古调不弹 — “Ancient tunes are not played”

During the Tang Dynasty, the poet Liu Changqing composed the poem 'Listening to the Zither.' It reads: 'On the clear, cold seven strings, one quietly hears the chill of the pine wind. Though I cherish the ancient melodies, most people today no longer play them.'

He expressed his lament over the changing times and people's hearts, feeling that contemporary values were not as noble as those of antiquity. Through this, he subtly critiqued that people of his era were not as virtuous as their predecessors, conveying a strong sense of difficulty in finding true kindred spirits who appreciated the old ways.