Everyone has heard the old Chinese phrase/curse, “May you live in interesting times.” Interestingly enough, it may not actually be an old Chinese phrase/curse. Nor is the ideogram for “crisis” actually made up of the symbols for “danger” and “opportunity.”
Meanwhile, old Chinese phrases (curses or not) are the New Hot Meme at management conferences and the like. Part of it’s the growing influence of the Chinese arena for doing business. Part of it seems to be the need to move on to the next trend (and to sell next set of management books). And part of it (my thought) is that the old standard of using English or Biblical passages is not only seen as old hat, but as divisive or parochial.
On the other hand, how do the Chinese feel about all this?
In Aspen, there was one session that was entirely free of Chinese proverbs: a panel at which Chinese, Japanese, and Western experts talked about China’s economy and global imbalances. When I asked David Li if Chinese businesspeople use Chinese proverbs at meetings, he chuckled. “No. If they did it too much, it would seem like a cliché.”
(via GeekPress)
Reminds me of Reagan annoying Gorbechev with his constant “Trust but verify” like he was some kind of scholar of Russian culture.
It’s divisive to quote the Bible?
I think some people would think so. (I think other people, sadly, would do so intentionally.)