During the Warring States period, King Xuan of Qi loved listening to the yu (a reed instrument) and insisted on grand spectacles, always summoning 300 musicians to play together for him, each receiving a generous salary.
During the reign of King Xuan of Qi, a man named Mr. Nanguo admired the generous salaries of the yu players but couldn't play the instrument himself. He bragged, "I'm a master of the yu and wish to join your royal orchestra!" Delighted, the king placed him in the ensemble, paying him the same lavish stipend as the other musicians.
From then on, whenever King Xuan of Qi had the band play the yu, Mr. Nanguo would blend in, holding the instrument and putting on an elaborate show of playing. Since there were many musicians and the music was loud, he managed to pass himself off without anyone realizing he knew nothing about the yu. Mr. Nanguo grew quite pleased with himself, believing he could keep up the charade indefinitely.
When King Xuan of Qi died, his son King Min of Qi took the throne. King Min also loved listening to the yu, but he preferred solo performances over group ensembles, insisting each musician play for him one by one.
When the new King Min of Qi demanded that each musician in the royal ensemble perform a solo, Mr
Later generations, based on this story, coined the idiom "Lanyu Chongshu" (to make up the numbers with a fake yu). "Lan" means false or deceptive, implying to pass off as genuine. "Chongshu" means to fill a slot. This idiom describes someone unqualified pretending to be competent, or using inferior goods as quality ones; it can also be used as a self-deprecating remark.
Source: *Han Feizi*, Chapter "Nei Chu Shuo Shang"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "滥竽充数" came to describe how someone unqualified pretends to be competent, or uses inferior goods as quality ones; it can also be used as a self-deprecating remark.