Where did the quote May you live in interesting times come from?
In 1966 Robert F.Kennedy delivered a speech that included an instance: There is a Chinese curse which says “May he live in interesting times.” Like it or not, we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also the most creative of any time in the history of mankind.
Who wrote May we live in interesting times?
One of the earliest reliable citations seems to be a 1950 short story by the British science-fiction author Eric Frank Russell, writing under the pen name Duncan H.Munro, who quotes the imprecation and then adds: “It isn’t a curse any more.
What is meant by interesting times?
It appears he used the idea of “interesting times” to mean those of disruption and danger in a speech he gave in the late-19th century, in 1898, saying: I think that you will all agree that we are living in most interesting times. … It also appears Joseph Chamberlain used “interesting times” in this way in a 1901 speech.
Is May you live in interesting times really a Chinese saying?
“May you live in interesting times” is an English expression that is claimed to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse. … Despite being so common in English as to be known as the “Chinese curse”, the saying is apocryphal, and no actual Chinese source has ever been produced.