《史记·三十世家·田敬仲完世家》
驺忌子说： 大弦缓慢并且温和，这是象征国君；小弦高亢明快并且清亮，象征宰相；手指勾弦用力，放开舒缓，象征政令；发出的琴声和谐，大小配合美妙，曲折不正之声而不相干扰，象征四时：我由此能知道您弹得好。 
驺忌子曰： 夫大弦浊以春温者，君也；小弦廉折以清者，相也；攫é之深，之愉者，政令也；钧谐以鸣，大小相益，回邪而不相害者，四时也：吾是以知其善也。 
Zou Ji said: The heavy strings are slow and gentle, symbolizing the monarch; the light strings are high-pitched, swift and clear, symbolizing the prime minister; the fingers pluck the strings with force and release them gently, symbolizing political orders; the sounds of the lute are harmonious, high and low notes complement each other, and obscure or wrong sounds do not interfere with each other, symbolizing the four seasons. I can tell from this that you play well.