鱼与熊掌 yú yǔ xióng zhǎng fish and bear's paw

Explanation

比喻两种都想要得到的东西,却难以同时拥有,比喻两种美好的事物无法同时拥有,必须有所取舍。

It means that one wants to have two things, but cannot have them at the same time. It is a metaphor for two beautiful things that cannot be had at the same time, one must make a choice.

Origin Story

孟子与学生们讨论人生的抉择,说道:‘鱼,我所欲也;熊掌,亦我所欲也。二者不可兼得,舍鱼而取熊掌者也。’ 孟子讲述的故事,并非真实发生过的事件,而是以设问的方式,阐述人生在理想与现实、欲望与责任之间,往往需要做出艰难的取舍。一个年轻的渔夫从小就梦想捕获一条巨大的鱼,希望能够养家糊口,过上富裕的生活。但他同时又渴望获得熊掌带来的财富和地位。有一天,他同时捕获了一条巨大的鱼和一只熊掌。他兴奋不已,但很快意识到,他不可能同时拥有这两样东西。鱼会腐坏,熊掌难以保存。如果他选择鱼,就会失去获得财富和地位的机会;如果他选择熊掌,就会失去养家糊口的食物。这个渔夫陷入两难的境地,他最终决定,先把鱼卖掉,换取金钱,然后再寻找机会得到熊掌,实现自己的梦想。

mengzi yu xuenshengmen taolun rensheng de jueze, shang dao: 'yu,wo suoyuyu ye;xiongzhang,yi wo suoyuyu ye. er zhe bu ke jian de, she yu er qu xiong zhang zhe ye'.' mengzi jiangshu de gushi, bing fei zhenshi fasheng guo de shijian, er shi yi shewen de fangshi, chanshu rensheng zai lixiang yu xianshi, yuwang yu zeren zhi jian, wang wang xuyao zuochu jiannan de qushe. yige nianqing de yufu cong xiao jiu mengxiang buhuo yitiao judade yu, xiwang nenggou yang jia hukou, guo shang furyu de shenghuo. dan ta tongshi you ke wang huode xiong zhang dai lai de caifu he diwei. you yitian, ta tongshi buhuo le yitiao judade yu he yizhi xiong zhang. ta xingfen buyi,dan hen kuai yishi dao,ta bu keneng tongshi yongyou zheliang yang dongxi.yu hui fuhuai, xiong zhang nan yi baochun. ruguo ta xuanze yu, jiu hui shiqu huode caifu he diwei de jihui; ruguo ta xuanze xiong zhang, jiu hui shiqu yang jia hukou de shiwu. zhege yufu yanru liannan de jingdi, ta zhongyu jue ding, xian ba yu mai diao, huanqu qianjin, ranhou zai xunzhao jihui dedao xiong zhang, shixian ziji de mengxiang.

Mencius discussed with his students the choices in life and said: 'Fish, that is my desire; the bear's paw, is also my desire. The two cannot be had at the same time, so one sacrifices the fish and takes the bear's paw.' The story Mencius tells is not a real event, but a rhetorical question that illustrates the difficult choices that life presents between ideal and reality, between desires and responsibilities. A young fisherman had always dreamed of catching a huge fish to support his family and live a prosperous life. But he also yearned for the wealth and status that the bear's paw promised. One day, he caught both a huge fish and a bear's paw. Excited, he quickly realized he couldn't have both. The fish would spoil, and the bear's paw was difficult to preserve. If he chose the fish, he would lose the opportunity to gain wealth and status; if he chose the bear's paw, he would lose the food to support his family. The fisherman found himself in a dilemma and finally decided to sell the fish first, exchanging it for money, then look for an opportunity to obtain the bear's paw and realize his dream.

Usage

比喻两种美好事物不能同时拥有,必须有所取舍。常用于表达一种进退两难的处境。

biyu liang zhong meiliao shiwu buneng tongshi yongyou,bixu yousuo qushe.changyong yu biaoda yi zhong jin tui liannan de chujing.

It is used to describe two beautiful things that cannot be possessed at the same time, one must make a choice. It is often used to express a difficult situation.

Examples

  • 人生在世,往往面临鱼与熊掌不可兼得的困境。

    rensheng zai shi,wang wang mianlin yu yu xiong zhang bu ke jian de de kunjing. shiye yu jiating,yu yu xiong zhang,bu ke jian de.

    In life, we often face the dilemma of fish and bear's paw, which cannot be obtained at the same time.

  • 事业与家庭,鱼与熊掌,不可兼得。

    Career and family, fish and bear's paw, are incompatible.