Chinese Wisdom Concerning Money
[19September-2007 @ 17:11 EST: Revised preamble. This page still gets the most search hits:
There is no Anthony de Croud. The e-mail is SPAM. I post things that pique my fancy at the moment. I like the 8 precepts, but the rest of the e-mail is junk. However, I thought it fair to post everything in its entirety.
I did not write the e-mail. I did not forward the e-mail. I strongly encourage you not to forward it either. (I also encourage you to reply to whomever sent you the e-mail and tell them you don't appreciate getting junk mail.)]
Received this in our e-mail (English translation follows):
PRECEPTO CHINO SOBRE EL DINERO
EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UNA CASA, PERO NO UN HOGAR,
EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UN RELOJ, PERO NO EL TIEMPO.
EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UNA CAMA, PERO NO EL SUEÑO.
EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UN LIBRO, PERO NO EL CONOCIMIENTO.
EL DINERO PUEDE PAGAR UN MÉDICO, PERO NO LA SALUD.
EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UNA POSICIÓN, PERO NO EL RESPETO.
EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR LA SANGRE, PERO NO LA VIDA.
EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR SEXO, PERO NO EL AMOR.
UN PRECEPTO CHINO TRAE SUERTE, EL ORIGINAL SALIÓ DE LOS PAÍSES BAJOS.
ESTE PRECEPTO YA HA DADO 8 VECES LA VUELTA AL MUNDO, AHORA ES A TI, A QUIEN TRAERÁ SUERTE. DESPUÉS DE HABER RECIBIDO ESTA CARTA, TÚ TENDRÁS BUENA SUERTE. ESTO NO ES NINGUNA BROMA.
LA SUERTE VENDRÁ A TI POR CORREO O POR INTERNET.
ENVÍA UNA COPIA DE ESTA CARTA A LAS PERSONAS QUE REALMENTE NECESITAN BUENA SUERTE, NO ENVÍES DINERO, PORQUE LA SUERTE NO SE COMPRA, Y NO CONSERVES LA CARTA MÁS ALLÁ DE 96 HORAS (4 DÍAS)
ALGUNOS EJEMPLOS DE PERSONAS QUE FUERON AFORTUNADAS DESPUÉS DE HABER RECIBIDO ESTA MISIVA:
CONSTANTIN, RECIBIÓ LA PRIMERA CARTA EN 1953, PIDIÓ A SU SECRETARIA HACER 20 COPIAS. NUEVE HORAS MÁS TARDE GANÓ 99 MILLONES DE MARCOS EN LA LOTERÍA DE SU PAÍS.
CARLOS, EMPLEADO, RECIBIÓ ESTA MISMA CARTA, Y NO LA ENVÍA, ALGUNOS DÍAS MÁS TARDE PIERDE SU EMPLEO. DÍAS DESPUÉS DECIDE CONTINUAR LA CADENA Y SE VUELVE RICO.
EN 1967, BRUNO RECIBIÓ LA CARTA, SE BURLA DE ELLA Y LA BOTA, UNOS DÍAS DESPUÉS SU HIJO CAE ENFERMO. ÉL BUSCA LA CARTA, LA COPIA 20 VECES Y LA ENVÍA. NUEVE DÍAS MÁS TARDE, RECIBE LA FELIZ NOTICIA: SU HIJO SANO Y SALVO.
ESTA MISIVA DE LA SUERTE HA SIDO ENVIADA POR ANTHONY DE CROUD, UN MISIONERO DE ÁFRICA DEL SUR. AL CABO DE 96 HORAS DEBERÁS BOTAR LA CARTA.
LA SUERTE TE LLEGARÁ EN MENOS DE 4 DÍAS A PARTIR DEL MOMENTO EN QUE HAYAS RECIBIDO ESTA CARTA, SI CUMPLES CON LO SOLICITADO EN ELLA.
ESTO ES VERDAD. ESTA MISIVA HA SIDO ENVIADA PARA DAR BUENA SUERTE.
LA SUERTE ACABA DE TOCAR A SU PUERTA.
ENVÍE 20 COPIAS A SUS CONOCIDOS, AMIGOS, FAMILIA.
UNOS DÍAS MÁS TARDE TENDRÁ BUENAS NOTICIAS O UNA GRAN SORPRESA.
YO TE LO ENVÍO YA QUE LA CARTA TIENE QUE DAR LA VUELTA AL MUNDO.
ENVÍE SIMPLEMENTE 20 COPIAS Y ESPERE A VER LO QUE PASARÁ EL NOVENO DÍA.
IMPORTANTE:
NO CAMBIE NADA DEL TEXTO QUE SE LE HA ENVIADO, CÓPIELO EXACTAMENTE COMO SE LO HEMOS DADO.
BUENA SUERTE.This is my translated version - I think it is reasonably accurate (but I don't speak Spanish - but you figure after almost 11 years of knowing Sofia I would have picked up something):
Money can buy a house, but not a home.
Money can buy a clock, but not time.
Money can buy a bed, but not sleep.
Money can buy a book, but not knowledge.
Money can buy medicine, but not health.
Money can buy power, but not respect.
Money can buy blood, but not life.
Money can buy sex, but not love.
This Chinese wisdom brings luck. The original came from the Netherlands.
This wisdom has circumscribed the world 8 times and now it has come to you and will bring you luck. After receiving this letter you will have good luck. This is no joke.
Luck will come to you by mail or the Internet.
Send a copy of this letter to people who really need good luck, do not send money because luck is not bought and do not keep this letter more than 96 hours (4 days).
Here are examples of people who were fortunate after receiving this letter:
Constatin received the first letter in 1953, and had his secretary make 20 copies. Nine hours later he won 99 million marks in his country’s lottery.
Carlos, a worker, received the same letter and did not forward it. Several days later he lost his job. Afterwards, he decided to continue the chain and became rich.
In 1967, Bruno received this letter, scoffed at it and did not forward it. Several days later, his son fell ill. He found the letter and forwarded 20 copies. Nine days letter his son recovered.
Anthony de Croud, a missionary in South Africa, has sent this lucky letter to you. Within 96 hours you must forward it.
Your luck will arrive within 4 days of having received this letter, if you fulfill the requirements of this letter. This is the truth. This letter has been sent to give good luck.
Luck is knocking at your door.
Send 20 copies to people you know, friends and family. A few days later you will receive good news or a great surprise.
I sent you this because this letter belongs to the world.
Send 20 copies and you will see what will happen on the ninth day.
Important: Change nothing in this letter that you have received. Send it exactly as you received it.
Good LuckKind of ties in nicely with people expecting a pattern of action to produce a non-causal outcome.
There is no question (in my mind) that those 8 precepts are true, but the rest of it is hocum.
Comments
I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO DELIVER THIS MESSAGE TO ANTHONY DE CROUD PERSONALLY, BECAUSE IT IS TO HIM I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO SPEAK MY MIND, SO I SAY IT HERE FOR HIM TO FIND OUT.
- time: it's called hiring a secretary (or an assistant)
- health: you can buy medicines to improve it, of course (think Diabetes, etc.)
- life: by surgical means, as it happened to someone I know not too long ago
Nice blog BTW,
Cheers
It´s just a spam guys.
Pablo
what a foolish thing!:-)
tina
-Emile
But I think bad luck may happen to everybody, not only to lazy people, it doesn't depend on us. Sometimes it is a test of our endurance and it's really necessary.
Frikus
Anonymous : December 15, 2007 8:54 AM to be honest, I don't know whether it is cool that this SPAM gets translated or not. On the one hand, it shows the industriousness of people, on the other hand, it also shows their tendency to spread nonsense.
Anonymous : January 02, 2008 6:16 AM I don't know which language is most prevalent. Looking at my hit logs, people land on this page from all over the world. I wish people would stop sending this message. I can see it in waves. The past two years, there was a big spike in hits following New Year's.
Frikus:yet another translation? Hmmm ... I wonder how many languages it circulates in? It might be interesting to collect the text in its various versions. Hmmm ... I wonder if some sociology student could do a paper on the "phenomenon" of this SPAM and its translations?
While people can experience bad luck - it is simply a random occurrence, just like good luck. Often, what people call "bad luck" is simply the result of poor planning and execution. My favourite example is those people who say they have sent out hundreds of job applications and only received a handful of responses. Since I also job hunt, I know what it is like. If my response rate is lower than 25%, I know there is something wrong with what I am doing.
Or, as the saying goes, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, hoping for a different result." Or in my favourite version, "If you keep doing what you have always been doing, you will keep getting the results you have always been getting."
(a) why is there a signature J.A.B. which does not correspond to the "author",
(b) why is there a promise of money for forwarding the e-mail, if money con't buy you blah-blah-blah,
(c) why should you send to your friends a "good luck" letter in which you indirectly threaten them that bad things may happen to them if they don't forward it, and
(d) how come, if you don't modify anything in the file, it will keep on circulating around the world but still it will "have gone 8 times" only...
Have a nice day then, with or without forwarding this mail!!!
I'm from Greece too and I just received the chain letter in Greek!!
Yes, it keeps being circulated and translated! At least, I've had a funny break from work for the past half-hour, reading blogs around the world, about this hoax!
Cheers!
He told me to tell everyone that he is doing very well...and he has had incredible luck. For example:
He met a South African lady...got AIDS...then according to local beliefs, he sought out a virgin, because local belief has it that this will cure AIDS. Since he had sent the chain letter out, it worked...he was cured.
Now he has 17 children from 14 different women. He is working on his next chain letter, which he believes will be even better.
And...he told me to tell you that the letter did in fact circulate around the world 843234 times, however, because 843226 people broke the chain, he has disqualified those trips.
And, finally...he wanted me to tell you thateven though HE is a Dutch man, the proverbs are in fact Chinese proverbs which he collected from those fortune cookies you get from carry-out. IN fact, he wanted me to post one just for you...
"Confucius say...Fool who break chain letter, soon parted with money"
Cheers
That purpose is to collect email addresses and sell them to companies who either send you spam ads or monitor you user habits.
There is money in this practise.
Check it out and lets get rid of spam once and for all.
Then instruct people to do what you say. Frighten them off if they don't and give them (false) hope when they do. And finally demand they are not allowed to change your message they are insisted to send around.
Sounds to me the practice of a religion. And what those practices have brought us the last 2000 years. Death, suppression, poverty, abuse and I can continue for a long time.
For the rest, make up your own mind if you want to participate in this.
Wow!
I googled Anthony de Croud, hoping to get an urbanlegends result, but instead found your entry, which is as good if not better. :)
;-)
The Chinese did indeed have conventional clocks. In fact, the Chinese invented the first mechanical clock.
When I read that e-mail first, I liked the "proverb" - but of course hated the end - didn't send it 20 times.
Petra
in case.
I responded to her and all the people on her distribution and tore it apart. Just like people have done here. I did miss the 99 million dollar lottery in 1953. : )
I no sooner hit send and one of the people on her distribution had already sent it to me. I wasn't as nice to him and I told him not to forward just any crap he gets. He didn't even check who was on her distribution, so he wouldn't send it to them again & in this case me.
Maria is a satirist? I thought she was just being facetious.
There are so many dopes in this world that I expect to see this again. I guess that's how we in the US are in so much trouble now.
Also good to see so many of my relatives responding.
Charlie Anonymous
I just received this same message, looking at this blog first written in 2006, it's stil going round after so many years.
So should I keep it going? May be, because no harm having a little more luck.
It should not be done out of fear, because the e-mail in question sounds like a curse. And where's the beauty in sending curse around the world (and in particular to the people we know and love).
If supposedly 75% of people that did forward the mail had gotten rich, then most of the world population by now (since 1953)would be rich, and sadly we know this is not the case.
It is amazing how primitive the entire idea is...that feeds on the fear and superstition of people... as if almost we happen to be in "the Dark Ages".
Honestly, don't people have anything better to do than create such crap and actually circulate it around ????
Rgds,
Tara
run out to the street and ask the passers by for their e-m address?
bad luck, your blog get spammed with comments....
Does anybody else of you know the real reason?