drain the pond to catch all the fish

drain the pond to catch all the fish

The Chinese idiom, pronounced Ji é Z é ry ú, means to fish by draining all the water in a lake or pool. It refers to being short-sighted, focusing only on immediate interests and ignoring long-term plans. It comes from the spring and Autumn Annals of the Lu family.

Discrimination of words

To kill a chicken for its eggs

Idiom usage

It has a derogatory meaning.

The origin of Idioms

If you fish with all your might, won't you get it? In the coming year, there will be no fish. If we burn our fields, will we not get them? There will be no animals in the coming year. Although the way of deceiving and deceiving can be stolen today, it will not be recovered later. It is not a long skill.

Idiom story

In the spring and Autumn period, Duke Wen of Jin led his army to confront the state of Chu in Chengpu. He asked Hu Yan how to win over the powerful Chu army. Hu Yan offered to cheat. He asked Yongji how to deal with it. Yongji said that the only way to cheat was to dry up the water and catch fish. By the next year, there would be no fish to catch. Fighting still depends on strength. Jin Wengong's tactics defeated Chu army, but Yongji was superior to Hu Yan when he discussed merits and rewards. He said: "how can we think that the benefit of a moment is more important than the plan of a hundred years?"