Zhou Enlai (1898—1976）

Great Marxist; great proletarian revolutionist, statesman-politician, militarist and diplomat; one of the main leaders of the Party and the state; one of the main founders of the People's Liberation Army and an important member of the first generation of the collective central leadership of the Party with Comrade Mao Zedong at its core. Zhou Enlai, styled himself with the name Xiangyu, and he was also called Wuhao. He was a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, was born in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, on March 5,1898. In 1917, he graduated from Tianjin Nankai Secondary School. In the autumn of the same year, he went to study in Japan and joined the Society for China's Rejuvenation, a patriotic organization of Chinese students studying in Japan. During the May 4th Movement in 1919, Zhou Enlai organized the “Awakening Society” in Tianjin and engaged in anti-imperialist and anti-feudal revolutionary activities. In November 1920, he went to France on a work-study program. In 1921, he joined the Communist Party of China (CPC). In 1922, he participated in initiating and organizing the Chinese Youth Communist Party in Europe (later renamed the European branch of the Chinese Socialist Youth League). After he returned home in the autumn of 1924, he served as the Chairman of the Guangdong Region CPC Committee, head of its Publicity department, member of its standing committee and director of military affairs, director of the Political Department of the Whampoa Military Academy, director of the Political Department of the First Army of the National Revolutionary Army and general director of the General Political Department of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, during the cooperation period between the KMT and the CPC (1924-1927). On August 1, 1927, together with other comrades, led the famous Nanchang Uprising and made important contribution to the founding of the Red Army. In December 1931, he went to the Central Revolutionary Base Area in Jiangxi and served as secretary of the Soviet Area Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, general political commissar of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the First Front Army and Vice-Chairman of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission of the Chinese Soviet Republic. At the Zunyi Conference in January 1935, he firmly supported Mao Zedong's correct line and played an important role in the establishment of Mao Zedong's leadership in the whole Party. In December 1936, as the chief representative of the CPC, he went to Xi'an to negotiate with the detained Chiang Kai-shek, thus greatly contributed to the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident. During the Anti-Japanese War, he was elected as the Vice-Chairman of the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee at the meeting held in Luochuan. Afterwards, he served as deputy secretary of the Changjiang Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of its Southern Bureau and was engaged in the Anti-Japanese National United Front work in KMT-ruled Wuhan, Chongqing and other cities. He served as deputy head of the Political Department of the Military Commission of the KMT government. In June 1945, he served as member of the Seventh CPC Central Committee, member of its Political Bureau and its Secretariat and Vice-Chairman of the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee. In August 1945, he went to Chongqing together with Mao Zedong, negotiated with the KMT and signed the "October 10 Agreement", formally known as “Summary of Conversations”. During the War of Liberation, after March 1947, he, Mao Zedong and Ren Bishi fought in northern Shaanxi. In August of the same year, he served as acting chief of the general staff of the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and at the same time led the revolutionary movement in the KMT-ruled areas.

After the founding of New China, he served as the first Premier of the Central Government, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs concurrently, Vice-Chairman of the Military Commission of the Central Committee of the CPC, Vice-Chairman of the First CPPCC (Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference) and Chairman of the Second and Third CPPCC. While dealing with the day-to-day affairs of the Party and the state, he participated in the formulation of the Party's line, principles and policies in respect to socialist construction. In September 1960, he supported the policy of "adjustment, consolidation, enrichment and improvement", and led the establishment of a series of measures to restore and better develop the national economy. Zhou Enlai participated in the formulation and personal implementation of major diplomatic decisions in respect to international affairs. In 1954, he put forward the famous polity of “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence”. In April 1955, he led the Chinese delegation to attend the First Asia-Africa Conference, which resulted in the establishment of the “Ten Principles of the Bandung Conference” based on the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence”. Zhou Enlai played a great role during the “Cultural Revolution”; he took the overall situation into consideration and worked hard without complaint and he spared no effort to preserve the normal work of the Party and the state and worked hard to minimize the losses of the “Cultural Revolution” with painstaking efforts.

He fought against Lin Biao and Jiang Qing clique (Gang of Four) in various forms, which played an important role in thwarting all kinds of splittist and conspirative power-grabbing activities of Lin Biao and the Gang of Four cliques, thus greatly helped in controlling and stabilizing the chaotic situation and greatly contributed in setting things right. He made outstanding contributions to the formation of the new diplomatic situation for the PRC, contributed to the normalization of Sino-US relations, and to resumption of China's lawful seat in the United Nations. Even though he was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 1972, he continued to work meticulously and in a dedicated manner. He died in Beijing on January 8, 1976. His main works are included in the Selected Works of Zhou Enlai.