English Original
During the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), the King of Qi was very fond of listening to yu ensembles. He often assembled 300 yu players to perform grand music and treated his musicians very well.
A man named Nanguo heard about this and managed to join the band, even though he was not good at playing the instrument at all. Whenever the band performed for the king, Nanguo would stand in line and pretend to play. No one realized he was making no sound, so he enjoyed the same treatment as the other musicians.
When the king died, his son succeeded him. The new ruler also enjoyed yu music, but he preferred solos and ordered the musicians to play one by one. Consequently, Nanguo had to flee the palace.
The idiom "Be there just to make up the number" is used to mock someone who passes for a specialist. People may also use it about themselves to show modesty.
中文翻译
战国时期（公元前475-221年），齐宣王非常喜欢听竽合奏。他常常召集三百名吹竽乐师来演奏盛大的音乐，并且厚待这些乐师。
一个名叫南郭的人听说了此事，便设法混进了乐队，尽管他根本不擅长吹竽。每当乐队为国王演奏时，南郭就站在队列里假装吹奏。没有人发现他根本没发出声音，因此他享受着和其他乐师一样的待遇。
国王去世后，他的儿子继承了王位。新国君也喜欢听竽乐，但他更偏爱独奏，于是命令乐师们逐一演奏。结果，南郭只得逃出了王宫。
成语“滥竽充数”用来讽刺那些冒充内行的人。人们有时也用这个成语自谦，以表示谦虚。