I. Sources
In the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a Shang's "I Want Fish" in Mencius' "On the High Pose".
Second, the original text
Fish, what I want; Bear's paw is what I want You can't have your cake and eat it. You can't have your cake and eat it. Life is what I want; Righteousness is also what I want. You can't have both, and you have to sacrifice your life for righteousness. Life is what I want. I want it more than the living, so I don't want it. If there is nothing more in disgust than death, what can be done to avoid evil that can be used to escape evil? What people want is nothing more than life. Why not use people who can live? What makes people worse than the dead, so why not treat patients who can be cured?
If you are right, you are born unnecessary. If you are right, you can make trouble without doing anything. 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. But with disdain to drink and eat, hungry pedestrians are unwilling to accept it; Kick others' food with their feet, and beggars will not accept it.
The senior official accepted it without distinguishing whether it was appropriate or not. Call it, and the people in the street will be blessed; Begging for help is too much. Is it for the splendor of the house, the service of my wives and the poor people who know how to appreciate me? For the beauty of the palace, the matter of wives and concubines, the poor have me and you? Hometown is free from physical death, and today is the beauty of the palace; Hometown is not subject to physical death, and now it is regarded as a wife and concubine; Hometown is not subject to physical death, but now it is for those who know the poor and love the rich to do it; Is it ok or not? This is called the loss of humanity.
Third, translation.
I want fish and bear's paw. If I can't get both at the same time, then I have to give up fish and choose bear's paw. Life is what I want, and morality is what I want. If you can't have both, then I have to sacrifice my life and choose morality.
Life is what I want, but what I want is more important than life, so I don't drag out an ignoble existence. I hate it to death, but I hate things more than death, so I don't avoid disaster. If what people want is not as important as life, what means can be used to survive? If people hate nothing more than death, then what can't avoid disaster?
You can survive by some means, but some people refuse to use it; Some methods can avoid disaster, but some people refuse to adopt them. So, what they want is something more precious than life (that is "righteousness"); What they hate is something more serious than death (that is "injustice"). Not only sages have this nature, everyone has it, but sages have not lost it.
A bowl of vegetables, a bowl of soup, you can live if you get it, or you will starve to death if you don't get it. Hungry pedestrians will not accept it if they give it to him domineering; Kicking others to eat, even beggars will refuse to accept it because of contempt. A high-ranking official, Hou Lu, accepted it without knowing whether it was polite or not. So, what's good for me?
Is it because of the splendor of the house, the service of wives and concubines, and the poor people I know that I am grateful? In the past, some people would rather die than accept it for justice, but now they accept it for the splendor of the house; In the past, some people would rather die than accept it for righteousness, but now they accept it for wives and concubines; In the past, some people would rather die than accept justice, but now they accept it for the poor they know. Can't this behavior stop? This is called losing the inherent human nature.
Extended data
First, the creative background
The Fish I Want is a masterpiece of Mencius' in-depth discussion on human life and death based on his theory of good nature. Emphasize that "justice" is more important than "life" and advocate giving up life for justice. Mencius believed that "everyone has a heart of shame and evil", so people should maintain a kind nature, strengthen their usual cultivation and education, and not do anything that violates etiquette. Mencius regarded this thought as the essence of China's traditional moral cultivation, which was a far-reaching thing.
Second, appreciate
I want what I want, which is selected from Mencius Gaozi, discusses an important proposition of Mencius: righteousness is more important than life. When righteousness and life cannot be balanced, we should give up our lives for righteousness.
Mencius first made an analogy with specific things familiar in people's lives: fish is what I want, and bear's paw is what I want. I'd rather give up fish than bear's paw if I can't get both at the same time; I cherish life and righteousness. In the case that I can't get both at the same time, I'd rather give up my life and get the essence.
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. This proposition is the central argument of the whole article.
Three. Brief introduction of the author
Mencius (about 372 BC-289 BC) was born in Ke (kē) and Zou Guo (now southeast of Zoucheng, Shandong). Philosopher, thinker, politician and educator in the Warring States period, one of the representatives of Confucianism, was also called "Confucius and Mencius" with Confucius.
Mencius advocated "benevolent government" and first put forward the idea that "the people are more important than the monarch", which was listed by Han Yu as a figure who inherited Confucius' "orthodoxy" in pre-Qin Confucianism and was named "Ya Sheng" in Yuan Dynasty.
Mencius is a book that records Mencius' words and deeds, with 7 articles in total. It is generally believed that Mencius and his disciples Zhang Wan, Gong Sunchou, etc. Co-written by * *, it belongs to the pre-Qin recorded prose collection. There are many articles in the book, for example, I want what I want, and I can get more help when I get the word, but I can't get help when I get the word. I am also in my country, born in sorrow and died in happiness, and wealth can't be immoral.
Baidu Encyclopedia: I want fish.