Unlearned and Ignorant

The character 'wu' (無) in 'buxue wushu' (不學無術) was originally 'wang' (亡), which is a homophone for 'wu' (無). It refers to not studying the classics and gaining experience and knowledge, leading to biased or incorrect actions and decisions. The phrase originates from the 'Biography of Huo Guang' in Volume 68 of the Book of Han (漢書．卷六八．霍光金日磾傳．霍光). Later, 'buxue wushu' came to be used generally to describe someone who lacks knowledge and skills due to a lack of study.