From the Warring States Mencius "Fish I Want": "Fish, I want, bear's paw also want; You can't have it both ways, and you can't have it both ways. "
It means that fish is my favorite, and bear's paw is also my favorite; If I can't finish eating, then I will give up fish and choose bear's paw.
Mencius compared life to a fish and righteousness to a bear's paw, thinking that righteousness is more precious than life, just as bear's paw is more precious than fish, and naturally the idea of "giving up life for righteousness" came into being.
Extended data
Mencius demonstrated the significance of sacrificing one's life for righteousness from three aspects.
First, "life is what I want. I want more than the living, so I don't want it." Death is what I hate, too. It is more evil than the dead, so I have nothing to lose. "These arguments say: life is what I cherish, but there are things that I cherish more than life (meaning justice), so I can't do anything to drag out an ignoble existence; I hate death, but there is something I hate more than death (injustice), so sometimes I don't want to avoid disaster (death).
Secondly, "if people want nothing from life, why not make the best use of the living?" What makes people worse than the dead, so why not avoid the patients? "
These arguments say: if there is nothing that people cherish more than life, then no means can be used to save life! If there is nothing more disgusting than death, then what can be used to avoid disaster (death) cannot be done!
The implication is: if this goes on, will people's behavior become omnipotent and despicable? This is a negative argument that righteousness is more important than life, and when you can't have both, you should give up your life for righteousness.
Third, "born with it, born without it, born with it, born without it." A bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, you can live if you get it, but you will starve if you don't get it. Not only the sages have a heart, everyone has a heart, and the sages must not lose their ears. "
These arguments say that such means can save lives, but some people are unwilling to adopt them; In this way, disaster (death) can be avoided, but some people are unwilling to do so.