池鱼之殃 collateral damage
Explanation
「池鱼之殃」这个成语比喻在灾祸中受牵连而遭到不幸，指的是无辜的人因为别人的过错或灾祸而受到伤害。这个成语最早出自《剪灯新话·三山福地传》中的一句话：“汝宜择地而居，否则恐预池鱼之殃。”这句话的意思是，你要选择一个安全的地方居住，否则可能要受到池鱼之殃。
The idiom "池鱼之殃 (Chí Yú Zhī Yāng)" is a metaphor that describes the harm one suffers when drawn into a disaster. It refers to innocent people who are hurt due to the faults or misfortunes of others. This idiom originated from the Chinese work "剪灯新话·三山福地传" in a sentence: "汝宜择地而居，否则恐预池鱼之殃." This means, you should choose a safe place to live, otherwise you may suffer the misfortune of the fish in the pond.
Origin Story
在一个古老的村庄里，有一条清澈的小河，河边住着许多善良的村民。河里生活着许多可爱的鱼儿，它们在清澈的河水中快乐地游来游去。一天，村庄里发生了一场大火灾，村民们为了救火，用尽了各种方法，却依然无法扑灭火势。眼看着火势越来越大，村民们感到非常着急，他们担心火势会蔓延到河边，把河里的鱼儿也烧死。这时，一位老爷爷说：“不用担心，河里的鱼儿不会被烧死的，因为它们可以躲到河底下去。”村民们听了老爷爷的话，都松了一口气。可是，他们并不知道，火灾过后，河水被污染了，很多鱼儿因为水质污染而死去了。村民们看到河里死去的鱼儿，非常难过，他们意识到，虽然火灾没有直接烧死鱼儿，但他们却因为火灾而受到了池鱼之殃。
In an ancient village, there was a clear river, and many kind villagers lived by the river. Many lovely fish lived in the river, swimming happily in the clear water. One day, a big fire broke out in the village. The villagers tried all kinds of methods to put out the fire, but they were still unable to extinguish it. As the fire became bigger and bigger, the villagers became very anxious. They worried that the fire would spread to the riverbank and burn the fish in the river. At this time, an old grandfather said: “Don't worry, the fish in the river will not be burned, because they can hide at the bottom of the river.” The villagers were relieved when they heard the old grandfather's words. However, they didn't know that after the fire, the river water was polluted, and many fish died due to water pollution. The villagers were very sad to see the dead fish in the river. They realized that although the fire didn't directly burn the fish, they were still affected by the fire and suffered collateral damage.
Usage
这个成语用来比喻无辜的人因为别人的过错或灾祸而受到伤害。例如，在战争中，平民百姓往往会受到池鱼之殃；在公司倒闭时，员工也会受到池鱼之殃。
This idiom is used to describe innocent people who are hurt due to the faults or misfortunes of others. For example, civilians often suffer collateral damage in war; employees also suffer collateral damage when a company goes bankrupt.
Examples
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战火蔓延，殃及池鱼，百姓苦不堪言。
zhan huo man yan, yang ji chi yu, bai xing ku bu kan yan.
The flames of war spread, and innocent civilians were caught in the crossfire.
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公司倒闭，很多员工都受到了池鱼之殃。
gong si dao bi, hen duo yuan gong dou shou dao le chi yu zhi yang.
The company went bankrupt, and many employees suffered as a result.
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他只是因为与人发生了争执，却被牵连受了池鱼之殃。
ta zhi shi yin wei yu ren fa sheng le zheng zhi, que bei qian lian shou le chi yu zhi yang.
He was simply involved in an argument with someone, but he was implicated and suffered collateral damage.
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他因为朋友的错误而受到池鱼之殃，真是冤枉。
ta yin wei peng you de cuo wu er shou dao chi yu zhi yang, zhen shi yuan wang.
He suffered collateral damage because of his friend's mistake, which was unfair.