将欲取之，必先与之 | Give a little to gain a lot

jiāng将yù欲qǔ取zhī之，，bì必xiān先yǔ与zhī之

To give something in advance as a strategic concession or enticement, intending to gain something greater in return or achieve a larger objective later.

在商业谈判中，有时需要将欲取之，必先与之，先给对方一些小甜头，才能最终达成更大的合作。

In business negotiations, sometimes one must 'give in order to take,' offering small incentives first to achieve a larger cooperation in the end.

Era:

Ancient

Frequency:

Synonym:

欲取姑与

Story:

During the Spring and Autumn period, Zhi Bo, a powerful noble in the Jin state, relied on his authority to forcibly demand land from Wei Huanzi.

Wei Huanzi's strategist advised him to agree to give the land, predicting that this would make Zhi Bo even more greedy and prompt him to demand land from other nobles. This, in turn, would cause the other nobles to unite against him. This strategy was known as '将欲取之，必姑与之' (If you wish to take something, you must first provisionally give something).

Later, Zhi Bo was defeated by the united nobles, and Wei Huanzi obtained even more land.

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