In "Poverty and Wealth and Desire", Mo Yan reflects on the complex relationship between poverty and wealth, as well as the unbridled desires of human beings. He explores how poverty can breed both the longing for wealth and the distortion of values, while wealth may not necessarily bring true contentment and might even arouse excessive desires. The essay delves into the human nature beneath the pursuit of material things and contemplates on the way people should face and handle the temptations and challenges brought by poverty and wealth and their attendant desires.

《贫富与欲望》围绕贫富差距与欲望这一主题展开，剖析了财富分配不均的现状及由此引发的诸多社会现象，探讨了欲望在其中所起的推动或扭曲作用，既感慨贫穷带来的困境与无奈，又反思过度欲望催生出的种种弊端，呼唤人们在贫富之间寻求平衡，以理性审视并克制过度的欲望，让生活回归质朴与本真。