滥竽——充数
齐宣王使人吹竽,必三百人。
南郭处士请为王吹竽,
宣王说之,廪食以数百人。
宣王死,湣mǐn王立,
好一一听之,处士逃。
——《韩非子·内储说上七术》
译——
齐宣王吹竽排场擂,
三百艺人,一起吹。
南郭处士,要吹竽,
齐宣王乐,赐奉位。
齐宣王后,儿继王。
喜独奏,南郭逃遁。
The Man Who Faked His Music
King Xuan of Qi was fond of music.
In particular, he enjoyed listening to a wind
instrument called the "yu".
He appreciated it most
when the yu was played by a band of
about three hundred musicians.
One time there was a vacancy in the royal band.
When Nanguo heard about it, he applied for the post.
Nanguo was not a musician at all.
He had applied for the post simply
because he was poor and it paid well.
Nanguo was lucky.
Nobody knew he was faking.
His luck did not last long, though,
because King Xuan soon died and
young Prince Min became king.
King Min also enjoyed listening to the yu.
Unlike his father, he preferred listening to
the musicians playing solo.
As soon as Nanguo got wind of the news,
he sneaked away as fast as he could.