History Memes

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Peace and prosperity are the greatest achievements of a ruler (media.piefed.social)

submitted 1 day ago by PugJesus@piefed.social to c/historymemes@piefed.social

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[–] SnoringEarthworm@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Is this the same country that originated the curse "I hope you live in interesting times" ?

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

No, it turns out that was the UK ambassador's creation.

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

[–] railway692@piefed.zip 3 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (1 children)

The article contradicts itself.

"No, it's actually from a UK ambassador. Here's a quote where he says he heard it secondhand from China."

Many years ago I learned from one of our diplomats in China that one of the principal Chinese curses heaped upon an enemy is, 'May you live in an interesting age.'

He could still have made it up, but it's a weird way of presenting it.

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 2 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

That's not a quote from the ambassador, that's from the ambassador's son.

Research by philologist Garson O'Toole shows a probable origin in the mind of Austen Chamberlain's father Joseph Chamberlain dating around the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Specifically, O'Toole cites the following statement Joseph made during a speech in 1898:

I think that you will all agree that we are living in most interesting times. (Hear, hear.) I never remember myself a time in which our history was so full, in which day by day brought us new objects of interest, and, let me say also, new objects for anxiety. (Hear, hear.) [emphasis added][1]

Over time, the Chamberlain family may have come to believe that the elder Chamberlain had not used his own phrase, but had repeated a phrase from Chinese.