Zhou Enlai

by Chae-Jin Lee

The longtime Chinese premier Zhou Enlai (1898-1976) is one of the most important, interesting, and appealing figures among twentieth-century world statesmen. Of him, Henry Kissinger wrote: "He was equally at home in philosophy, reminiscence, historical analysis, tactical probes, humorous repartee. . . . Zhou Enlai, in short, was one of the two or three most impressive men I have ever met." Yet his biographies - both Chinese and non-Chinese - have paid scant attention to how Zhou Enlai acquired and developed his notable intellectual and behavioral attributes. This book asserts that the rich and diverse personal, educational, and political experiences of Zhou's formative years established clear patterns for his future personal and political orientations. It divides Zhou's early life into four phases: his upbringing in Jiangsu province and Manchuria (1898-1913), his education at the Nankai Middle School (1913-17), his experience in Japan (1917-19), and his political activism in China duri