齊宣王使人吹竽，必三百人。南郭處士請為王吹竽，宣王說之。廩食以數百人等。宣王死，湣王立。好一一聽之，處士逃。
《韓非子·內儲說上》
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I suppose the story is well known enough and no translation is needed. What you may not know is what happened in the palace afterwards.
Yes, the King Min of Qi (齊湣王) summoned all royal musicians to have solo performance by each. One day, the King was surprised by a nondescript player, "Why! That's fantastic! I've heard your performance in the orchestra several times when my father was alive - and I never note that you're that outstanding."
"Of course not, Your Majesty," replied the musician, "I'd never tried to play well in a crowd of 300. It would be awkward to play differently; however well you do, it would not appear to be superior - but merely strange. Everyone else in the band hates you because you disturb their rhythm. In fact, an incapable player - like our friend who just escaped - would appear to perform better than someone who tries to outshine the others ..."
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