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     8 years ago  

    Despite being widely attributed as a Chinese curse, there is no equivalent expression in Chinese.[2] The nearest related Chinese expression is "宁為太平犬，莫做亂离人" (nìng wéi tàipíng quǎn, mò zuò luàn lí rén), which is usually translated as "Better to be a dog in a peaceful time, than to be a human in a chaotic (warring) period."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_you_live_in_interesting_times

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       8 years ago  

      haha. TIL!! thanks!

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         8 years ago  

        heh, I had no clue until @deanliu pointed it out.

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           8 years ago  

          It is really interesting to learn different cultural perspectives, which is only possible on steemit. I've seen quite a few examples here - I mean English users quoting 'Chinese' sayings or words that are not known or rarely known among Chinese users.

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           8 years ago  

          I think that since the US is so diversified, that many supposed foreign sayings, traditions, words, etc., enter our psyche without us realizing or questioning that they might not be accurately represented. After all, we have french fries, belgian waffles, English muffins and all sorts of mexican food that you'd never find in Mexico. :)

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           8 years ago  

          exactly. In Taiwan, we have a dish called 'Moon Shrimp Paste" -an allegedly Thailand dish. But, ... it is not. People from Thailand don't know it. Amazingly, because too many tourists from Taiwan try to order this in a Thai restaurant, some start to put this dish into their menus... just hilarious!

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