Zhou Enlai The Enigma Behind ChairmanMao : The Enigma Behind Chairman Mao

Edition description: Enigmatic, Eminence grise, the ‘power behind the throne’ – these phrases sum up Zhou Enlai’s long and varied, but always pivotal, political career in the Chinese Communist Party from the 1920s to 1970s. Born in 1898, Zhou witnessed several of the most important events in China’s modern history and was a close associate of both the nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek and communist leader Mao Zedong, whom he served under as China’s first premier from 1949 until 1976. Zhou was also a major ally of Deng Xiaoping – a source, for example, of major influence on his ‘Four Modernizations’ in agriculture, industry, science and technology, and the military. He was thus the prime architect of China’s drive towards superpower status and one of the key determinants of China’s central role in the modern world. Zhou does not conform readily to any of the stereotypes of communist leaders, Chinese or otherwise. Cultivated and urbane, he was a sympathetic and intellectual character, who was well-liked by non-communists, foreigners and his staff. He was one of the most complex figures in the politics of contemporary China, and certainly one of the most interesting, although his influence was never all that obvious. In this book, Michael Dillon restores him to his rightful place in history and analyses the role of a man who was ‘a genuine statesman rather than just a political operator’. "Enigmatic, Eminence grise, the 'power behind the throne' - these phrases sum up Zhou Enlai's long and varied, but always pivotal, political career in the Chinese Communist Party from the 1920s to 1970s. Born in 1898, Zhou witnessed several of the most important events in China's modern history and was a close associate of both the nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek and communist leader Mao Zedong, whom he served under as China's first premier from 1949 until 1976. Zhou was also a major ally of Deng Xiaoping - a source, for example, of major influence on his 'Four Modernizations' in agriculture, industry, science and technology, and the military. He was thus the prime architect of China's drive towards superpower status and one of the key determinants of China's central role in the modern world. Zhou does not conform readily to any of the stereotypes of communist leaders, Chinese or otherwise. Cultivated and urbane, he was a sympathetic and intellectual character, who was well-liked by non-communists, foreigners and his staff. He was one of the most complex figures in the politics of contemporary China, and certainly one of the most interesting, although his influence was never all that obvious. In this book, Michael Dillon restores him to his rightful place in history and analyses the role of a man who was 'a genuine statesman rather than just a political operator'."--Bloomsbury Publishing. "Enigmatic, Eminence grise, the 'power behind the throne' - these phrases sum up Zhou Enlai's long and varied, but always pivotal, political career in the Chinese Communist Party from the 1920s to 1970s. Born in 1898, Zhou witnessed several of the most important events in China's modern history and was a close associate of both the nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek and communist leader Mao Zedong, whom he served under as China's first premier from 1949 until 1976. Zhou was also a major ally of Deng Xiaoping - a source, for example, of major influence on his 'Four Modernizations' in agriculture, industry, science and technology, and the military. He was thus the prime architect of China's drive towards superpower status and one of the key determinants of China's central role in the modern world. Zhou does not conform readily to any of the stereotypes of communist leaders, Chinese or otherwise. Cultivated and urbane, he was a sympathetic and intellectual character, who was well-liked by non-communists, foreigners and his staff. He was one of the most complex figures in the politics of contemporary China, and certainly one of the most interesting, although his influence was never all that obvious. In this book, Michael Dillon restores him to his rightful place in history and analyses the role of a man who was 'a genuine statesman rather than just a political operator'."--Provided by publisher Contents 6 Acknowledgements 8 Preface: Life and Career of an Enigmatic Revolutionary 9 1 GROWING UP IN HUAI’AN, THE NORTHEAST, TIANJIN AND JAPAN: 1898–1920 14 2 FRENCH LESSONS AND REVOLUTIONARY POLITICS: 1920–4 34 3 GUANGZHOU AND THE HUANGPU MILITARY ACADEMY: 1924–6 48 4 IN THE EYE OF THE STORM, SHANGHAI AND WUHAN: 1927 60 5 CRISIS FOR CCP AND 6TH PARTY CONGRESS IN MOSCOW: 1927–8 72 6 JIANGXI SOVIET: 1931–4 86 7 LONG MARCH AND YAN’AN: 1936 100 8 KIDNAP AND RESISTANCE: XI’AN 1936–7 110 9 PARTNERS AT WAR: 1937–45 126 10 CHONGQING AND NANJING – WAR, CIVIL WAR AND THE AFTERMATH: 1937–43 144 11 PREPARING FOR POWER – YAN’AN, CHONGQING AND NANJING: 1943–6 156 12 CIVIL WAR TO PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC: 1946–9 166 13 PREMIER AND FOREIGN MINISTER: 1949–55 174 14 FROM RUSTIC STAGE TO INTERNATIONAL ARENA: 1954–5 190 15 THE INTELLIGENTSIA AND INTERNAL POWER STRUGGLES: 1955–7 200 16 ASIAN DIPLOMATIC MISSION: 1956–7 208 17 ‘RECTIFICATION’ AND ‘RIGHTISTS’: 1957 214 18 INTO THE CRUCIBLE – THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD: 1958 222 19 HIGH NOON AT LUSHAN: 1958–9 230 20 FAMINE, DROUGHT AND RECOVERY: 1959–62 240 21 TWILIGHT OF THE LONG MARCH LEADERSHIP-PRELUDE TO CULTURAL REVOLUTION: 1962–5 252 22 UNNATURAL DISASTER-CULTURAL REVOLUTION: 1966–7 260 23 DESCENT INTO CHAOS, RECOVERY AND FINAL YEARS: 1967–76 272 EPILOGUE: ZHOU ENLAI, THE LOST LEADER? 282 Notes 285 Bibliography 298 Index 303