How to Read “漁夫の利”
Gyofu no ri
Meaning of “漁夫の利”
“Fisherman’s profit” means that a third party gains profit without effort while two parties are fighting.
This expression is used in situations where parties are in intense conflict with each other. Both parties who are absorbed in fighting tend to neglect their vigilance toward their surroundings. At such times, it represents a structure where a third party who is calmly observing the situation obtains the greatest results without effort. Even in modern times, it is often used in situations where one company monopolizes the market with new services while competing companies are engaged in fierce price competition. It also applies to everyday situations where a parent who mediates a sibling fight ends up being thanked by both sides. The reason for using this phrase is to encourage calmness in the parties involved in the dispute or to alert third parties to be cautious.
Origin and Etymology
“Fisherman’s profit” originates from a famous historical tale recorded in the ancient Chinese classic “Strategies of the Warring States.” This story was told in the state of Yan during the Warring States period and continues to be beloved by many people today.
The story takes place by a riverside. A snipe found a clam in the river and tried to eat the clam’s flesh with its beak. However, the clam quickly closed its shell and trapped the snipe’s beak. The snipe threatened, “If it doesn’t rain today, if it doesn’t rain tomorrow, you’ll become a dead clam.” The clam retorted, “If your beak doesn’t come out today, if it doesn’t come out tomorrow, you’ll become a dead bird.”
While the two were desperately fighting, a fisherman who happened to pass by came along and easily caught both the snipe and the clam. This is the historical tale that became the origin of “Fisherman’s profit.”
This story was originally told by a person named Su Dai to admonish the King of Yan when the state of Yan was about to attack the state of Zhao. It contained the political lesson that if two countries fought, they would give the powerful state of Qin an opportunity to take advantage.
Interesting Facts
The snipe that appears in this proverb actually has the habit of eating clams in tidal flats and riversides. The sight of them thrusting their long beaks into the sand to search for clams is a scene often observed in birdwatching. However, in reality, it rarely happens that clams trap beaks and won’t let go.
Su Dai, who told this historical tale in “Strategies of the Warring States,” was a famous traveling persuader during the Warring States period. Since he was in the profession of eloquently persuading kings of various countries, it is believed that he had many such easy-to-understand analogies.
Usage Examples
- While those two companies were fighting over patents, our company was able to capture the market with new technology – it was completely Fisherman’s profit
- A new candidate gaining support while political parties are engaged in mutual criticism is truly Fisherman’s profit
Modern Interpretation
In modern society, the structure of “Fisherman’s profit” has become more complex and sophisticated. Particularly in the business world, it is often utilized as a strategy to intentionally take advantage of conflicts between competitors.
Looking at the IT industry, startup companies sometimes emerge to dominate the market with completely new approaches while major companies are engaged in standards wars or patent litigation. This is often not a coincidental product but a calculated strategy aimed at market gaps.
Similar phenomena can be seen in the world of social media. While influencers are engaged in flame wars, people who continue to make calm and constructive posts sometimes gain followers. Rather than participating in conflicts to attract attention, maintaining a step-back perspective often results in greater benefits.
On the other hand, in modern times, information transparency has increased, making it easier to detect when someone is aiming for “Fisherman’s profit.” Acting too calculatingly can actually risk losing trust. Also, due to globalization, there are competitors worldwide, so there are multiple third parties watching conflicts between two parties, making the structure more complex.
Modern “Fisherman’s profit” teaches us the importance of strategic thinking – not just windfall profits, but calmly analyzing situations and acting at the appropriate timing.
When AI Hears This
The geniuses behind platform businesses are actually executing the 2,000-year-old “fisherman’s profit” strategy to perfection.
Take a look at Amazon. While bookstores and publishers were fighting over “physical books vs. e-books,” Amazon cast its “fishing rod” called Kindle into the fray. As a result, they caught both fish in one net. Today, Amazon controls 40% of book distribution.
Uber was even more cunning. While the taxi industry and individual drivers were clashing over “regulation vs. freedom,” Uber set its “net” – the app. The more intense the conflict became, the more both sides had no choice but to depend on Uber’s platform.
What’s most fascinating is how these companies “win without fighting.” Rather than Google directly slugging it out with Apple in smartphones, it distributed Android OS for free and orchestrated the “iPhone vs. Android camp” battle. The more the conflict intensifies, the more advertising revenue – their bait – increases.
The crucial difference from the classic “fisherman’s profit” is that the modern version “intentionally creates conflicts.” The snipe and clam fought by chance, but platform companies design “mechanisms” from the start that make competitors fight each other. In other words, they’ve created a structure where the fisherman makes the fish fight among themselves and gains perpetual profit from that conflict.
Lessons for Today
“Fisherman’s profit” teaches modern people about the dangers of being drawn into emotional conflicts and the value of maintaining a calm perspective.
We encounter various competitive and conflicting situations daily. Competition with colleagues at work, debates on social media, disagreements within families – there are many situations where we tend to become emotional. It’s precisely at such times that it’s important to step back and maintain a bird’s-eye view of the whole situation.
When absorbed in conflict, we tend to lose sight of our original purpose. The snipe’s purpose should have been to obtain food, but it became absorbed in a battle of wills with the clam, and in the end, both were caught by the fisherman. Similarly, we might lose truly important things by being too focused on winning against our opponents.
This lesson also teaches us the importance of “third-party perspective.” When stuck in problem-solving, listening to opinions from people who aren’t directly involved or taking some time to calm down often reveals new solutions.
When you’re about to be drawn into some conflict, try asking yourself, “Am I losing sight of my original purpose right now?” You’ll surely find a better path forward.
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