Chī xiǎo kuī, zhàn dà piányi.

吃小虧, 占大便宜。

Lit Take small losses [for the sake of] earning big gains [later on].

Fig “Lose a penny [in order to] gain a pound.”

Note [Note: during the Cultural Revolution Liu Shaoqi was criticized for recommending chī xiǎo kuī, zhàn dà piányi (“suffer a little to gain a lot”) as a strategy for the Chinese Communist party; see also chī yī fēn kuī and zhàn xiǎopiányi below.]

Topics Cultural Revolution GAINS Liu Shaoqi LOSSES STRATEGY