖 Meaning
Refers to playing musical instruments. 'Zhu' (bamboo) stands for wind instruments like flutes and xiao, while 'si' (silk) refers to string instruments like the pipa and erhu, whose strings were traditionally made of silk. Together it denotes the act of playing and enjoying instrumental music.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Yuan dynasty anonymous zaju play 'The Peddler's Load' (《货郎担》). In the fourth act, a character laments her lack of accomplishments, saying she cannot flirt or apply makeup, nor follow musical modes to play wind and string instruments. The expression thus became a classical way to describe the refined skill of performing instrumental music.
💡 Example Usage
她自幼通晓音律，品竹弹丝样样皆精。
She has understood music since childhood and excels at every kind of wind and string instrument.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 品竹弹丝
- Pinyin: pǐn zhú tán sī
- Literal Translation: taste, bamboo, pluck, silk
- Category: Skill
- Characters: 4