Idiom Explanation:
Originally, it means not studying and not learning, but now it describes both uneducated and unskilled.
Pronunciation:
不学无术
bù xué wú shù
Origin:
东汉·班固《汉书·霍光传》：“然光不学亡术，暗于大理。”
Story:
Huo Guang was the half-brother of the famous general Huo Zhaodi of the Western Han Dynasty. Once, after defeating Xiongnu, Huo went home to visit his family, and when he returned to Chang’an, he brought Huo Guang to the capital, and was appointed as a governor by Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty.
Huo Guang was a well-behaved man who was careful in his dealings. Every time before the court, he stood on the small piece of ground outside the palace gate, not even exceeding one foot and one inch each time he stood on the ground. He followed Emperor Wu for twenty-eight years and never made a single mistake, so he was trusted by Emperor Wu.
Before Emperor Wu’s death, he made Huo Guang a great general and asked him to assist the eight-year-old Emperor Zhaoyang together with Sang Hongyang. After Emperor Zhaoge’s death, Huo Guang welcomed Liu He, the king of Changyi, as emperor. Soon afterwards, he installed Liu Xun as the emperor. In this way, Huo Guang took control of the military and political power of the country and became a powerful figure inside and outside the court at that time. He ruled for twenty years, and his policy of reducing the burden of the people helped the development of social production and made a great contribution to the Western Han Dynasty.
Although Huo Guang contributed to the maintenance of the Liu dynasty, he was uneducated, uneducated, uninformed, proud of his achievements, and had a monopoly on power. The ministers had to consult Huo Guang before they could present their case to the emperor. Every time he went to court, even the emperor had to be very respectful to him. This caused many people to feel resentment towards Huo Guang.
After Liu Xun inherited the throne, he made Consort Xu the empress. Huo Guang’s wife Huo Xian, a woman who was greedy for wealth, wanted to marry her youngest daughter Chengjun to Liu Xun as empress, so she took advantage of the fact that Consort Xu was sick and bribed the female doctor Chun Yu Yan to poison Consort Xu, who was about to give birth. Huo Guang didn’t know anything about this beforehand, and only when it came out did Huo Xian tell him. Huo Guang was very frightened and accused his wife of not doing such things. He also wanted to denounce it, but he couldn’t bear to see his wife condemned, so he thought about it and hid it from the public.
After Huo Guang’s death, someone reported the case to Emperor Xuan, who sent someone to investigate and deal with it. When Huo Guang’s wife heard about the case, she discussed with her family and close friends and decided to gather her clan members to plan a rebellion, but when word got out, Emperor Xuan sent soldiers to surround the Huo family and execute them.
Similar Idioms:
- 目不识丁
- 胸无点墨
