Zhou Yu (175–210 CE) was a renowned general of the state of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. His courtesy name was Gongjin, and he was from Shu County, Lujiang Commandery (in present-day southwestern Lujiang County, Anhui). At age 21, he joined Sun Ce in pacifying the Jiangdong region and helped lay the foundation for the Sun Wu regime. After Sun Ce was assassinated, Sun Quan succeeded him, and Zhou Yu, together with Chief Clerk Zhang Zhao, jointly assisted in governing the state.
In 208 (the thirteenth year of the Jian’an era), when Cao Cao launched a massive southern campaign, Zhou Yu formed an alliance with Liu Bei and inflicted a decisive defeat on Cao Cao’s forces at the Battle of Red Cliffs. In 209, he was appointed General of the Gentlemen of the Household (Pian Jiangjun) and Administrator of Nan Commandery. He died shortly afterward at Baqiu (present-day Yueyang, Hunan) at the young age of 36.
It is said that Zhou Yu was an exceptionally skilled musician, particularly adept at playing the guqin (Chinese zither). Even when slightly drunk, he could detect the slightest mistake in someone else’s performance. Whenever he noticed an error, he would glance at the performer as a subtle cue. This gave rise to the contemporary saying: “If a note is wrong, Zhou Lang will turn his head” (“Qu you wu, Zhou Lang gu”).
The Tang poet Li Duan wrote a poem Listening to the Zither (also translates to The Play of the Chinese Zither) about this story:
Beneath gold-grained pins the zither rings clear,
Her white hands play before the jade-windowed bower.
To win the glance of fair young Zhou Lang,
Again and again she strums the strings awry.
This poem tells us that the girl player deliberately played a wrong note just to catch Zhou Yu’s attention. It shows how famous and admirable Zhou Yu’s musical talent was in ancient China.
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