h2g2 - The Quote 'May You Live in Interesting Times' - 0 views
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George Bradford on 15 Apr 12The Quote 'May You Live in Interesting Times' Front Page What is h2g2? Who's Online Write an Entry Browse Announcements Feedback h2g2 Help RSS Feeds Contact Us In a speech in Cape Town, South Africa, on 7 June, 1966, Robert F Kennedy said: There is a Chinese curse which says, 'May he live in interesting times'. Like it or not, we live in interesting times... Journalists endorsed the phrase and it has become well known. While widely reported as being an ancient Chinese curse, the phrase is likely to be of recent and Western origin. When created it seems to be intended to sound Chinese in the 'Confucius he say' mould. Most Chinese scholars will not recognise the 'curse' as Chinese, because if it is of Chinese origin, it has somehow escaped mention in all of the ancient Chinese literature. It may, however, be a paraphrase of a liberal translation from a Chinese source, and therefore unrecognisable when translated back to Chinese. One possibility is a relation to the Chinese proverb, 'It's better to be a dog in a peaceful time than be a man in a chaotic period.'