Nixon and Zhou, 1972
When Chinese premier Zhou Enlai famously said it was “too early” to assess the implications of the French revolution, he was referring to turmoil in France in 1968 and not — as is commonly thought — to the more distant political upheaval of 1789.
So says a retired American diplomat, Charles W. (Chas) Freeman Jr., who was present when Zhou made the comment during President Richard Nixon’s visit to China in February 1972.
Freeman, who was Nixon’s interpreter during the historic, weeklong trip, made the disclosure last week during a panel discussion in Washington about On China, the latest book by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
The discussion was moderated by Richard McGregor, a journalist and China expert who wrote about Freeman’s comments for the Financial Times of London.
In an interview yesterday, Freeman elaborated on his recollection about Zhou’s comment, the conventional interpretation of which is frequently offered as evidence of China’s sage, patient, and far-sighted ways. Foreign Policy magazine, for example, referred last month to that interpretation, saying the comment was “a cautionary warning of the perils of judgments made in real time.”
The Washington Post’s recent review of Kissinger’s book likewise referred to the conventional understanding of Zhou’s remark.
Freeman described Zhou’s misconstrued comment as “one of those convenient misunderstandings that never gets corrected.”
He said Zhou’s remark probably was made over lunch or dinner, during a discussion about revolutions that had succeeded and failed. They included, Freeman said, the Prague Spring of 1968 and the Hungarian uprising of 1956, both of which the Soviet Union crushed.
He said it was clear from the context and content of Zhou’s comment that in saying it was “too early to say” the Chinese leader was speaking about the events in France in May 1968, not the years of upheaval that began in 1789.
Freeman acknowledged that the conventional interpretation makes for a better story but added that it was “absolutely clear” from the context of the discussion that Zhou was speaking about 1968.
Just how Zhou’s remark came to be misinterpreted, Freeman was unable to say.
“I cannot explain the confusion about Zhou’s comment except in terms of the extent to which it conveniently bolstered a stereotype (as usual with all stereotypes, partly perceptive) about Chinese statesmen as far-sighted individuals who think in longer terms than their Western counterparts,” Freeman said in a follow-up email. “It was what people wanted to hear and believe, so it took” hold.
He described Zhou’s misinterpreted remark as “a classic of the genre of a constantly repeated misunderstanding that has taken on a life of its own.”
The Zhou comment also represents a reminder about the often-irresistible quality of pithy and apparently telling quotations — a topic discussed in my latest book, Getting It Wrong, which addresses and debunks 10 prominent media-driven myths. (An expanded second edition of Getting It Wrong came out in late 2016.)
“Turns of phrase that sound too neat and tidy often are too perfect to be true,” I write in discussing such media myths as William Randolph Hearst’s reputed vow — supposedly made in an exchange of telegrams with the artist Frederic Remington — to “furnish the war” with Spain in the 1890s.
“Like many media-driven myths,” I write, the purported Hearstian vow “is succinct, savory, and easily remembered. It is almost too good not to be true.” As is the conventional interpretation of Zhou’s “too early to say” remark.
I note in Getting It Wrong that among the many reasons for doubting the anecdote is that it “would have been absurd for Hearst to vow to ‘furnish the war’ because war — specifically, the Cuban rebellion against Spain’s colonial rule — was the very reason Hearst sent Remington to Cuba in the first place.”
Anyone reading U.S. newspapers in January 1897, when Remington was in Cuba on assignment for Hearst’s New York Journal, “would have been well aware,” I write, “that Cuba was a theater of a nasty war.”
What I call version variability — the imprecision that alters or distorts an anecdote in its retelling — has afflicted Zhou’s “too early to say” comment. Some accounts, for example, have attributed the remark to Chinese dictator Mao Zedong.
Another account has it that Zhou, who died in 1976, made the comment in Geneva in 1953, in response to a French journalist’s question.
Freeman said he doubted that version was accurate.
Zhou, he said, “was a man with a graceful wit but not given to facetious remarks.”
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Media Myth Alert 
[…] ‘Too early to say’: Zhou was speaking about 1968, not 1789 […]
[…] ‘Too early to say’: Zhou was speaking about 1968, not 1789 […]
[…] ‘Too early to say’: Zhou was speaking about 1968, not 1789 […]
[…] “Too early to say.” It’s often said that Chinese premier Zhou Enlai offered the observation in 1972, as sage, far-sighted analysis about the effects of the French Revolution of 1789. But according to a retired American diplomat, Charles W. (Chas) Freeman Jr., Zhou’s comment, which came during President Richard Nixon’s visit to China in February 1972, was about political turmoil in France in 1968. “I cannot explain the confusion about Zhou’s comment, except in terms of the extent to which it conveniently bolstered a stereotype” about Chinese leaders taking an exceptionally long and patient view of history, Freeman said recently. Freeman was Nixon’s interpreter on the trip. […]
[…] China and Zhou Enlai? In Bra-burning, Debunking, Media myths on July 3, 2011 at 5:58 am When Zhou Enlai observed that it was “too early” to assess the significance of political upheaval in […]
[…] ‘Too early to say’: Zhou was speaking about 1968, not 1789 […]
[…] ‘Too early to say’: Zhou was speaking about 1968, not 1789 […]
[…] to note there are personal reasons for blogging as well. By blogging, journalism historians can test emergent ideas and hypotheses. Blogging can reinforce (and direct attention to) previously published work — […]
[…] in reality, according to a former U.S. diplomat who was present at the discussion in China, Zhou was referring to the more recent turmoil that had […]
[…] too early to tell” in response to being asked what he thought about the French Revolution, he was actually answering a question about the 1968 student-led uprisings in France. Not quite as interesting a […]
[…] early to tell” in response to being asked what he thought about the French Revolution, he was actually answering a question about the 1968 student-led uprisings in France. Not quite as interesting a […]
[…] a subsequent interview with me, Freeman said it was “absolutely clear” from the context of the conversation that […]
[…] […]
[…] reminded of how Chinese premier Zhou EnLai supposedly answered a question in 1972 about the significance of the French Revolution. “Too early to […]
[…] reminded of how Chinese premier Zhou EnLai supposedly answered a question in 1972 about the significance of the French Revolution. “Too early to tell,” was […]
[…] reminded of how Chinese premier Zhou EnLai supposedly answered [4] a question in 1972 about the significance of the French Revolution. “Too early to tell,” […]
[…] told me in a subsequent interview that it was “absolutely clear” from the context of the conversation that Zhou’s “too […]
[…] ‘Too early to say’: Zhou was speaking about 1968, not 1789 […]
[…] מדוברים רבים את השימוש בדברי צ'ו אן-לאי. המדובר בפוסט בבלוג של ג'וזף קמפבל mediamythalert המערער לחלוטין על הפרשנות המקובלת […]
[…] supposedly said in 1972 that it was “too early to say” what the effects would be. But Zhou was speaking about the political turmoil in France in 1968, not the years-long upheaval that began in […]
[…] told a panel in Washington, D.C., in June that the Chinese premier was referring to the turmoil in France in 1968, not the years of revolutionary upheaval that began in […]
[…] ‘Too early to say’: Zhou was speaking about 1968, not 1789 […]
[…] https://mediamythalert.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/too-early-to-say-zhou-was-speaking-about-1968-not-178… […]
[…] have since clarified that Mao was not talking about 1789 but the trouble in France in 1968 (read here), making it more believable in the process. In any case, it does bring out the fact it takes time […]
[…] the question, “What were the effects of the French Revolution?” was famously (though debatably), “Too soon to say.” Robert Moses’ effect on the history of planning is similarly […]
[…] […]
[…] is an old story that when asked in 1972 to assess the impact of the French Revolution of 1789, Russian Premier Zhou […]
[…] he reportedly answered, “Too soon to tell.” Some say that he was talking about the revolutions of 1968, not 1789, but even then it provides a generous and expansive perspective. To hold onto uncertainty […]
[…] Revolution, he reportedly answered, “Too soon to tell.” Some say that he was talking about the revolutions of 1968, not 1789, but even then it provides a generous and expansive perspective. To hold onto uncertainty […]
[…] he reportedly answered, “Too soon to tell.” Some say that he was talking about the revolutions of 1968, not 1789, but even then it provides a generous and expansive perspective. To hold onto uncertainty […]
[…] Revolution, he reportedly answered, “Too soon to tell.” Some say that he was talking about the revolutions of 1968, not 1789, but even then it provides a generous and expansive perspective. To hold onto uncertainty […]
[…] Revolution, he reportedly answered, “Too soon to tell.” Some say that he was talking about the revolutions of 1968, not 1789, but even then it provides a generous and expansive perspective. To hold onto uncertainty […]
[…] Revolution, he reportedly answered, “Too soon to tell.” Some say that he was talking about the revolutions of 1968, not 1789, but even then it provides a generous and expansive perspective. To hold onto uncertainty […]
[…] Revolution, he reportedly answered, “Too soon to tell.” Some say that he was talking about the revolutions of 1968, not 1789, but even then it provides a generous and expansive perspective. To hold onto uncertainty […]
[…] Revolution, he reportedly answered, “Too soon to tell.” Some say that he was talking about the revolutions of 1968, not 1789, but even then it provides a generous and expansive perspective. To hold onto uncertainty […]
[…] [1] En Lai’nin bu sözü Fransız Devrimi için değil, 68’ olayları için söylediğine dair yeni iddialar bulunuyor olsa da, aktardığı mesaj oldukça önemli. İddiaların aktarıldığı bir haber için: https://mediamythalert.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/too-early-to-say-zhou-was-speaking-about-1968-not-178… […]
[…] evidence of Nixon’s venality and sneaky ways, dates to the presidential election campaign in 1968 and a speech in New Hampshire. There, in early March 1968, Nixon pledged that “new […]
[…] guile, shiftiness, and venality. It dates to the presidential primary election campaign of 1968 and a speech in New Hampshire. There, in early March 1968, Nixon vowed that “new leadership” in […]
[…] plan” during his run for the presidency dates to the primary election campaign of 1968 and a speech in New Hampshire. In early March 1968, Nixon said that his “new leadership” would […]
[…] Chinese premier Zhou Enlai supposedly once said about the French Revolution, it’s “too early to say” how it has turned out). Had you asked people in 1974 about support for capitalism in Vietnam […]
[…] Chinese premier Zhou Enlai supposedly once said about the French Revolution, it’s “too early to say” how it has turned out). Had you asked people in 1974 about support for capitalism in Vietnam […]
[…] Chinese premier Zhou Enlai supposedly once said about the French Revolution, it’s “too early to say” how it has turned out.) Had you asked people in 1974 about support for capitalism in Vietnam […]
[…] derivation of the hoary myth can be traced to the presidential primary election campaign of 1968 and a speech in New Hampshire. There, in early March 1968, Nixon pledged that “new leadership” […]
[…] Despite its remarkable growth record, China has only recently entered the income range at which continued authoritarianism is surprising. The country’s so-far smooth transition to the leadership of Xi Jinping might indicate that the Chinese Communist Party has crafted a succession mechanism that is more effective at picking regime-preserving leaders. But, as the former top Chinese official Zhou Enlai said in a different context, it is too early to say. […]
[…] misconstrued comment was “one of those convenient misunderstandings that never gets corrected.” Freeman said: “I cannot explain the confusion about Zhou’s comment except in terms of the extent to which it […]
[…] – il malinteso è stato «uno di quei facili fraintendimenti che non vengono mai corretti». Freeman ha detto: «Non so spiegare la confusione creata dal commento di Zhou se non facendo riferimento allo […]
[…] misconstrued comment was “one of those convenient misunderstandings that never gets corrected.”Freeman said: “I cannot explain the confusion about Zhou’s comment except in terms of the extent to which it […]
[…] on his hesitation to judge the effects of the French Revolution two centuries after the fact, but the long view is still good advice, especially since the advent of the ‘Nietzschean left” in continental […]
[…] misconstrued comment was “one of those convenient misunderstandings that never gets corrected.”Freeman said: “I cannot explain the confusion about Zhou’s comment except in terms of the extent to which it […]
[…] Zhou Enlai explicaba que aún era pronto en 1972 para averiguar la magnitud y consecuencias de la Revolución Francesa, serviría a día de hoy para explicar que discernir a dónde vamos o qué va a ocurrir es […]
[…] wyjaśnia Charles W. (Chas) Freeman Jr., który był tłumaczem prezydenta Nixona w czasie jego wizyty w Pekinie w lutym 1972 roku, kiedy […]
[…] – There is a (possibly apocraphyl) story that during a state visit to Paris in the 1970s, Zhou Enlai – Mao’s […]
[…] I’m reminded of the answer that Zhoi Enlai purportedly gave to Henry Kissinger when Kissinger asked for Enlai’s assessment of the French Revolution: “Too early to say.” […]
[…] I’m reminded of the answer that Zhoi Enlai purportedly gave to Henry Kissinger when Kissinger asked for Enlai’s assessment of the French Revolution: “Too early to say.” […]
[…] noted previously at Media Myth Alert, Nixon may or may not have had a “secret plan” in mind in 1968. But he did not run on a “secret plan”: It was neither a topic nor a plank of his […]
[…] may or may not have had a “secret plan” in mind in 1968. But it was neither a topic nor a plank of his campaign that year, and that is clear in reviewing […]
[…] the clichéd, apocryphal Zhou Enlai quote goes, it’s too early to know if the French Revolution was a good idea or not, but it clearly […]
[…] the clichéd, apocryphal Zhou Enlai quote goes, it’s too early to know if the French Revolution was a good idea or not, but it clearly […]
[…] the clichéd, apocryphal Zhou Enlai quote goes, it’s too early to know if the French Revolution was a good idea or not, but it clearly […]
[…] get too much of an argument from me. Zhou Enlai’s quip about the French Revolution (“too early to say“) has been deliberately distorted into the profound wisdom of the Inscrutable Orient — […]
[…] Freeman Jr., che era presente all’incontro, ha invece chiarito che, in realtà, il leader cinese si riferiva ai disordini della Francia nel 1968. In entrambi i casi Zhou ha avuto però ragione. È ancora oggi troppo presto per […]
[…] presente en la reunión, posteriormente afirmó que el líder chino, de hecho, se estaba refiriendo a la agitación acaecida en Francia en el año 1968. Pero Zhou tenía razón en ambos casos. Incluso hoy, es demasiado pronto como para […]
[…] dem Treffen anwesend war, sagte später, dass der chinesische Führer sich tatsächlich auf den Aufruhr in Frankreich von 1968 bezog. Aber Zhou hatte in beiden Fällen Recht. Es ist zu früh, auch heute, den Schaden und […]
[…] 周恩来首相（1898～1976年）が、1972年2月に中国を訪問したアメリカ大統領のリチャード・M・ニクソン（Richard M. Nixon）（1913～1994年）に対して、フランス革命になぞらえるには「時期尚早」だと伝えたのは有名な話だ。周恩来は、1789年から10年間続いたフランス革命に言及しているのだと長い間一般的には理解されてきた。会議に出席していたアメリカの外交官チャールズ・W・フリーマン・ジュニア（別名「チャス」）（Charles W. “Chas” Freeman Jr.）は、中国の指導者は実際には、1968年にフランスで起きた混乱…との後日談を伝えている。しかし、周恩来はどちらにせよ正しかった。今日でさえ、いわゆる「フランスの五月危機」とその余波によってもたらされたダメージを評価するのは時期尚早である（興味深いことに、この危機を起こした人の中には、毛沢東 国家主席の自称ファンが多数いた）。また、共産主義革命も大きな影響を受けた、すべての政治革命の母がいつ終焉を迎えるのかを告げるのも時期尚早である。もし終焉を迎えるなら、の話だが。 […]
[…] la réunion, a déclaré plus tard qu’en fait, le dirigeant chinois se référait à la crise de 1968 en France. De toute façon, Zhou avait raison dans un cas comme dans l’autre. Il est encore trop […]
[…] 주니어는 저우가 사실은 1968년 프랑스에서 일어난 폭동Ǿ…이라고 전하기도 했다. […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on anapocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] liberal president had been shot dead a half-century before, my answer was a lame joke based on an apocryphal story. Henry Kissinger once said that when he asked Zhou Enlai, “What was the effect of the French […]
[…] the French Revolution of 1789 were. According to W. Joseph Campbell at his Media Myth Alert blog, Zhou thought he was being asked about the 1968 revolution in France. That answer is now […]
[…] Joseph Campbell, “‘Too early to say’: Zhou was speaking about 1968, not 1789”, Media Myth Ale…, […]
[…] “Ainda é cedo para dizer”, respondeu o apócrifo chinês. […]
[…] levert. Chas Freeman Jr., volt pekinki amerikai nagykövet, aki jelen volt a tárgyalásokon, elmondta, hogy az egész dolog a „kényelmes félreértések”, vagyis a média-mítoszok körébe […]
[…] ‘Too early to say’; Zhou was speaking about 1968, not 1789 […]
[…] groundbreaking visit to China in 1972, in response to a question about French revolts, was actually not referring to the French Revolution of 1789 but the revolts of […]
[…] This recalls the famous 1972 remark by China’s Premier Zhou Enlai that it was “too early” to assess the impact of the French Revolution of 1789. In fact, […]
[…] famous – but possibly misreported – exchange occurred during Richard Nixon’s groundbreaking visit to China in […]