Chinese idiom · 成语
杀鸡取卵
Meaning
To kill the chicken to get its eggs; to destroy a source for short-term gain.
Character by character
Origin and story
FableThe Ministry of Education dictionary links this expression to the Aesopic fable of the hen that lays golden eggs. In the version it cites, a cottager and his wife receive a golden egg each day. Assuming the bird contains a lump of gold, they kill it to obtain everything at once. Inside they find nothing exceptional, and their dependable source of income is gone.
The Chinese wording names a chicken, as does this version of the fable. The lesson is not simply that greed is unpleasant. It is that pursuing an immediate gain can destroy the continuing source of greater benefits.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
为了赶订单让员工长期超负荷工作，无异于杀鸡取卵。
Making staff work beyond capacity for months to rush orders destroys long-term value for short-term output.
Use when immediate benefits damage the resource that makes future benefits possible.