sail a boat by water
The Chinese idiom Ji è Shu ǐ x í ngzh ō u means to take advantage of the situation. It is the same as "borrowing water to push a boat". From the three heroes and five righteousness.
The origin of Idioms
Chapter 46 of three heroes and five righteousness written by Shi Yukun in Qing Dynasty: "my master is an honest and upright official. He doesn't have a lot of silver. He also said that the villain took advantage of the water to sail, hoping to beat me 20 boards with the three hundred taels of silver."
Analysis of Idioms
Push a boat by borrowing water
Idiom usage
As a predicate, object, attribute; used as a convenience. The second scene of Ouyang Yuqian's Peach Blossom Fan: "worship him as your adopted son. It's just a boat in the water. Why not?"
sail a boat by water