这则成语出自出自西汉·刘向《战国策·燕策二》。苏代受燕王的委托，到赵国去劝阻赵王不要出兵攻打燕国。他用了“鹬蚌相争，渔翁得利”的故事警示赵王秦国会像渔夫一样，从燕赵的征战中得利。赵王听后随即打消了攻打燕国的念头。

This idiom comes from Liu Xiang's "Warring States: Yan Ce II" in the Western Han Dynasty. Su Dai was entrusted by the King of Yan to go to the State of Zhao to persuade the King of Zhao not to send troops to attack the State of Yan. He used the story of "the sandpiper and the clam fight, and the fisherman wins" to warn the king of Zhao, that Qin would benefiting from the war between Yan and Zhao. After hearing this, King Zhao immediately dismissed the idea of attacking the state of Yan.