兔死狗烹
兔死狗烹 (tù sǐ gǒu pēng) literally means “hare dead, hound cooked” and expresses “discard allies once they are useless”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving success and perseverance.
Also searched as: tu si gou peng, tu si gou peng,兔死狗烹 meaning, 兔死狗烹 in english
Discard allies once they are useless
Pronunciation: tù sǐ gǒu pēng Literal meaning: Hare dead, hound cooked
Origin & Usage
Fan Li, having helped Goujian of Yue destroy Wu, left at once and wrote to his colleague Wen Zhong telling him to do the same: 飞鸟尽，良弓藏；狡兔死，走狗烹 — when the birds are gone the good bow is put away, when the cunning hares are dead the running hounds are cooked. Goujian, he warned, was a man to share hardship with but not ease. Wen Zhong stayed and was ordered to kill himself. Han Xin quoted the same lines at his own arrest centuries later. The other half, 鸟尽弓藏, is used interchangeably.
Examples
English: "The winning general was thanked and then destroyed"
Chinese: 大功告成之后，那位功臣反而被清算了
Related Chinese Idioms
Similar idioms about success & perseverance
一鸣惊人
yī míng jīng rén
Sudden, remarkable success
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百折不挠
bǎi zhé bù náo
Unshakeable despite adversity
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水滴石穿
shuǐ dī shí chuān
Persistence achieves anything
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门庭若市
mén tíng ruò shì
Extremely popular
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天道酬勤
tiān dào chóu qín
Effort is eventually repaid
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破釜沉舟
pò fǔ chén zhōu
Commit with no retreat
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守时如金
shǒu shí rú jīn
Value time preciously
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青出于蓝
qīng chū yú lán
Student surpasses master
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does 兔死狗烹 mean in English?
兔死狗烹 (tù sǐ gǒu pēng) literally translates to “Hare dead, hound cooked” and is used to express “Discard allies once they are useless”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Success & Perseverance category.
When is 兔死狗烹 used?
Situation: The winning general was thanked and then destroyed
What is the pinyin for 兔死狗烹?
The pinyin pronunciation for 兔死狗烹 is “tù sǐ gǒu pēng”.