TIL There was a Chinese man who faked his way into becoming a musician for the King of Qi without knowing how to play the instrument at all. He imitated movements of other musicians and was paid a good salary in the ensemble until the King died. The new King preferred solo performances, so he fled

In ancient times, there was a country called Qi. The King of Qi liked to listen to music, especially to yu [an ancient reed instrument]. At that time, he had 300 musicians who could play the yu. The king liked liveliness, and every time he listened to the yu, he always asked the 300 musicians to make an ensemble for him.

There was a person called Nan Guo, and when he heard that the king liked to listen to an ensemble, he thought it was a good opportunity to make money, and so he ran to see the king. Nan Guo bragged to the king and said, “Oh, Great King, everyone who has heard me playing yu has been moved. Birds sing after hearing it, and flowers will dance after hearing it. I want to present my skill to Your Majesty.” The king was very excited, so he let Nan Guo join the yu ensemble.

But in fact, Nan Guo couldn’t play the yu. So what did he do?

Every performance, Nan Guo would grab the yu and blend with the ensemble, imitating the movements of the other musicians. This way, even if he could not play, the others would not find out. Nan Guo did so day after day, earning a very good salary without any contribution.

But the good times didn’t last long. After a few years, the king passed away and his son became the new king. The new king also liked to listen to yu, but he liked to listen to solo performances.

After hearing about the new king’s preference, Nan Guo was very anxious. After much thought, he felt that there was nothing he could do, so he had no choice but to pack up and escape that night.

The idiom “Lan Yu Chong Shu (a bad yu to add up the numbers)” is a metaphor for “an incompetent person pretending to be capable, or an inferior product pretending to be good.” No ability at all, but still pretending.

How to use the idiom “Lan Yu Chong Shu”?