杀鸡取卵
shā jī qǔ luǎn
to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
Character by character
杀shā
kill
kill
鸡jī
hen
hen
取qǔ
take
take
卵luǎn
eggs
eggs
Example
为了多收几年税，把企业逼得关了门，这是杀鸡取卵。
Driving firms out of business to squeeze out a few more years of tax is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
The same picture as Aesop’s fable of the bird that laid golden eggs (a hen in some versions, a goose in others and in the English idiom), whose owner killed it to get all the eggs at once. Close to 竭泽而渔 (lesson 5-4): sacrificing the long term for a quick gain. Common in debates on policy, business and education: 这种做法无异于杀鸡取卵.
Learn this in Lesson 148 · HSK 7–9: 举重与举国体制 (Weightlifting and the state sports system)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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