Idiom: When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman gains.
Description: snipe: long-billed waterfowl; Mytilus: A mollusk with a shell. To make a metaphor, the two sides are deadlocked, both lose, and the third party takes advantage.
Source: Western Han Dynasty Liu Xiang's "Warring States Policy Yance II": "The clam dew, the snipe pecks its meat, the clam closes and pecks its beak. The snipe said, "If it doesn't rain today, there will be dead mussels tomorrow." The clam also said,' If it doesn't rain today, there will be dead snipes tomorrow. If the two men refuse to give up, the fisherman will get the bird.
Struggle between snipe and clam (1)
The mussel is exposed, while the snipe pecks at its meat. The clam closes and pinches its beak.
The snipe said, "If it doesn't rain today, it won't rain tomorrow, that is, there are dead mussels."
The clam is also called the snipe: "If you don't come out today, you will die tomorrow."
If the two men refuse to give up, the fisherman will get it and catch it.
Word annotation
① Selected from The Warring States Policy. ② Mytilus (b4ng): a mollusk born in fresh water, with two oval hard shells that can be opened and closed. (3) Exposure (P): Sunbathing means that mussels go to the seaside to bask in the sun. ④ snipe (y))；); ); Bird names often catch fish, insects and shellfish by the water. ⑤ Clamp (qi2n): Clamp. ⑥ beak (hu@): the beak of a bird. ⑦ That is: just right. 8 can't pull it out: the snipe mouth can't be pulled out. ⑨ catch (q0n): catch。
Poetry translation
As soon as the mussel climbed onto the beach and opened its shell to bask in the sun, a snipe came to peck at its meat. The clam sensitively disturbs its hard shell and tightly grips the snipe's long beak. The snipe said to the clam, "If it doesn't rain today, if it doesn't rain tomorrow, you will get sunburned." The clam also said to the snipe, "If you can't pull out your mouth today, if you can't pull out your mouth tomorrow, you will die of thirst and hunger!" Neither snipe nor clam will let anyone. As a result, they were caught by fishermen effortlessly.
References:
Classical Chinese annotation