与虎谋皮

Origin and story

A possible source is the Fuzi fable preserved in the Taiping Yulan. In its framing conversation, the ruler of Lu considers asking powerful families whether Confucius should receive authority. Zuo Qiuming warns that they would lose influence under him, then tells of a man who consults foxes about obtaining their skins for a fine coat and sheep about supplying meat for a feast.

The animals flee before he finishes, and he obtains neither coat nor feast. The later idiom replaces the fox with a tiger but keeps the same conflict of interest: one cannot expect willing assistance from someone whose essential interests the plan would destroy.