Elon Musk posts cryptic tweet about a mysterious Chinese poem that now keeps everyone guessing about his next move

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is known for stirring the pot and setting the internet ablaze with his cryptic tweets. Now the world’s richest person has decided to do it in another language. Yesterday evening, Musk posted a tweet with the English title, “Humankind” with the rest of the message in Chinese.

The tweet simply reads:

“Humankind
煮豆燃豆萁
豆在釜中泣
本是同根生
相煎何太急”

Translation :

Humans are from the same ancestor, why are we so eager to destroy each other?

— GALAXY HEROES COIN (@GHCBSC) November 2, 2021

The tweet quickly generated attention on both Western and Chinese social media. It was also a trending topic on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, on Tuesday.

It’s still unclear what Musk intended. One Twitter user immediately translated the tweet to mean: “Humans are from the same ancestor, why are we so eager to destroy each other?” However, others are saying the tweet is in reference to a Chinese composition known as the “Quatrain of Seven Steps.” The poem is famous in China and refers to a spat between brothers.

According to people familiar with the origin of the poem, the poem is often attributed to Cao Zhi, son of an ancient Chinese warlord, who was said to live during the Three Kingdoms era (220 to 280 AD). Legend has it that Cao’s elder brother, a newly crowned king, was jealous of Cao’s talent.

However, another Twitter user said the poem is a metaphor, adding that “The author was asked to write a poem by his brother(which is also the emperor) or he will be executed because his brother regarded him as the main political rival. He came up with this poem and moved his brother and then decide not to kill him.”

That's metaphor. The author was asked to write a poem by his brother(which is also the emperor) or he will be executed because his brother regarded him as the main political rival. He came up with this poem and moved his brother and then decide not to kill him

— ZephyrL (@ZephorL) November 2, 2021

Suspecting that his brother was trying to usurp his rule, the king then forced him to write a poem within the amount of time it took to walk just seven steps. If the second explanation holds true, could the tweet have anything to do with Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos?

However, others cautioned not to read too much meaning into the poem because of how it rhymes in English. The rhyme translates into English as follows: “Beanstalks are burned to cook beans. The beans weep in the pot.”

For now, no one knows what Musk is up to. Time will tell.