?Ping Gong of Jin ordered someone to make a stringed musical instrument. The?strings?of the instrument were of the same size, with no difference between the small strings and the large string. After the instrument was made. Ping Gong of Jin asked Shi Kuang, an official in charge of music, to?tune?the instrument. Shi Kuang spent a whole day doing it, but failed to tune out a melody.
晉平公令人制作了一張琴。琴上的弦，粗細(xì)一個(gè)樣，大弦、小弦沒(méi)有區(qū)別。琴制作好以后，晉平公讓樂(lè)官師曠來(lái)調(diào)音。師曠調(diào)了一整天，也沒(méi)調(diào)出個(gè)曲調(diào)來(lái)。

Ping Gong blamed Shi Kuang for his incompetence.?Shi Kuang explained: "The large string of a musical instrument is like the king of a state, and the small strings are like his subordinates. The large string and the small strings have their own functions. Only by??coordinating?with one another can they composetemperament?and only by being orderly can they play?harmonious?and pleasant music. Now there is no difference in size between the large string and the small strings. This ruins the system and?regularity?which they should have. How can I tune an instrument like this?"
晉平公責(zé)怪師曠不會(huì)調(diào)琴。師曠解釋說(shuō): “一張琴，大弦就好比國(guó)君，小弦就好比臣子。大弦小弦各有各的功能，它們彼此配合，才能合成音律。大弦小弦有條不紊，才能奏出和諧悅耳的音樂(lè)。您現(xiàn)在把琴弦做成大小不分，破壞了它們應(yīng)有的系統(tǒng)性與規(guī)律性。這樣的琴，您讓我怎么調(diào)呀？”