The Musician

In ancient China, a young musician named Yu Boya gained fame for his talents. On the night of the Moon Festival, he encounters a mysterious woodcutter who is also a musician and admires Boya’s most famous song: Lofty Mountains and Flowing Water. Their friendship deepens and Boya vows to play the song for his new friend every year on the festival night. But the next year, upon hearing of his friend’s death, Boya smashes his instrument and never plays again. To this day, the word for “close friendship” means “understanding the music.”

Xuefeng Liu is a music commentator and graduate of Peking University. Since 1996, he has edited the classic music column for several magazines and has published many books.

Gunter Grossholz is a German animation artist and professor at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg and Universität Stuttgart. He used to be the judge for The International Animation Films Festival at Stuttgart and Art Director at German WANDMUTO Art Studio. His work has been awarded more than 30 international awards from the U.S., Germany, Italy, and Holland.

Yuxi Wan is an animation director, picture book producer, and painter. Their work includes picture books like Machine Animals.