A man from the state of Chu was singing loudly in the capital city of Ying. He began with the folk songs "Xia Li" and "Ba Ren," and thousands of people in the city joined him in singing.
When he proceeded to sing "A Yang" and "Jiu Lu," several hundred people were still able to join in.
Then he sang "Yang Chun" and "Bai Xue." At this point, only a few dozen people could follow along. Finally, when he started singing those melodious tunes with complex, rising and falling melodies, very few could still accompany him. The more refined and elegant his songs became, the fewer people could sing along.