chinese curse

pinyin: níng wéi tàipíng quǎn, bù zuò luànshì rén
Translated: It's better to be a dog in a peaceful time than be a man in a chaotic period.

Have you ever heard of 'May you live in interesting times'? Well, it is a euphemism of a Chinese curse. It was as much a curse as anything, in much the same way as we now say -'go to hell'. Some consider is a blessing as well because the saying is as much a blessing as a curse. And the times we are living in are nothing if not interesting.

Normally, it is used when someone does not want to see another person happy. This means that the one who utters this hopes that the other person’s life may be surrounded by worries and obstacles which may follow a person as closely as a shadow. This is a curse which is said courteously but does not sound offensive. The reason behind this is that, 'Interesting times' in other languages may not carry any resentment, and one would hardly be offended.

So if someone says that to you, that person wants to see you devastated so beware!!

Oh! By the way, the building above is the Ningbo Historic Museum, designed by Amateur Architecture Studio and it's made from recycled bricks, stones and tiles - just thought you might want to know.