It was the custom in Handan city to catch doves to present to the prince Jian Zi (Zhao Yang) on New Year’s Day, for this pleased him so much that he gave rich rewards.
Someone asked Jian Zi the reason for this custom.
“I free the doves at New Year to show my kindness,” he said.
“Since your subjects know you want doves to set free, they all set about catching them,” objected the other. ”And the result is that many doves are killed. If you really want to save the doves, you had better forbid people to catch them. As things are, you catch them to free them, and your kindness cannot make up for the damage you do.”
The prince agreed with him.
Allegorical Meaning
This ancient Chinese fable delivers a devastatingly relevant critique:
- Beware of performative virtue and ritualistic charity that serves the giver’s ego more than the recipient’s need.
- Examine the entire system: Actions motivated by good intentions can create perverse incentives leading to greater harm if the root causes and consequences are ignored.
- True kindness requires understanding impact, not just performing symbolic gestures.
- Wealth and power can create a dangerous detachment, allowing harmful systems to flourish under the guise of benevolence.
- The road to ecological or ethical disaster is often paved with seemingly good intentions and superficial acts of “mercy.”
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