Yu is a kind of music instruments in ancient times. It's said that Yu was originally made by Nuwa, the legendary mother ancestor. The instrument has a history of 3,000 years according to the recordation in Jiaguwen (scripts on tortoise shells and animal bones) excavated from the Yin Ruins.

During the Warring States Period (475-221BC), the King of the Qi State was very fond of listening to Yu ensembles. He often got together 300 Yu players to stage a grand music performance. The king treated his musicians very well. A man named Nanguo heard about that and he managed to become a member of the band, even though he was not good at playing the instrument at all. Whenever the band played for the king, Nanguo just stood in the line and pretended to play. Nobody realized he was making no sound at all. As a result, he enjoyed his treatment just as the other musicians did. When the king died, his son became the new ruler who also liked the music played on the Yu. However, he preferred solos so that he ordered the musicians to play the Yu one by one. Therefore, Nanguo had to run out of the palace.

The idiom "Be there just to make up the number" is used to mock someone who passes for a specialist. You can also hear people saying it about themselves to show their modesty.