竭泽而渔 Drain the pond to fish

竭泽而渔

jié zé ér yú

Drain the pond to fish

竭 means use up or dry up. 泽 means the water or the pond of water. 而 here is a conjunction word, meaning to do something. 渔 means fishing. The idiom, Drain the Pond to Fish 竭泽而渔 warns people not to think only of immediate profits while ignoring their long term interest.

Literal meaning: drain the pond to fish

Explanation: think only of immediate profits while ignoring the long term interest

E.g

对所有人征收重税就是在竭泽而渔。

duì suǒ yǒu rén zhēng shōu zhòng shuì jiù shì zài jié zé ér yú 。

Levying the heavy tax to all citizens is to drain the pond to fish.