Mencius said, "A gentleman is a beast. Seeing his life, he can't bear to see his death; I can't bear to eat its meat when I hear its voice. Far cooking is also a gentleman. " (Mencius Hui Liang Wang Shang) Although a gentleman cares about his own life, he also cares about the life of animals. He doesn't want to see animals die for no reason, and he can't bear to hear animals cry. However, it should be pointed out that although "a gentleman keeps away from cooking", it does not mean that "a gentleman wastes cooking". The reason why it is "far" rather than "waste" is that a gentleman has compassion, which is the basis of good human nature. If it is not preserved and expanded, it will lose its humanity and be no different from an animal. Mencius said: "The reason why people are different from animals is just a few wishes. Shu Ren goes, and the gentleman stays. " (Mencius on Li Lou) This is the heart of compassion. Therefore, a gentleman needs to cook far away and be sympathetic to animals, but Mencius does not advocate waste meat because of sympathy for animals. This happened because meat was not a very common thing at that time. In Mencius' time, meat was not as popular as modern society. Mencius said, "Seventy people can eat meat when chickens, dolphins, dogs and pigs are all in season." (Mencius Hui Liang Wang Shang) People over 70 can eat meat, which is a sign of social stability and prosperity. If you are in troubled times, then the people are "old and weak" and the old and weak are abandoned in the ravine. So less people eat meat. In this case, there is no need to worry about animal extinction. Source: Poyang Lake Daily