Kong Rong, a descendant of Confucius in the twentieth generation, showed his character at the age of four. When his father brought home a basket of pears for the children, the other boys grabbed for the largest fruits. Kong Rong calmly picked the smallest one.
His father asked: "Why did you take the smallest pear?"
The boy answered: "I am the youngest. It is only right that I take the smallest."
When his father pressed further: "But you are young — don't you want the biggest?" Kong Rong replied: "My elder brothers are older and eat more. They need the bigger ones. I am small, so the small pear is enough for me."
The story spread, and Kong Rong became a model of childhood courtesy — proof that even a four-year-old can understand the principle of yielding to others.
孔融，字文举，鲁国人，孔子二十世孙。年四岁时，与诸兄共食梨，融辄引小者。人问其故，融曰：「我小儿，法当取小者。」
孔融，字文举，鲁国人，孔子二十世孙。年四岁时，与诸兄共食梨，融辄引小者。人问其故，融曰：「我小儿，法当取小者。」
Reflection & Analysis · 寓意解读
Core Wisdom
True courtesy is not about deprivation — it is about understanding your place in relation to others and finding contentment in modesty.
This anecdote from the Shì Shuō Xīn Yǔ has been told to Chinese children for nearly two thousand years. Its simplicity is its power: a four-year-old instinctively grasps a principle that adults often forget — that yielding is not losing.
In Confucian ethics, ràng (让, yielding) is not weakness but the highest expression of lǐ (礼, propriety). Kong Rong's small pear became one of the most recognizable symbols of Chinese moral education.