Taking the Long View

Nothing ruins a good fish story like someone who was there.

Thus we come to the famous quote of Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, back in 1971.  The US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, asked Foreign Minister Zhou what he thought of the French Revolution.  The response was a classic:

Too early to say.

This has ever since been taken as evidence of the ability of the Chinese to take the long view of world events.♠

The problem is, while US Secretary of State Kissinger, speaking in 1971, might have meant the French Revolution of 1789, the Chinese Premier was referring to the student uprising in France in May of 1968.

However, at a recent seminar in DC, based on former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's new book, On China, former State Department Diplomat Chas Freeman sought to set the record straight.  From an article in The Financial Times we have this:♥

“I distinctly remember the exchange.  There was a misunderstanding that was too delicious to invite correction,” said Mr Freeman.

He said Zhou had been confused when asked about the French Revolution and the Paris Commune.  “But these were exactly the kinds of terms used by the students to describe what they were up to in 1968 and that is how Zhou understood them.”

In the same article is a comment that the Chinese expression (or curse) "May you live in interesting times" isn't found in China.  Makes one think of that famous Russian proverb, "Trust, but verify".

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  This assumption is not unreasonable.  UMass Lowell History Professor Steve Russell, in his course on French History from Napoleon Bonaparte has asked as a test question, "When Did the French Revolution End".  I think I argued for 1968, when the new revolution began.
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