http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/18/AR2007011801685.html<snip>
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice didn't seem to be trying to make much news on her swing this week through the Middle East. Still, she offered an interesting take on what she called "a challenging time" in the region, our colleague Glenn Kessler reported.
"I don't read Chinese, but I am told that the Chinese character for crisis is weiji, which means both danger and opportunity," Rice pontificated on Tuesday. "And I think that states it very well. We'll try to maximize the opportunity."
Rice did not say where she learned this aphorism, but oddly enough it was once featured on "The Simpsons," as this excerpt from an episode shows:
Lisa: "Look on the bright side, Dad. Did you know that the Chinese use the same word for 'crisis' as they do for 'opportunity'?"
Homer: "Yes! Cris-atunity."
Chinese scholars actually dispute that oft-cited interpretation of the word.