Writer and translator Estelle Gilsonshares this translation of a rejection slip issued by a Chinese economic journal and, in the process, reveals the most incredible way to say no:
“We have read your manuscript with boundless delight. If we were to publish your paper, it would be impossible for us to publish any work of lower standard. And as it is unthinkable that in the next thousand years we shall see its equal, we are, to our regret, compelled to return your divine composition and to beg you a thousand times to overlook our short sight and timidity.”