Classical Prose

生于忧患,死于安乐

Shēng yú yōu huàn, sǐ yú ān lè

孟子

Mèngzǐ

Shùn fā yú quǎn mǔ zhī zhōng, Fù Yuè jǔ yú bǎn zhù zhī jiān, Jiāo Gé jǔ yú yú yán zhī zhōng, Guǎn Yíwú jǔ yú shì, Sūnshū Áo jǔ yú hǎi, Bǎilǐ Xī jǔ yú shì.

舜发于畎亩之中,傅说举于版筑之间,胶鬲举于鱼盐之中,管夷吾举于士,孙叔敖举于海,百里奚举于市。

Gù tiān jiàng dà rèn yú shì rén yě, bì xiān kǔ qí xīn zhì, láo qí jīn gǔ, è qí tǐ fū, kōng fá qí shēn, xíng fú luàn qí suǒ wéi.

故天将降大任于是人也,必先苦其心志,劳其筋骨,饿其体肤,空乏其身,行拂乱其所为。

Suǒ yǐ dòng xīn rěn xìng, zēng yì qí suǒ bù néng.

所以动心忍性,曾益其所不能。

Rén héng guò, rán hòu néng gǎi; kùn yú xīn, héng yú lǜ, ér hòu zuò; zhēng yú sè, fā yú shēng, ér hòu yù.

人恒过,然后能改;困于心,衡于虑,而后作;征于色,发于声,而后喻。

Rù zé wú fǎ jiā bì shì, chū zé wú dí guó wài huàn zhě, guó héng wáng.

入则无法家拂士,出则无敌国外患者,国恒亡。

Rán hòu zhī shēng yú yōu huàn ér sǐ yú ān lè yě.

然后知生于忧患而死于安乐也。


Translation

Shun rose from the fields; Fu Yue was raised from among the builders; Jiao Ge was raised from among fish and salt merchants; Guan Yiwu was lifted from custody; Sunshu Ao was raised from the seacoast; Baili Xi was raised from the marketplace. Therefore, when Heaven is about to entrust a great responsibility to a person, it first makes his mind suffer, his bones and muscles labor, his body hunger, and his life lack resources; it frustrates and disrupts what he tries to do. By this, his heart is stirred, his nature is made enduring, and his abilities are increased where they were once insufficient. People often make mistakes before they can correct themselves. Only when the mind is troubled and thoughts are obstructed do they rise to action; only when distress shows in the face and is voiced in words can it be understood. If within a state there are no ministers who uphold the law and assist the ruler, and outside there are no hostile states or external dangers, that state often perishes. From this we know: life and strength arise from hardship and concern, while death and decline come from ease and pleasure.

Analysis

“Born in Hardship, Dying in Ease” presents Mencius’s view that adversity can cultivate greatness while comfort can breed decline. The essay begins with six historical figures who rose from humble or difficult circumstances. Their examples show that those entrusted with great responsibilities are often formed not by ease but by hardship. The famous sequence “to distress the mind, labor the bones and muscles, starve the body, and leave the person in want” describes adversity as a discipline. For Mencius, suffering is not valuable merely as pain; it becomes meaningful when it awakens the heart, strengthens endurance, and enlarges capacity. The essay then extends the argument from the individual to the state. A person may grow through error, anxiety, and frustration; likewise, a state without upright ministers inside or external pressures outside may decay in complacency. The final line, “Life arises from hardship and concern; death comes from ease and pleasure,” is both moral instruction and political warning. Its force lies in its movement from concrete historical examples to a broad principle of human and national survival.

About the Author

Mencius was a central Confucian thinker of the Warring States period. He developed the ideas of humane government and the original goodness of human nature. His prose often combines historical examples with sharp moral reasoning. In “Born in Hardship, Dying in Ease,” he links personal cultivation with political survival, showing how pressure can awaken responsibility while comfort may lead to decline.