During the Warring States period, there was a musician named Gong Mingyi.
战国时期，有个叫公明仪的音乐家。
He was skilled in both composing and performing, and his seven-stringed zither playing was superb.
他作曲和演奏皆擅长，七弦琴弹得出神入化。
The music he played was beautiful and moving, and thus he was deeply loved and respected by everyone.
所奏曲子优美动听，因而深受众人喜爱，大家也都对他敬重有加。
One day, he went to the countryside, where the spring breeze was gently blowing and the willows were swaying lightly.
有一天，他来到郊外，春风缓缓吹着，垂柳轻轻摇曳。
He saw a yellow ox grazing on the grass.
只见一头黄牛正于草地上埋头吃草。
Gong Mingyi was inspired and set up his zither, plucking the strings to play the highly elegant "Qing Jiao Zhi Cao."
公明仪兴致突发，摆好琴，拨动琴弦，为这头牛弹奏起高雅至极的《清角之操》。
However, the old yellow ox had no reaction and continued to graze intently.
但老黄牛毫无反应，始终一个劲地低头吃草。
Later, Gong Mingyi imitated the buzzing of mosquitoes and the plaintive cries of a calf separated from its herd using the zither.
后来，公明仪用古琴模仿蚊子“嗡嗡”的叫声，以及离群小牛犊的哀鸣声。
This time, the old ox immediately stopped eating, lifted its head, pricked up its ears, wagged its tail, and paced back and forth, listening attentively.
这下子，那头老牛当即停止吃草，抬起头，竖起耳朵，摇着尾巴，来回小步走动，专注地倾听起来。
The idiom "playing the zither to a cow" is used to describe reasoning with unreasonable people or talking about elegance to those who do not understand beauty.
“对牛弹琴”这个成语，比喻跟不讲道理的人讲道理，向不懂得美的人讲风雅。
It is also used to mock people for not considering their audience when speaking.
也用于讥讽人讲话时不看对象。
It originally appeared in the "On Overcoming Doubts" written by Mou Rong during the Han Dynasty.
其最早出自汉代牟融撰写的《理惑论》。
原文为：“公明仪为牛弹清角之操；伏食如故；非牛不闻；不合其耳矣。转为蚊虻之声，孤犊之鸣，即掉尾奋耳，蹀躞而听”。
