"The fish and the bear's paw can't be combined" is from Mencius' "The Fish I Desire", the original text:
The fish I desire, the bear's paw, also I desire, the two can't be combined, the one who gives up the fish and takes the bear's paw also. I can't have both, so I'll give up the fish and take the bear's paw. Life is what I desire, and I desire more than life, so I do not seek to obtain it. Death is also what I hate, and I hate it more than the dead, so I don't avoid it. If one's desire is not greater than life, then why not use whatever can be obtained? If you want to do more than to be born, why not use it if you can be born? If this is the case, then there is no use of life; if this is the case, then there is no use of avoiding suffering. Therefore, the desire is more than the living, the evil is more than the dead. It is not only the wise who have this heart, but all people have it, and the wise can not lose their ears.
A little bit of food, a little bit of soup, if you get it, you will live, and if you don't get it, you will die. If you are not able to get it, you will die. If you are not able to get it, you will die. If you are not able to get it, you will die.
Ten thousand bells is not to recognize the etiquette and righteousness and accept it, ten thousand bells in my how to add! I am the first to recognize the beauty of the palace and the dedication of the concubines, and I am the second to know the poor. This is what is meant by losing one's original mind.
Translation:
? A fresh fish is something I want; a bear's paw, too, is something I want. （If I cannot have both, I have to give up the fresh fish and take the bear's paw. Life is also what I want; justice is also what I want. （If life and justice cannot be obtained at the same time, I have to sacrifice my life to preserve justice. Life is what I like, but there are other things I like more than life, so I won't do what I want to do. Death is what I hate, but there is something I hate more than death, so I do not avoid calamities. If there is nothing that people want more than life, then what means of preserving life will they not use? If there is nothing that people detest more than death, what is there that they do not employ that avoids calamity? By some unrighteous means may life be preserved, but some refuse to employ it. By some unrighteous gateway one can avoid evil, but some refuse to do it. In this way, it seems that there is something more important than life that one likes, and something more powerful than death that one detests. Not only do the moral people have this spirit, but everyone has this spirit, but the moral people are able to not lose it in the end.
A bowl of rice, a cup of broth, if you get these you live, if you don't you starve. （But if you give it to someone in a bad way, the passer-by won't accept it; if you give it to someone after stepping on it, the beggar won't even bother to look at it.
The first time I saw this, I was in the middle of a long journey.
Some people accept a generous salary without distinguishing whether it is in accordance with propriety or not. What is the benefit to me of such a generous salary? （Is it only for the splendor of my house, the service of my concubines, and the gratitude of the poor whom I know? In the past I would rather die than accept it, but today (someone) does it for the sake of the splendor of a house; in the past I would rather die than accept it, but today (someone) does it for the sake of the services of a concubine; in the past I would rather die than accept it, but today (someone) does it for the sake of the gratitude of the poor people I know: is it not time to stop this practice that is not in accordance with propriety and righteousness? --This is called losing his nature.