Chinese idiom · 成语
曲高和寡
Meaning
Sophistication lacks an audience; too refined for most.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary analogyIn Dui Chu Wang Wen (對楚王問), attributed to Song Yu and preserved in Wen Xuan (文選), the king asks why ordinary people do not praise him. Song Yu replies with an account of a singer in the Chu capital, Ying. Thousands join familiar popular songs; fewer join more demanding ones; only a handful can follow the most intricate performance.
Song Yu uses this progression to defend an exceptional person whom the crowd does not understand. The idiom condenses the argument that increasingly elevated music attracts fewer voices in response. It can describe sophisticated work with a small audience, but should not automatically make lack of popularity proof of superior quality.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
这部电影虽然评价很高，却有些曲高和寡，愿意买票的人不多。
Although critics rated the film highly, its appeal was rather rarefied and few people wanted tickets.
Use for work or ideas that find little popular response, often because they are demanding.