This entry explains the negative‑toned Chinese idiom 爱财如命(ài cái rú mìng) from a Ming‑dynasty play. It describes miserly avarice, covering its origin, core warning, cultural distinction between thrift and greed, and comparable English phrases.
Mencius differentiates two mourning cases. Those who voluntarily cut mourning deserve rebuke; those blocked by rules to observe full rites merit praise for any mourning they can manage, embodying flexible moral judgment.
The Master said, “The noble person is steadfast in principle but not rigidly bound by petty fidelity.”
Chen Dai said to his teacher Mencius: “You refuse to visit feudal lords – it seems overly modest, even petty. If you’d just go see one once, at best you could implement the Kingly Way; at least, you might help him achieve hegemony. And as the old saying goes: ‘Bend one chi (about a…