shājīqǔluǎn: 杀鸡取卵 - To kill the chicken to get the eggs

• Keywords: shajiquluan, sha ji qu luan, 杀鸡取卵, Chinese idiom for short-sightedness, kill the chicken to get the eggs, short-term gain long-term loss, foolish greed, Chinese fable, business idiom, environmental idiom.
• Summary: The Chinese idiom 杀鸡取卵 (shā jī qǔ luǎn) literally means “to kill the chicken to get the eggs.” It describes a foolish and self-destructive act of sacrificing a valuable, long-term resource for a minor, immediate gain. Originating from ancient fables, this chengyu is a powerful warning against short-sighted greed and is commonly used in modern contexts like business, environmental policy, and personal development to criticize unsustainable practices.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): shā jī qǔ luǎn
• Part of Speech: Chengyu (Chinese Idiom); Verb Phrase
• HSK Level: N/A (Considered an advanced, but very common, idiom)
• Concise Definition: To destroy a source of future benefits for a short-term gain.
• In a Nutshell: Imagine you have a hen that lays one valuable egg every day. Getting impatient, you decide to kill the hen to get all the eggs at once, only to find nothing inside. You've now lost both the eggs and the hen. That's 杀鸡取卵. It's the ultimate act of foolish, short-sighted greed, a vivid metaphor for any action that prioritizes a small, instant reward over a much larger, sustainable future.

• 杀 (shā): To kill, to slay.
• 鸡 (jī): Chicken, hen. This character is a pictograph of a rooster.
• 取 (qǔ): To take, to get, to fetch. The character originally depicted an ear (耳) and a hand (又), representing the act of taking a captured enemy's ear as a trophy.
• 卵 (luǎn): Egg. This character resembles two eggs.

The characters literally and graphically combine to paint a clear picture: “kill (the) chicken (to) take (the) eggs.” This direct, almost brutal, imagery is what makes the idiom's metaphorical meaning so powerful and easy to remember.

The story behind 杀鸡取卵 is a classic cautionary tale, similar to Aesop's “The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs.” In the Chinese version, a farmer, driven by greed and impatience, kills his magical hen to get all its future eggs at once, thereby destroying his source of wealth. This idiom is deeply embedded in Chinese culture as a lesson in the virtues of patience, long-term planning (深谋远虑 - shēnmóuyuǎnlǜ), and sustainability. It serves as a powerful critique of impulsive greed and highlights a pragmatic worldview that values steady, long-term growth over risky, get-rich-quick schemes. A Western parallel is “killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.” While the meaning is nearly identical, 杀鸡取卵 feels more grounded and relatable in a Chinese context. A chicken (鸡) is an everyday farm animal, not a magical goose, making the farmer's foolishness seem less like a fairy tale and more like a real-world mistake in judgment. It's a practical warning against destroying any productive asset—be it a customer base, a natural resource, or one's own health—for a quick payoff.

杀鸡取卵 is a formal idiom, but it is widely understood and used in various serious contexts. Its connotation is always strongly negative and critical.

• In Business and Economics: This is one of the most common applications. It's used to criticize companies that slash research and development budgets to inflate quarterly profits, or exploit their workers to cut costs, ultimately damaging brand reputation and long-term innovation.
• In Environmental Policy: The idiom is frequently used in discussions about environmental protection. Overfishing, deforestation for immediate logging profits, or polluting rivers for industrial output are all classic examples of 杀鸡取卵.
• In Personal Development: A person might be warned against this behavior. For example, dropping out of university for a low-skill, immediate-paying job could be described as 杀鸡取卵—sacrificing long-term career potential for short-term cash.

• Example 1:
  • 为了暂时的利润而破坏环境，无异于杀鸡取卵。
  • Pinyin: Wèile zànshí de lìrùn ér pòhuài huánjìng, wúyìyú shā jī qǔ luǎn.
  • English: Destroying the environment for temporary profit is no different from killing the chicken to get the eggs.
  • Analysis: A very common and standard usage, connecting the idiom to environmental destruction. “无异于 (wúyìyú)” means “is no different from.”
• Example 2:
  • 公司为了降低成本而解雇了所有资深工程师，这简直是杀鸡取卵。
  • Pinyin: Gōngsī wèile jiàngdī chéngběn ér jiěgùle suǒyǒu zīshēn gōngchéngshī, zhè jiǎnzhí shì shā jī qǔ luǎn.
  • English: The company fired all its senior engineers to reduce costs; this is simply killing the chicken to get the eggs.
  • Analysis: A classic business context. The senior engineers are the “chicken” that produces long-term value (innovation, experience), and firing them for a short-term cost reduction (the “egg”) is a foolish move.
• Example 3:
  • 大量使用农药虽然能提高短期产量，但从长远来看，这是一种杀鸡取卵的做法。
  • Pinyin: Dàliàng shǐyòng nóngyào suīrán néng tígāo duǎnqī chǎnliàng, dàn cóng chángyuǎn láikàn, zhè shì yī zhǒng shā jī qǔ luǎn de zuòfǎ.
  • English: Although using large amounts of pesticides can increase short-term yields, in the long run, this is a “kill the chicken to get the eggs” approach.
  • Analysis: This example shows how the idiom can be used as a descriptor (“…的做法” - an approach/method).
• Example 4:
  • 旅游景点过度开发，就是典型的杀鸡取卵行为。
  • Pinyin: Lǚyóu jǐngdiǎn guòdù kāifā, jiùshì diǎnxíng de shā jī qǔ luǎn xíngwéi.
  • English: The overdevelopment of tourist sites is a typical example of “killing the chicken to get the eggs” behavior.
  • Analysis: Here, the natural beauty of the tourist spot is the “chicken.” Overdeveloping it with too many hotels and shops (to get quick money) destroys the very thing that attracts tourists in the first place.
• Example 5:
  • 你不能为了眼前的方便，就卖掉你父亲留给你的土地，这是杀鸡取卵啊！
  • Pinyin: Nǐ bùnéng wèile yǎnqián de fāngbiàn, jiù màidiào nǐ fùqīn liú gěi nǐ de tǔdì, zhè shì shā jī qǔ luǎn a!
  • English: You can't sell the land your father left you just for immediate convenience. This is killing the chicken to get the eggs!
  • Analysis: A personal, emotional context. The land is a long-term asset (the “chicken”), and selling it for quick cash (the “egg”) is seen as a foolish betrayal of a legacy.
• Example 6:
  • 我们的政策必须有长远眼光，绝不能做杀鸡取卵的蠢事。
  • Pinyin: Wǒmen de zhèngcè bìxū yǒu chángyuǎn yǎnguāng, jué bùnéng zuò shā jī qǔ luǎn de chǔnshì.
  • English: Our policy must have a long-term vision; we absolutely cannot do something as foolish as killing the chicken to get the eggs.
  • Analysis: Used in a formal, political context. “蠢事 (chǔnshì)” means “a foolish act,” reinforcing the idiom's meaning.
• Example 7:
  • 不断地向你的客户推销劣质产品，就是在杀鸡取卵，会毁掉你的信誉。
  • Pinyin: Bùduàn de xiàng nǐ de kèhù tuīxiāo lièzhì chǎnpǐn, jiùshì zài shā jī qǔ luǎn, huì huǐdiào nǐ de xìnyù.
  • English: Constantly pushing inferior products to your customers is killing the chicken to get the eggs; it will destroy your reputation.
  • Analysis: Here, the customer's trust and loyalty is the “chicken.” Exploiting it for short-term sales (the “eggs”) will ultimately destroy the customer base.
• Example 8:
  • 为了赢得比赛而服用兴奋剂，对运动员来说是杀鸡取卵，会损害他们的健康。
  • Pinyin: Wèile yíngdé bǐsài ér fúyòng xīngfènjì, duì yùndòngyuán láishuō shì shā jī qǔ luǎn, huì sǔnhài tāmen de jiànkāng.
  • English: Taking performance-enhancing drugs to win a competition is, for an athlete, killing the chicken to get the eggs; it will damage their health.
  • Analysis: The athlete's long-term health is the “chicken,” and the single victory is the “egg.”
• Example 9:
  • 政府提高税率来解决眼前的财政危机，但有些人担心这可能是杀鸡取卵。
  • Pinyin: Zhèngfǔ tígāo shuìlǜ lái jiějué yǎnqián de cáizhèng wēijī, dàn yǒuxiē rén dānxīn zhè kěnéng shì shā jī qǔ luǎn.
  • English: The government raised tax rates to solve the immediate financial crisis, but some people worry this might be a case of killing the chicken to get the eggs.
  • Analysis: This shows a more nuanced use. The “chicken” is the economy or tax base. The fear is that excessively high taxes will stifle economic growth, leading to lower tax revenues in the future.
• Example 10:
  • 我们不能再杀鸡取卵了，必须开始注重可持续发展。
  • Pinyin: Wǒmen bùnéng zài shā jī qǔ luǎn le, bìxū kāishǐ zhùzhòng kěchíxù fāzhǎn.
  • English: We can no longer kill the chicken to get the eggs; we must start focusing on sustainable development.
  • Analysis: This sentence directly contrasts the idiom with its modern antonym, “sustainable development” (可持续发展 - kěchíxù fāzhǎn).

• Mistake: Using it for any bad decision. 杀鸡取卵 is specific. It must involve the destruction of a source of future value for an immediate gain. It's not a general term for making a mistake.
  • Incorrect: 他没复习就去考试，结果不及格，真是杀鸡取卵。 (He didn't study for the exam and failed, that's really killing the chicken to get the eggs.)
  • Why it's wrong: This is just poor preparation, not destroying a resource for a gain.
  • Correct: 他为了准备这场考试，三天三夜没睡觉，结果搞垮了身体，这才是杀鸡取卵。(To prepare for this exam, he didn't sleep for three days and nights and ruined his health. That's killing the chicken to get the eggs.) Here, his health (the chicken) was sacrificed for a short-term goal (the exam).
• “False Friend”: Not the same as “burning your bridges.” “Burning your bridges” (过河拆桥 - guò hé chāi qiáo) is about severing relationships or options so you can't go back. 杀鸡取卵 is about destroying a productive asset out of greed. While both are self-destructive, the former is about relationships and paths, while the latter is about resources and value.

• 竭泽而渔 (jié zé ér yú) - To drain the pond to catch all the fish. A very close synonym, often used interchangeably, especially in environmental contexts.
• 饮鸩止渴 (yǐn zhèn zhǐ kě) - To drink poison to quench a thirst. Another synonym describing a foolish solution that brings about a greater disaster.
• 急功近利 (jí gōng jìn lì) - Eager for quick success and immediate benefit. This describes the mindset or motivation that leads a person to 杀鸡取卵.
• 鼠目寸光 (shǔ mù cùn guāng) - A mouse's eyes can only see an inch. Describes the character trait of being short-sighted. A person who is 鼠目寸光 is likely to 杀鸡取卵.
• 深谋远虑 (shēnmóuyuǎnlǜ) - Deep planning and far-reaching consideration. The direct antonym of the mindset behind 杀鸡取卵; the wise and prudent approach.
• 寅吃卯粮 (yín chī mǎo liáng) - Eating tomorrow's food today (literally, eating the food of the `mǎo` period during the `yín` period). A similar concept of unsustainable living and using up future resources.
• 可持续发展 (kě chíxù fāzhǎn) - Sustainable development. The modern, formal concept that directly opposes the actions described by 杀鸡取卵.