The Fish and the Bear's Paw

What would you refuse to trade, whatever the price?

Original

魚，我所欲也；熊掌，亦我所欲也。二者不可得兼，舍魚而取熊掌者也。生，亦我所欲也；義，亦我所欲也。二者不可得兼，舍生而取義者也。……是故所欲有甚於生者，所惡有甚於死者。非獨賢者有是心也，人皆有之，賢者能勿喪耳。一簞食，一豆羹，得之則生，弗得則死。嘑爾而與之，行道之人弗受；蹴爾而與之，乞人不屑也。

In plain words

Fish is something I want; bear's paw is also something I want. If I can't have both, I let the fish go and take the bear's paw. Life is something I want; rightness is also something I want. If I can't have both, I let life go and take rightness. … So there are things we want more than life, and things we hate more than death. It isn't only the worthy who have this heart. Everyone has it; the worthy simply don't lose it. A basket of rice, a bowl of soup: get them and you live, go without and you die. Yet if you shout as you hand them over, even a passer-by won't accept; if you kick them across, even a beggar won't stoop to take them.

Key words

兼jiānTo have both at once.
勿喪wù sàngNot losing it: the only difference between the worthy and the rest.
不屑bú xièTo refuse as beneath you, out of dignity.

Reading it step by step

The last page's person of great stature couldn't be moved by riches, poverty or threats. But what if the other side of the scale holds life itself? Mencius uses an image everyone understands: fish and bear's paw.

First: life is a series of trade-offs. Fish is good; bear's paw, a rare delicacy of the time, is better. If you can't have both, you put down the fish and take the paw. That's common sense. Then Mencius swaps what's on the scale: life is something I want, and rightness is something I want. If I can't have both, I let go of life and hold on to rightness. He isn't saying life doesn't matter.

He's saying that among the things we want, some matter more than staying alive, and among the things we hate, some are worse than death. That's why we won't do just anything to survive. Notice the verb, too: you lose your life, yet Mencius says you “take” rightness, as if you came away with more. That only makes sense if human nature leans toward good, so that dying for the good fulfils what a life is for.

the image

fishI want it

bear's pawI want it too

let the fish go

the point

lifeI want it

rightnessI want it too

let life go, keep rightnesssomething wanted more than life

You can't have both: keep the heavier one.

Second: everyone has this heart. The key line is this: “It isn't only the worthy who have this heart. Everyone has it. The worthy simply don't lose it.” This is what “human nature leans toward good” means. The pull toward good is not a rare gift for a few; it's a direction in every heart.

Third: the proof is in a bowl of rice. A basket of rice, a bowl of soup: eat and you live, go without and you die. Yet shout at someone as you toss it over, and even a passing traveller won't take it. Kick it toward them, and even a beggar will refuse. Someone close to starving still cares about dignity. An old story tells of a famine year, when a man handing out porridge called to a staggering stranger, “Hey, you, come and eat!”

The stranger refused, refused again when the man apologised, and starved. Now try it with your dog. Scold it for no reason in the morning, and at noon it may sulk by its bowl. By evening it will eat. No dog starves itself over an insult. “Something matters more than life” isn't a slogan from a book. It's a feeling already in us.

The strange thing, Mencius notes in the same passage, is that people hold firm over small things and give way over big ones. They turn down a bowl thrown at them, then accept a fortune without asking where it came from. Most of us will never face a choice between life and rightness. But we face small trade-offs every day: padding an expense claim, writing a review we don't mean, laughing along with a cruel joke to fit in.

Keeping that heart starts somewhere as small as a bowl of rice.

One line to carry

Everyone has that heart. The worthy just don't lose it.

Today's question

What is the bear's paw in your life? Have you recently set it down for a fish?

Quick check

What does “the worthy simply don't lose it” mean?

Next pageThree JoysPage 23

III · Growing a Flood-like Spirit — From self-cultivation to standing tall in the world

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