Words & phrases
滥竽充数
làn yú chōng shù
pretend to have a skill to fill a place
竽
yú
an ancient wind instrument
范仲淹
fàn zhòng yān
Fan Zhongyan
Model sentences
南郭先生不会吹奏，却混在乐队里滥竽充数。
nán guō xiān shēng bú huì chuī zòu， què hùn zài yuè duì lǐ làn yú chōng shù。
Mr Nanguo cannot play, yet hides in the ensemble merely to make up the numbers.
古代的竽是一种用多根管子制成的乐器。
gǔ dài de yú shì yì zhǒng yòng duō gēn guǎn zi zhì chéng de yuè qì。
The ancient yu was a musical instrument made from multiple pipes.
没有真正的本领，换成独奏时就无法蒙混过关。
méi yǒu zhēn zhèng de běn lǐng， huàn chéng dú zòu shí jiù wú fǎ méng hùn guò guān。
Without genuine skill, he cannot bluff his way through a solo.
范仲淹年轻时勤奋读书，很少放松要求。
fàn zhòng yān nián qīng shí qín fèn dú shū， hěn shǎo fàng sōng yāo qiú。
Fan Zhongyan studied diligently when young and rarely relaxed his standards.
范仲淹分粥的故事表现了他的刻苦学习。
fàn zhòng yān fēn zhōu de gù shì biǎo xiàn le tā de kè kǔ xué xí。
The story of Fan Zhongyan dividing his porridge depicts his dedication to study.
国王要求每个人独奏以后，南郭先生悄悄离开了。
guó wáng yāo qiú měi gè rén dú zòu yǐ hòu， nán guō xiān shēng qiāo qiāo lí kāi le。
When the king requires each person to perform a solo, Mr Nanguo quietly leaves.
滥竽充数与范仲淹读书
A traditional idiom story and a retold anecdote about Fan Zhongyan.
齐宣王喜欢听竽，常让三百名乐师一起演奏。南郭先生听说乐师待遇很好，便请求加入。他其实不会吹竽，却说自己吹得十分出色，国王没有单独听他演奏，就答应了。
qí xuān wáng xǐ huan tīng yú， cháng ràng sān bǎi míng yuè shī yì qǐ yǎn zòu。 nán guō xiān shēng tīng shuō yuè shī dài yù hěn hǎo， biàn qǐng qiú jiā rù。 tā qí shí bú huì chuī yú， què shuō zì jǐ chuī de shí fēn chū sè， guó wáng méi yǒu dān dú tīng tā yǎn zòu， jiù dā ying le。
King Xuan of Qi liked listening to the yu and often had three hundred musicians play together. Mr Nanguo heard they were well rewarded and asked to join. Although he could not play, he claimed great skill, and the king accepted him without an individual performance.
每次齐奏，南郭先生都坐在人群中。他看着旁边的人，鼓起腮帮，按着竽孔，身体随着音乐摇动，好像吹得很认真。别人停，他也停；别人开始，他也开始。
měi cì qí zòu， nán guō xiān shēng dōu zuò zài rén qún zhōng。 tā kàn zhe páng biān de rén， gǔ qǐ sāi bāng， àn zhe yú kǒng， shēn tǐ suí zhe yīn yuè yáo dòng， hǎo xiàng chuī de hěn rèn zhēn。 bié rén tíng， tā yě tíng； bié rén kāi shǐ， tā yě kāi shǐ。
During each performance, he sat among the others, puffed his cheeks, pressed the holes and swayed as though playing earnestly. When the others stopped or started, he did the same.
日子一天天过去，他领着报酬，心里越来越放心。后来，齐宣王去世，新国王喜欢听独奏，命令乐师轮流演奏。南郭先生听到消息，夜里偷偷收拾东西，离开了王宫。
rì zi yì tiān tiān guò qù， tā lǐng zhe bào chóu， xīn lǐ yuè lái yuè fàng xīn。 hòu lái， qí xuān wáng qù shì， xīn guó wáng xǐ huan tīng dú zòu， mìng lìng yuè shī lún liú yǎn zòu。 nán guō xiān shēng tīng dào xiāo xī， yè lǐ tōu tōu shōu shi dōng xi， lí kāi le wáng gōng。
As the days passed, he collected his pay and grew confident. After King Xuan died, the new ruler preferred solo performances and ordered the musicians to play one at a time. Hearing this, Nanguo secretly packed and left the palace at night.
第二天，乐师们来到殿前，旁边的座位却空着。有人找了一圈，也没有见到他。轮到独奏，竽声一人接一人响起来，南郭先生却再也没有回来。
dì èr tiān， yuè shī men lái dào diàn qián， páng biān de zuò wèi què kōng zhe。 yǒu rén zhǎo le yī quān， yě méi yǒu jiàn dào tā。 lún dào dú zòu， yú shēng yī rén jiē yī rén xiǎng qǐ lai， nán guō xiān shēng què zài yě méi yǒu huí lái。
The next day, musicians found his seat empty. Nobody could find him. Solo music sounded one player after another, but Nanguo never returned.
另一则故事发生在宋代。少年范仲淹家境贫寒，到寺院读书。每天，他用少量米煮一锅粥，等粥冷下来凝固，再划成几块，作为一天的饭食。
lìng yì zé gù shì fā shēng zài sòng dài。 shào nián fàn zhòng yān jiā jìng pín hán， dào sì yuàn dú shū。 měi tiān， tā yòng shǎo liàng mǐ zhǔ yī guō zhōu， děng zhōu lěng xià lai níng gù， zài huà chéng jǐ kuài， zuò wéi yì tiān de fàn shí。
Another story takes place in the Song period. Young Fan Zhongyan, from a poor family, studied at a monastery. Each day he cooked a small amount of rice into porridge, let it cool and set, then divided it into portions for his meals.
没有丰盛的菜，他就切一点腌菜配粥。早晨吃过一块，他把剩下的收好，拿起书坐到窗边。天色暗了，寺里的人休息了，他仍借着灯光读书，遇到难处便反复思考。
méi yǒu fēng shèng de cài， tā jiù qiè yì diǎn yān cài pèi zhōu。 zǎo chén chī guò yí kuài， tā bǎ shèng xia de shōu hǎo， ná qǐ shū zuò dào chuāng biān。 tiān sè àn le， sì lǐ de rén xiū xi le， tā réng jiè zhe dēng guāng dú shū， yù dào nán chǔ biàn fǎn fù sī kǎo。
Without rich dishes, he ate a little chopped pickled vegetable with the porridge. After a morning portion, he stored the rest and read by the window. When others rested at night, he continued by lamplight, thinking carefully about difficult passages.
同窗知道他的生活清苦，送来一些好饭菜。过了几天，同窗发现饭菜还放在那里，惊讶地问：“为什么不吃？难道你不愿接受我的心意吗？”
tóng chuāng zhī dào tā de shēng huó qīng kǔ， sòng lái yì xiē hǎo fàn cài。 guò le jǐ tiān， tóng chuāng fā xiàn fàn cài hái fàng zài nà lǐ， jīng yà de wèn：“wèi shén me bù chī？ nán dào nǐ bù yuàn jiē shòu wǒ de xīn yì ma？”
A fellow student brought him good food after learning how simply he lived. Days later, the student found it untouched and asked, “Why have you not eaten it? Do you not wish to accept my kindness?”
范仲淹感谢他，说自己已经习惯粥和腌菜，担心习惯了丰盛的饭食，以后反而不能安心读书。同窗听完，收起疑问，坐下来和他谈起书中的问题。
fàn zhòng yān gǎn xiè tā， shuō zì jǐ yǐ jīng xí guàn zhōu hé yān cài， dān xīn xí guàn le fēng shèng de fàn shí， yǐ hòu fǎn ér bù néng ān xīn dú shū。 tóng chuāng tīng wán， shōu qǐ yí wèn， zuò xià lai hé tā tán qǐ shū zhōng de wèn tí。
Fan thanked him and explained that he was used to porridge and vegetables, and feared that growing used to rich meals would make it harder to study contentedly later. Understanding, his companion sat down to discuss their studies.
窗外的光落在书页上，桌边仍是简单的碗筷。范仲淹翻到下一页，把没有弄懂的地方记下来。清贫的日子没有很快改变，他读书的声音却一天也没有断。
chuāng wài de guāng luò zài shū yè shàng， zhuō biān réng shì jiǎn dān de wǎn kuài。 fàn zhòng yān fān dào xià yí yè， bǎ méi yǒu nòng dǒng de dì fang jì xià lai。 qīng pín de rì zi méi yǒu hěn kuài gǎi biàn， tā dú shū de shēng yīn què yì tiān yě méi yǒu duàn。
Light fell on the pages, with simple bowls still beside them. Fan turned the page and noted what he did not understand. His poverty did not quickly change, but not a day passed without his reading.
寺里的钟声响了，他把书签夹好，先去完成当天的事情。回来以后，书仍在原处，窗边又响起轻轻的诵读声。
sì lǐ de zhōng shēng xiǎng le， tā bǎ shū qiān jiā hǎo， xiān qù wán chéng dāng tiān de shì qíng。 huí lái yǐ hòu， shū réng zài yuán chù， chuāng biān yòu xiǎng qǐ qīng qīng de sòng dú shēng。
At the temple bell, he marked his place and completed his duties. Returning, he resumed the quiet reading by the window.
Conversation
A 南郭先生为什么能暂时混在队伍里？
nán guō xiān shēng wèi shén me néng zàn shí hùn zài duì wǔ lǐ？
How can Mr Nanguo hide temporarily?
B 许多人一起演奏，声音掩盖了他的不足。
xǔ duō rén yì qǐ yǎn zòu， shēng yīn yǎn gài le tā de bù zú。
The ensemble's sound hides his lack of skill.
A 独奏改变了什么？
dú zòu gǎi biàn le shén me？
What changes with solos?
B 每个人要单独展示自己的本领。
měi gè rén yào dān dú zhǎn shì zì jǐ de běn lǐng。
Each person must demonstrate their own skill.
A 范仲淹的故事让你想到什么？
fàn zhòng yān de gù shì ràng nǐ xiǎng dào shén me？
What does Fan Zhongyan's story suggest?
B 坚持学习，但不能把困难本身当成要求。
jiān chí xué xí， dàn bù néng bǎ kùn nán běn shēn dàng chéng yāo qiú。
Persistence in learning, without treating hardship itself as a requirement.
