He would rather live in honest poverty than become rich and honored by unjust means.
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From 《论语·述而》 (Analects, Book 7): 饭疏食，饮水，曲肱而枕之，乐亦在其中矣。不义而富且贵，于我如浮云 - 'Eating coarse rice, drinking water, bending my arm for a pillow - joy is found in this too. Wealth and rank gained unjustly are to me as floating clouds.' Confucius's classic declaration of principled poverty.
usage
Always cited together with its continuation 于我如浮云 ('to me as floating clouds'). Modern 浮云 as an internet slang meaning 'no big deal / whatever' traces back through this line.
