He who seeks only coarse food to eat, water to drink, and bent arm for pillow, will without looking for it find happiness to boot. Any thought of accepting wealth and rank by means that I know to be wrong is as remote from me as the clouds that float above.

This saying is attributed to Confucius (Kongzi, 551–479 BCE) in the Analects, a collection of brief conversations and aphorisms compiled by later disciples during the Warring States period. It reflects Confucius’s recurring stance that moral integrity (yi, “rightness”) outweighs material comfort and political advancement. In the Analects, Confucius often comments on the temptations of office, wealth, and status in a time of intense competition among states, when talented men could rise quickly by serving powerful rulers. Here he contrasts a life of austere sufficiency—simple food, water, and an arm for a pillow—with the inner peace that comes from refusing “wealth and rank” gained by unethical means.

The passage argues that happiness is not something added by possessions but something that “comes along” when one lives in accordance with principle. The humble images (coarse food, water, an arm as pillow) emphasize self-reliance and contentment with necessities; they also imply freedom from dependence on patrons or corrupt systems. The second sentence sharpens the ethical claim: wealth and rank are not condemned in themselves, but become morally toxic when pursued through wrongdoing. By likening such compromised advancement to distant clouds, Confucius presents integrity as a settled disposition, not a heroic exception—true cultivation makes unethical gain feel not tempting but alien.

1) “With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bent arm for a pillow—I still have joy in the midst of these things. Riches and honors acquired by unrighteousness are to me as floating clouds.”
2) “Eating plain food, drinking water, and using my arm as a pillow—there is joy in that. Wealth and rank obtained improperly are like drifting clouds.”
3) “Coarse food, water, and a crooked arm for a pillow—happiness is found there. Ill-gotten wealth and honor are as clouds to me.”