Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s propensity to stir up public interest via social media was on display again, this time with the Tweet of an ancient Chinese poem which led to wide-ranging interpretations, including potential crypto references.
In a recent Twitter post, Elon Musk shared the English word «humankind» followed by a shortened, untranslated version of «Quatrain of Seven Steps» – a well-known poem in China describing infighting between brothers through metaphors about beans – without providing any explanation for the choice.
The poem is believed to be written by Cao Zhi in the early 3rd century after his brother and emperor demanded him to do so within seven strides as proof of innocence that he was not making attempts at the throne.
When translated, the poem roughly reads as:
Beanstalks are ignited to boil beans,
In the pot the beans weep.
We are born of the selfsame root,
Why in such a rush to fry me?
Crypto, Taiwan
One popular theory considered by social media users is a reference by Musk to his bullishness on dogecoin – the Chinese word for bean is pronounced similarly to the English word for doge.
Others speculate that the post could refer to ongoing tensions between Taiwan and China, referencing former Chinese President Jiang Zemin’s similar usage of the poem to describe the same issue.
In 2000, Jiang used the poem’s last line to question the necessity of infighting if Taiwan did indeed declare formal independence.
Poetic History
There is an established history in China of public figures using ancient poems to express sentiments and ideas when direct statements may be deemed inappropriate.
Most recently, billionaire founder of delivery giant Meituan Wang Xing cited a 1,000-year old poem criticizing book burning by China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang – a move that was followed by a major sell-off in Meituan’s Hong Kong-listed shares and Wang’s hiding of social media posts from public view.
