Listen to this articleniǎojìn-gōngcáng 鸟尽弓藏
When the Birds Are Gone, the Bow Is Stored.
鸟猎尽了，弓就该收起来了。比喻战争结束以后，参与领导战争的文臣武将的战时权力被收回或削减。在古代中国，多发生于国家由战时状态向和平状态转变时期，它在一定程度上保障了中央政权和那些文臣武将的安全，有利于国家常态的恢复和长治久安。后来它多用来比喻事成之后，那些曾经出力建功的人就被抛弃了。
Once the bird hunt is over, the bow should be put away. This alludes to the fact that once a war is over, the wartime powers given to civil and military officials should be revoked or diminished. In ancient China, this often occurred when the country shifted from a state of war to one of peace; to a certain extent, it ensured the security of the central government and the civil and military officials, and was conducive to the resumption of the country’s normal and stable governance. In later years, this expression came to mean that after a task was achieved, those who had worked toward its success were abandoned.
引例 Citation：
◎夫高鸟死，良弓藏；敌国灭，谋臣亡。亡者，非丧其身也，谓夺其威、废其权也。（《黄石公三略》卷中）
（高飞的鸟死了，良弓就该收起来了；敌国灭掉了，那些出谋划策的功臣也该消亡了。所谓消亡，不是指杀死他们的生命，而是消除他们的威势、解除他们的权力。）
When the high-flying birds have died, the powerful bow is put away. When the enemy state is destroyed, the strategists are eliminated. Eliminating them does not mean killing them; it means stripping them of their authority and power. (Huangshigong’s Three Stratagems)
