Readers have likely heard the adage “may you live in interesting times.” I cannot remember a more interesting time.
The phrase, I learned, probably dates to early 20th century England. While I always heard it as a “Chinese curse,” it may well have originated in the imagination of a nobleman who thought it sounded like something Confucius might have said. Regardless of where it comes from, the saying sounds like a good tiding. When you roll it around in your head for a minute though, you realize that “interesting” here means uncertain. After all, times full of peace and prosperity do not get the same attention (i.e., interest) from historians, do they? A phrase that sounds like a blessing is actually a curse.