To nourish oneself is to injure one's health
It is a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is y ǐ y ǎ ngsh ā ngsh ē n, which means that in order to get the conditions to raise oneself, it will damage the body. Metaphor is not worth the loss. It's from Chuang Tzu rang Wang.
The origin of Idioms
Chuang Tzu rang Wang: "my wife, Wang Yu's father, can be said to respect life. Those who can respect the living, though rich, do not harm themselves by supporting themselves; though poor, they do not benefit others. People in this world, who are in high rank, all lose it. I'm not confused when I see that profit is less than death According to this, we can also see "Lu Shi Chun Qiu · Shen Wei" and "Huai Nan Zi · Dao Ying Xun".
Idiom usage
Used as an object or attribute; used in writing.
Chinese PinYin : yǐ yǎng shāng shēn
To nourish oneself is to injure one's health
be as far removed as heaven from earth. pàn ruò yún ní
be unable to hide one 's greed. chuí xián yù dī
ant holes may cause the collapse of a dyke. dī kuì yǐ kǒng
the corrupt became honest and the drifters filled with ambition. wán lián nuò lì