姜太公钓鱼愿者上钩

姜太公钓鱼,愿者上钩

Literally means:

there really was some fish willing enough to take Senior Sage Jiang's hook without bait

Actually means:

one does something voluntarily

Chinese legend has it that there was a certain Senior Sage Jiang in ancient times fishing with a straight hook without bait, and waiting for fish to get hooked voluntarily. This phrase figuratively means one does something voluntarily. It connotes that what one does seems unprofitable to others and thus this phrase sometimes means one is willing to get cheated.

传说古代的姜太公用没有鱼饵的直钩，等待自愿上钩的鱼，比喻自愿去做某事。所做的事往往是别人认为不利的事，所以有时有甘愿上当受骗的意思。