作为一位通晓九国语言、学贯中西、博闻天下的著名学者，辜鸿铭最为后代人所津津乐道的，并非他的盖世绝学，而是他那根至死不剪的可笑的“既短且细的灰白辫子”和一些令人匪夷所思的奇谈怪论。某次，在一个社交场合，一位英国贵妇当面问辜鸿铭：“辜先生，您曾经为中国的纳妾制度辩护。可是从普遍的人性来说，为什么一个男人可以娶许多女人，而女人却不可以反过来有很多男人呢？”他略一沉吟，著名的“茶壶茶杯论”脱口而出：“夫人，我是为中国的纳妾制作过辩护，但这并不意味着纳妾只在中国才合理，它是天理。男人好比茶壶，女人好比茶杯。夫人见过一只茶壶配四个茶杯，可曾看到过一只茶杯配四只茶壶啊？”(见黄兴涛《闲话辜鸿铭》)。
He was a celebrated scholar, well versed in nine foreign languages, having a thorough knowledge of Chinese and Western cultures, leaned in the ways of the world. If the later generation mention him with great interest, it is not for his matchless learning, but for that funny "short and thin grey queue" of his which he preserved until his death and incredible fantastic theories. Once, on a social occasion, a British noble lady put this question directly to him: "Mr Gu. You have advocated concubine system in China. But from the point of view of the universality of human nature, why a man is allowed to many many women, not the other way around?" After a second's thought, he came up with the famous "teapot-teacup theory": "Yes, madam, I have defended the system of concubine in China. But that doesn't mean it is only justifiable in China. Instead, it is justice. Men are comparable to teapots and women teacups. Madam, as you see, a teapot comes with four teacups. But have you ever seen a teacup that comes with four teapots?" (Anecdotes of Gu Hongming by Huang Xingtao)
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