📖 Meaning
A merchant's strategy of hoarding goods when market demand surges and selling them later at a premium. It describes the contrarian business acumen of buying low and selling high by going against the crowd.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Sima Qian's "Records of the Grand Historian" (《史记·货殖列传》), where the strategist Bai Gui (白圭) is described as a master of market timing during the Warring States period. While Li Ke (李克) focused on maximizing agricultural output under Marquis Wen of Wei (魏文侯), Bai Gui observed market fluctuations and adopted the principle: "When others discard, I acquire; when others acquire, I supply" (人弃我取，人取我与). His approach made him one of the earliest recorded merchant-philosophers in Chinese history.
💡 Example Usage
他经商多年，深谙人取我与之道，总能低买高卖。
Having been in business for many years, he deeply understands the art of supplying what others demand, always buying low and selling high.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 人取我与
- Pinyin: rén qǔ wǒ yǔ
- Literal Translation: others acquire, I supply
- Category: Wisdom
- Characters: 4