在傳統的文藝批評資料中，「知音」是個常見的詞語。究其原因，除了語義簡單明瞭，而伯牙、鍾子期之間的「知音」故事又廣為人知，是以我們理所當然接受該詞的存在——也包括故事指陳的批評活動的理想型態；但卻往往忽略了「知音」涵蘊的批評理念。
近來雖有學者從文學批評的路線，對「知音」一詞後設的思維模式／心靈樣態進行探索，並獲得出眾的成果；然而要釐清「知音」（原指通曉音律）的本質問題，尚需補上音樂領域的研究。準此，本文擬自傳統和現代兩個層面，重新檢視環繞「知音」（以音樂為主）的批評資料。首先在傳統層面，文章將以音樂結合思想、文學兩條進路，嘗試提出有別既往的詮釋；而在現代層面，則移用認知神經科學的相關研究成果，以期廓清「知音」故事（乃至一般性）的音樂活動中，大腦運作的普遍樣態。

“ZhiYin” is a classic literary term for Chinese literature interpretation. It’s a term coined by the popular story of Boya and Zhong TzuCi and is accepted by people as a clear concept to depict the ideal type for criticism. However, the transparency of the definition of the term may lead us to overlook the critical potential in criticism.
Recently, scholars successfully probe into the term from the perspective of Metacognition/ Mindset and render the term a fresh breath. However, to debunk the ontological obstacles for the term, the study in the musical field, the original meaning for the term, is of essential importance. Therefore, the study examined the literature related to the term from two perspectives, traditional and modern. In the traditional perspective, the study proposed an innovative interpretation by analyzing the cultural and literary thinking of the term. In the modern perspective, the study draw concepts from neuroscience to study the actual brain operation in the allusion and the general musical events.