草船借箭
- Literal
- to borrow arrows with straw boats
- Figurative
- To get what you need out of your opponent's own resources through sheer cleverness, at almost no cost to yourself.
Where does 草船借箭 come from?
The episode comes from the novel 《三国演义》 (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), by Luo Guanzhong. Zhou Yu, Zhuge Liang's ally and also his jealous rival, orders him to produce a hundred thousand arrows in ten days, expecting him to fail; Zhuge Liang says three will do. On the third night, under thick fog on the river, he sends out boats with bundles of straw lashed along their sides and drums beating, straight toward Cao Cao's camp. Cao Cao, who can see nothing and fears an ambush, orders his archers to shoot without pause, and the arrows bury themselves in the straw. At dawn the boats come back loaded: the enemy supplied the arrows.
Source (出处): 罗贯中《三国演义》
How is 草船借箭 used? Two examples
- 他故意放出消息，让对手花钱替他试了市场，这一手正是草船借箭。
He let the news out on purpose so his rival would foot the bill for testing the market — the other side paid, and he won.
- 这家小公司草船借箭，用竞争对手的宣传打开了市场。
This small company pulled the straw-boat trick, opening up the market on the back of its rival's own advertising.
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