Zhao Pu was a renowned statesman of the Northern Song Dynasty. When Zhao Kuangyin served as the military governor of Tongzhou and Songzhou under the Later Zhou, Zhao Pu worked under him as a judicial officer and secretary. Zhao Kuangyin greatly admired Zhao Pu's abilities, recognizing him as an exceptional talent.
In 960 AD, Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, used the pretext of a joint invasion by the Northern Han and Liao dynasties to lead his army north. When the troops reached Chen Bridge, his advisor Zhao Pu plotted a coup. Zhao Kuangyin was draped in a yellow robe, declared emperor, and renamed the dynasty Song. Zhao Pu then helped him conquer rival states and unify the realm. For his great service, the emperor first appointed Zhao Pu as Privy Councilor, and two years later, as Chancellor.
Zhao Pu, who had joined the army young and read little, often felt overwhelmed after becoming chancellor. Emperor Taizu of Song, knowing his background, urged him to study diligently. So Zhao Pu would shut himself in his study after each court session, and soon his knowledge grew remarkably. As chancellor, Zhao Pu proposed to the emperor several key policies: selecting elite troops from the provinces to serve as the imperial guard, weakening local military power, frequently rotating army garrisons, and reducing the authority of powerful generals. The emperor adopted every suggestion, which greatly stabilized the early Song Dynasty.
After Emperor Taizu of Song died, his younger brother Zhao Kuangyi, Emperor Taizong of Song, succeeded the throne and still appointed Zhao Pu as chancellor. Someone told Emperor Taizong that Zhao Pu was ignorant and incompetent, having only read one book, the Analects, making him unfit for the role. Emperor Taizong said:
“Zhao Pu is not widely read, I’ve always known that. But to say he only reads the Analects—I don’t believe that either.” Once, Emperor Taizong of Song was chatting with Zhao Pu and asked, “Some say you only read the Analects. Is that true?”
Zhao Pu replied, "What I have learned in my life truly does not go beyond the book *The Analects*. In the past, I used half of it to help the founding emperor pacify the realm; now I use the other half to help Your Majesty bring peace to the world."
In 992 CE, Zhao Pu, exhausted by age and illness, resigned as prime minister, and Emperor Taizong of Song granted him the title Duke of Wei. That July, when Zhao Pu passed away, his family opened his book chest and found inside only a single copy of the *Analects*.
Later, the idiom "Half of the Analects" came to emphasize the importance of studying Confucian classics.
Source: *Crane Forest Jade Dew*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "半部论语" came to describe emphasize the importance of studying Confucian classics.