The story
Popularly attributed to Chinese, but this is apocryphal; the true origin is unclear. Its closest Chinese equivalent is 寧為太平犬，不做亂世人 ("better to be a dog in times of tranquility than a human in times of chaos"). Its earliest known use is in 1936 by Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, British ambassador to China, who purported hearing the phrase. See May you live in interesting times § Origins on Wikipedia.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.