Say what?

I’ve been saying, because I thought it was the case, that the phrase ‘May you live in interesting times’ was a Chinese curse.

Well guess what?

It isn’t.

I mentioned the curse thing to one of the braniacs at work (Tony) and in the space of a heartbeat he’d looked it up, rubbished my assumption, provided at least 18 sources, and then (best of all) he gave me a much better Chinese saying.

OK, so some of that may have been very sligtly exaggerated, but the gist of it is true.

And the much better Chinese saying?

寧為太平犬，不做亂世人

You have to admit that’s deeply wise, eh?

Or in English, if you prefer:

Better to be a dog in times of tranquility than a human in times of chaos.