Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, was a battle-hardened general who, after seizing power through the Chenqiao Mutiny and donning the yellow robe, led his armies on relentless campaigns east and west, north and south, swiftly unifying the Central Plains before crossing the Yangtze River's natural barrier to conquer the Chen Kingdom of the Southern Dynasties and several smaller southern states, thus unifying all of China.
After ascending the throne, he appointed his chief advisor Zhao Pu as chancellor. Zhao Pu had not read many books, only mastering half of the *Analects*, hence the saying "governing the realm with half the *Analects*."
Shortly after Emperor Taizu of Song conquered the Chen dynasty, he toured the former Southern Chen capital with his advisor Zhao Pu. Struck by the grandeur of the ancient city, the emperor sighed deeply. Zhao Pu asked, "Your Majesty, why do you sigh?" The emperor replied, "This place has been the capital of six dynasties, yet each fell. What lesson should we learn?" Zhao Pu answered, "Your Majesty, the rise and fall of dynasties lies not in the city's splendor but in the virtue of the ruler and the loyalty of his ministers." The emperor nodded thoughtfully, taking the advice to heart.
One day, he and Zhao Pu arrived at the Vermilion Bird Gate. Seeing the four characters "Zhuque Zhi Men" on the plaque, he asked Zhao Pu in surprise, "Why write 'Zhuque Zhi Men' instead of 'Zhuque Men'? What's the use of adding the character 'Zhi'?"
Zhao Pu replied, "This 'zhi' character merely serves as a grammatical particle." Emperor Zhao Kuangyin burst into laughter upon hearing this and said, "Words like 'zhi,' 'hu,' 'zhe,' and 'ye'—what practical use can they possibly serve?" Later, the idiom "zhi hu zhe ye" came to satirize pedantic scholars who over-polish their words, or to describe empty, impractical, and obscure speech.
Source: Wen Ying (Song Dynasty), *Xiangshan Yelu*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "之乎者也" came to describe how the idiom "zhi hu zhe ye" came to satirize pedantic scholars who over-polish their words, or to describe empty, impractical, and obscure speech.