qiè​gōu​zhě​zhū​qiè​guó​zhě​hóu

steal a hook and you're executed, steal a country and you're a lord

Senses

窃钩者诛,窃国者侯/ 竊鉤者誅,竊國者侯 qiè​gōu​zhě​zhū​qiè​guó​zhě​hóu steal a hook and you're executed, steal a country and you're a lord

A person who steals a small item is punished, while one who steals a whole nation is rewarded with power; an idiom from the Daoist classic 庄子 zhuāng​zǐ.

References

see 窃钩者诛,窃国者侯/竊鉤者誅,竊國者侯 庄子/莊子