---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Could it be argued that if the Chinese…"
description: "\"Could it be argued that if the Chinese revolution seems to be a response to the needs of rural society, whereas the Russian is an urbanized phenomenon,..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/eric-a-havelock-77118_chinese_could-it-be-argued-that-if-the-chinese-r_1575194.jpg"
---

#  Could it be argued that if the Chinese revolution seems to…

![“Could it be argued that if the Chinese revolution seems to be a response to the needs of rural society, whereas the Russian is an urbanized phenomenon, this difference corresponds to that which exists between the users of two different forms of written communication, the one archaic, the other…” quote by Eric A. Havelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/eric-a-havelock-77118_chinese_could-it-be-argued-that-if-the-chinese-r_1575194.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/eric-a-havelock-77118_chinese_could-it-be-argued-that-if-the-chinese-r_1575194.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/eric-a-havelock-77118_chinese_could-it-be-argued-that-if-the-chinese-r_1575194.jpg)

> “Could it be argued that if the Chinese revolution seems to be a response to the needs of rural society, whereas the Russian is an urbanized phenomenon, this difference corresponds to that which exists between the users of two different forms of written communication, the one archaic, the other alphabetic?”

Eric A. Havelock

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote contrasts rural‑driven Chinese revolution with urban‑driven Russian revolution, likening them to different writing systems: pictographic vs alphabetic.

**In simple terms:** Rural vs urban revolutions mirror old vs new scripts.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how social context shapes communication forms.

Themes

history revolution communication culture technology

Mood

analytical critical thoughtful

Type

theoretical comparative

When to use this quote

- academic lecture
- comparative history
- policy analysis

Key Concepts

sociolinguistics political theory media studies

Questions to Reflect On

- How do material conditions affect revolutionary narratives?
- Can media evolution be reduced to binary categories?

A Different Perspective

The analogy may oversimplify complex political causes.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Chinese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chinese/) [Chinese revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chinese-revolution/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Communism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communism/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Phenomenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomenon/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/)

## Related quotes

> [My long struggles as a soldier of the Chinese Revolution have forced me to realize the necessity of facing hard facts. There will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiang-kai-shek/my-long-struggles-as-a-soldier-of-the-chinese-revolution-have-forced/)

[Chiang Kai-shek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiang-kai-shek/)

> [In 1925 - 27 the revolution in China was destroyed by the false revolutionary strategy of the Stalinist faction. To this last question I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/in-1925-27-the-revolution-in-china-was-destroyed-by-the-false/)

[Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/)

> [The arrow of Marxist-Leninism must be used to hit the target of the Chinese Revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/the-arrow-of-marxist-leninism-must-be-used-to-hit-the-target-of-the/)

[Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/)

> [We must wait for the official history of the Chinese Revolution to record in greater detail the invaluable work of our Japanese friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-yat-sen/we-must-wait-for-the-official-history-of-the-chinese-revolution-to/)

[Sun Yat-sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-yat-sen/)

> [To win countrywide victory is only the first step in a long march of ten thousand li… The Chinese revolution is great, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/to-win-countrywide-victory-is-only-the-first-step-in-a-long-march-of/)

[Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/)

> [We must always remember that the Chinese revolution was not a peasant's revolution, but one of the extreme Right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/we-must-always-remember-that-the-chinese-revolution-was-not-a-peasant/)

[Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/)

> [Chairman Mao creatively applied Marxism-Leninism to every aspect of the Chinese revolution, and he had creative views on philosophy, political science, military science, literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deng-xiaoping/chairman-mao-creatively-applied-marxism-leninism-to-every-aspect-of/)

[Deng Xiaoping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deng-xiaoping/)

> [Whatever the price of the Chinese Revolution, it has obviously succeeded not only in producing more efficient and dedicated administration, but also in fostering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rockefeller/whatever-the-price-of-the-chinese-revolution-it-has-obviously/)

[David Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rockefeller/)

> [It is quite clear that the German and Chinese revolutions in case of victory would have changed the face of Europe and Asia, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/it-is-quite-clear-that-the-german-and-chinese-revolutions-in-case-of/)

[Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/)

> [How is Marxist-Leninist theory to be linked with the practice of the Chinese revolution? To use a common expression, it is by "shooting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/how-is-marxist-leninist-theory-to-be-linked-with-the-practice-of-the/)

[Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/)

> [Taken as a whole, the Chinese revolutionary movement led by the Communist Party embraces the two stages, i.e., the democratic and the socialist revolutions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/taken-as-a-whole-the-chinese-revolutionary-movement-led-by-the/)

[Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/)

> [If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/if-you-want-to-know-the-theory-and-methods-of-revolution-you-must/)

[Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/)

> [Chairman Mao's greatest contribution was that he applied the principles of Marxism-Leninism to the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution, pointing the way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deng-xiaoping/chairman-mao-s-greatest-contribution-was-that-he-applied-the/)

[Deng Xiaoping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deng-xiaoping/)

> [After the countrywide victory of the Chinese revolution and the solution of the land problem, two basic contradictions will still exist in China. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/after-the-countrywide-victory-of-the-chinese-revolution-and-the/)

[Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/)

> [“The degeneration of the revolution in Russia does not pass from the revolution for communism to the revolution for a developed kind of capitalism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amadeo-bordiga/the-degeneration-of-the-revolution-in-russia-does-not-pass-from-the/)

[Amadeo Bordiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amadeo-bordiga/)

## More by Eric A. Havelock

> [Over the years, I have become convinced that Hellenism as a culture represents not a static condition of uniform sublimity mysteriously achieved and maintained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-a-havelock/over-the-years-i-have-become-convinced-that-hellenism-as-a-culture/)

Eric A. Havelock

> [A scholar like myself who is not a Sinologist and yet ventures the proposition that Chinese languages should be rewritten in the Greek alphabet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-a-havelock/a-scholar-like-myself-who-is-not-a-sinologist-and-yet-ventures-the/)

Eric A. Havelock

Explore all 3 Eric A. Havelock quotes

## More Chinese quotes

> [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/)

[James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/)

> [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [If China someday gains a more fair, just, and accountable system of government, it will be due to the hard work and efforts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/if-china-someday-gains-a-more-fair-just-and-accountable-system-of/)

[Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/)

> [My grandparents were far more English in their manners than they were Chinese. For example, we spoke English at home, had afternoon tea every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kwan/my-grandparents-were-far-more-english-in-their-manners-than-they-were/)

[Kevin Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kwan/)

> [We can see nothing whatever of the soul unless it is visible in the expression of the countenance; one might call the faces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/we-can-see-nothing-whatever-of-the-soul-unless-it-is-visible-in-the/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [Remember, sex is like a Chinese dinner. It ain't over 'til you both get your cookie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/remember-sex-is-like-a-chinese-dinner-it-ain-t-over-til-you-both-get/)

[Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/)

> [The remarkable thing about the Chinese is that they've operated differently than the Russians, the Iranians, and the North Koreans. By and large, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/the-remarkable-thing-about-the-chinese-is-that-they-ve-operated/)

[David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/)

> [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [The Pink Panther wasn't shown to the press for reasons that soon became apparent when I saw it at a public performance. Two people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-french/the-pink-panther-wasn-t-shown-to-the-press-for-reasons-that-soon/)

[Philip French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-french/)

> [Canada has become such a staging area for Chinese money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kwan/canada-has-become-such-a-staging-area-for-chinese-money/)

[Kevin Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kwan/)

> [The Chinese describe themselves as political refugees. Many base that claim on China's strict population laws, which allow them to have only one child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/the-chinese-describe-themselves-as-political-refugees-many-base-that/)

[Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/)

> [There is a phrase in Chinese, 'Resolve is victory.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yao-ming/there-is-a-phrase-in-chinese-resolve-is-victory/)

[Yao Ming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yao-ming/)

> [One thing that really interests me is-and it comes out of Chinese and Japanese painting-where you have a number of different kinds of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-heilmann/one-thing-that-really-interests-me-is-and-it-comes-out-of-chinese-and/)

Mary Heilmann

> [My Chinese zodiac is a dog. But I'm an exception because of how much I love cats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-wu/my-chinese-zodiac-is-a-dog-but-i-m-an-exception-because-of-how-much-i/)

[Jason Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-wu/)

> [This is an extraordinary illustrated collection of Chinese herbsaccompanied by concise and expert comments. Jing-Nuan Wu has succeeded incompiling this most unique and informative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koji-nakanishi/this-is-an-extraordinary-illustrated-collection-of-chinese/)

Koji Nakanishi

[Browse all 1,741 Chinese quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chinese/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Could it be argued that if the Chinese revolution seems to be a response to the needs of rural society, whereas the Russian is an urbanized phenomenon, this difference corresponds to that which exists between the users of two different forms of written communication, the one archaic, the other alphabetic?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Eric A. Havelock"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-a-havelock/could-it-be-argued-that-if-the-chinese-revolution-seems-to-be-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Chinese"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-a-havelock/could-it-be-argued-that-if-the-chinese-revolution-seems-to-be-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/eric-a-havelock-77118_chinese_could-it-be-argued-that-if-the-chinese-r_1575194.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/eric-a-havelock-77118_chinese_could-it-be-argued-that-if-the-chinese-r_1575194.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/eric-a-havelock-77118_chinese_could-it-be-argued-that-if-the-chinese-r_1575194.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Could it be argued that if the Chinese revolution seems to be a response to the needs of rural society…” — Eric A. Havelock",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Eric A. Havelock",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-a-havelock/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Could it be argued that if...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-a-havelock/could-it-be-argued-that-if-the-chinese-revolution-seems-to-be-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-a-havelock/could-it-be-argued-that-if-the-chinese-revolution-seems-to-be-a/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
