鸟尽弓藏

niǎojìngōngcáng

鸟尽弓藏 — niǎojìngōngcáng

1. lit. 'when the birds are gone the bow is put away'; fig. to discard someone once they have served their purpose

   帮他夺取权力的人后来被清洗了，真正是鸟尽弓藏。 bāng tā duóqǔ quánlì de rén hòulái bèi qīngxǐ le zhēnzhèng shì niǎojìngōngcáng — Those who helped him seize power were later purged — truly a case of discarding someone once they've served their purpose.