S2E05 | A Man of Great Inability | 滥竽充数
Saying: “To indiscriminately choose a Yu player to fill out the orchestra”
Pinyin: Làn Yú Chōng Shù
Chinese: 滥竽充数
Everybody knows of someone who can be described by this Chinese Saying.
In this week’s musical Chinese Saying we look at the lazy poser Mr. Nanguo and his brief career as a Yu player in an all-Yu Orchestra and the wonderful story that gave us a nice useful saying.
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Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Chōng | 充 | sufficient, full, to pretend or pose as something |
| chōng nèiháng | 充内行 | to pretend to be an expert |
| chōng shù | 充数 | to make up the necessary number required…. |
| Fùxìng | 复姓 | two character surnames |
| Hán Fēi | 韩非子 | Master Han Fei, philosopher and father of Legalism |
| King Mǐn (Qí Mǐn Wáng) | 齐泯王 | Last king of Qi, reigned from 300-284 BCE |
| King of Qí (Qí Xuān Wáng) | 齐宣王 | King of the Qi State, reigned 319 to 301 BCE |
| Làn | 滥 | to overflow, excessive, indiscriminate |
| làn yú | 滥竽 | a Yú player indiscriminately chosen |
| Làn Yú Chōng Shù | 滥竽充数 | To indiscriminately choose a Yu player to fill out the orchestra |
| Línzī | 临淄 | Ancient capital of Qi |
| Mr. Nánguō | 南郭先生 | The star of our episode…a man of great inability |
| Mèngzǐ | 孟子 | Mencius, one of the great philosophers |
| Nèi chǔ shuō shàng | 内储说书 | The section of the Han Feizi from which our Chinese Saying sprang forth |
| Qín Shǐhuáng | 秦始皇 | The First Emperor and Qin Dynasty founder |
| shù | 数 | number or amount |
| Shāndōng | 山东 | Coastal province in the north |
| Yuán Mù Qiú Yú | 缘木求鱼 | to climb a tree to catch a fish from Season 1 |
| Yú | 竽 | a kind of ancient Chinese woodwind instrument with multiple bamboo pipes all attached together |
| Zībó | 淄博 | City in Shandong where Linzi was located |
