- The poem, which is widely known in China, contains an allegory about boiling beans with a broader message condemning the inhumane way people treat one another.
- Legend says the poem was written by Cao Zhi, a prince during the Three Kingdoms Period, who wrote the verses to convince his older brother, the emperor, to spare his life.
- The post received over 100 million views on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, where Musk has 1.9 million followers.
Humankind
煮豆燃豆萁
豆在釜中泣
本是同根生
相煎何太急— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2021
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- The poem translates to “Beanstalks are burned to cook beans / The beans weep in the pot / We grow from the same root / Why should we boil each other with such impatience?” according to CNN.
- The most recent headline involving Musk’s Twitter account related to his exchange with the United Nations’ World Food Program.
- Musk challenged the U.N. World Food Program to total transparency around how they spend money, claiming if they had a precise plan to end world hunger, he would donate $6 billion toward it.
- Users on the Chinese social media platform Weibo speculated as to whether the verse he posted related to this conversation or to earlier debates about cryptocurrency.