FW: May you live in interesting times

[Bruce Dykes]

-----Original Message-----
From: Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Date: Thursday, May 11, 2000 2:30 PM
Subject: FW: May you live in interesting times



>
>I received a request from the Lehrer/McNeil Newshour to verify the Chinese
>version of the proverb translated into English as "may you live in
>interesting times". McNeil was told that this was an ancient Chinese curse.
>I couldn't think of any Chinese proverb that says anything to that effect.
>So I consulted Torrey Whitman, our President who is an expert on classical
>Chinese and especially on proverbs and sayings. Interestingly he told me
>that he once conducted an extensive research on this saying. He consulted
>many other experts and scholars and none of them could tell him the
original
>Chinese proverb. So his (as well as many others') conclusion is that this
>alleged Chinese proverb doesn't exist and it is purely made up.

I'm shocked, sho...nevermind.

Note the variant 'may your children live in interesting times'. I'm sure
it's just authentically Chinese...along with fortune cookies...

bkd