When the fool wants to increase the number of his fish, he puts pikes into his carp ponds.

Understand the thought

Meaning in plain English

Adding pikes to carp ponds to increase fish gives a plan an image of a method undermining its goal. The saying questions intervention without understanding its consequences.

What the words are saying

The precise traditional context is unverified, and this is not a fish-management or ecological rule. A useful nonliteral application checks whether an added element actually supports the intended result. The insult should not replace explanation, and a mistake need not define a person’s worth.

Everyday example

A team checks how a proposed change affects the existing system before using it to increase output.

When to use it

Use it only as a qualified self-defeating-method image.

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Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.