Poems about trade-offs
1:
Life is what I want, and righteousness is what I want. You can't have both, you have to sacrifice your life for righteousness.
Fish is what I want; bear paws are what I want. You can't have both, it's like giving up the fish for the bear's paw. ——Mencius. "Fish I Want" in the Warring States Period
Translation: Fresh fish is what I want; bear paws are also what I want. Unable to get both at the same time, I had to give up fresh fish and ask for bear paws. Life is also what I want; justice is also what I want. Life and justice cannot be obtained at the same time, so life must be sacrificed to preserve justice.
2:
It is difficult to say goodbye when we meet, the east wind is powerless and the flowers are withered. ——Li Shangyin. "Untitled·It's hard to say goodbye when we meet" in the Tang Dynasty
Translation: The opportunity to meet is really rare, and it's even harder to say goodbye when we say goodbye. What's more, it's also the weather of late spring when the east wind is about to blow away. , the flowers have faded, which makes people even more sad.
3:
Don’t lean on the fence when you are alone. The world is unlimited. It is easy to say goodbye but difficult to see others. ——Li Yu. "Lang Tao Sha Ling· Gurgling Rain Outside the Curtain" of the Southern Tang Dynasty
Translation: When the sun goes down, I am alone on a high building leaning on the railing and looking into the distance, because I think of the infinite mountains and rivers I had in the old days, and my heart is filled with joy. There will be infinite sadness. It is easy to say goodbye to it, but very difficult to see it again.
4:
People have joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, and the moon waxes and wanes. This is difficult to do in ancient times. ——Su Shi. "Shui Tiao Ge Tou·Bingchen Mid-Autumn Festival" of the Song Dynasty
Translation: People have changes in joys and sorrows, and the moon has changes in clouds and sunshine. This kind of thing has been difficult to comprehensively consider since ancient times.
5:
I’m afraid it’s easier to say goodbye than to meet him. ——Su Shi. "Yu Meiren" in the Song Dynasty
Translation: I'm afraid it's easy to say goodbye to your husband, but difficult to meet each other.
1: Su Shi, also known as Zizhan and Hezhong, also known as Dongpo Jushi, known as Su Dongpo and Su Xian in the world. Han nationality, a native of Meishan, Meizhou, Northern Song Dynasty. His ancestral home is Luancheng, Hebei Province. He is a famous writer, calligrapher and painter in the Northern Song Dynasty.
2: Mencius, whose name was Ke and whose courtesy name was Ziyu. Han nationality, a native of Zou State during the Warring States Period, and a descendant of Lu Guoqing's father. Mencius inherited and carried forward Confucius' thoughts and became a generation of Confucian masters second only to Confucius. He had a comprehensive and huge influence on later generations of Chinese culture. He was known as the "Senior Sage" and was collectively called "Confucius and Mencius" with Confucius. A famous thinker and educator in ancient China, and a representative figure of Confucianism during the Warring States Period. Mencius and his disciples wrote the book "Mencius".
3: Li Yu, the king of the Southern Tang Dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, had the courtesy name Chongguang, his first name was Congjia, and his nicknames were Zhongyin and Lianfeng Jushi. Han nationality, native of Pengcheng. Although Li Yu has no political knowledge, his artistic talent is extraordinary. He is proficient in calligraphy, good at painting, proficient in music and rhythm, and has certain attainments in poetry and prose, especially his greatest achievement in poetry. Eternal masterpieces such as "Poppy Lady", "Langtaosha", "Crying in the Night" and so on. Li Yu, who failed politically, left a mark in the world of poetry