Zhou Enlai: A Life
A Financial Times Best Book of the Year
The definitive biography of Zhou Enlai, the first premier and preeminent diplomat of the Peopleās Republic of China, who protected his country against the excesses of his bossāChairman Mao.
Zhou Enlai spent twenty-seven years as premier of the Peopleās Republic of China and ten as its foreign minister. He was also its legendary spymaster. Richard Nixon proclaimed him āthe greatest statesman of our era.ā Yet Zhou has always been overshadowed by Chairman Mao. Chen Jian brings Zhou into the light, offering a nuanced portrait of a revolutionary and master diplomat whose vision shaped China and the broader world.
Born to a declining mandarin family in 1898, Zhou received a classical education and as a teenager spent time in modernizing Japan. Zhou embraced communist revolution as a vehicle for Chinaās own development, yet Zhou was never a committed Maoist. While he worked closely with the chairman, he used his extraordinary political and bureaucratic skill to mitigate the damage caused by Maoās radicalism and maintain Chinaās international standing.
When Zhou died in 1976, the China we know today was not yet visible on the horizon. He never saw a glistening Shanghai skyline or the emergence of Chinese capitalism. But the Chinese influence now felt in every corner of the globe rests on Zhouās work.
PRODUCT DETAILS :
| ISBN : 9780674303492 | |
| BY (AUTHOR) Chen, Jian | |
| PUBLISHER : Harvard University Press | PUBLICATION DATE : January 13, 2026 |
| COUNTRY OF PUBLICATION : United States | IMPRINT : Harvard University Press |
| LANGUAGE : English | AGE : General |
| PRODUCT FORM : Paperback / softback | |
WEIGHT : 1034 g
PRODUCT SAFETY : US CPSIA or other international hazard warning - No California Proposition 65 hazard warning necessary
PRODUCT CATEGORY :
Biography, Literature & Literary studies
History & Archaeology
Society & Social Sciences
Original: $38.30
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Description
A Financial Times Best Book of the Year
The definitive biography of Zhou Enlai, the first premier and preeminent diplomat of the Peopleās Republic of China, who protected his country against the excesses of his bossāChairman Mao.
Zhou Enlai spent twenty-seven years as premier of the Peopleās Republic of China and ten as its foreign minister. He was also its legendary spymaster. Richard Nixon proclaimed him āthe greatest statesman of our era.ā Yet Zhou has always been overshadowed by Chairman Mao. Chen Jian brings Zhou into the light, offering a nuanced portrait of a revolutionary and master diplomat whose vision shaped China and the broader world.
Born to a declining mandarin family in 1898, Zhou received a classical education and as a teenager spent time in modernizing Japan. Zhou embraced communist revolution as a vehicle for Chinaās own development, yet Zhou was never a committed Maoist. While he worked closely with the chairman, he used his extraordinary political and bureaucratic skill to mitigate the damage caused by Maoās radicalism and maintain Chinaās international standing.
When Zhou died in 1976, the China we know today was not yet visible on the horizon. He never saw a glistening Shanghai skyline or the emergence of Chinese capitalism. But the Chinese influence now felt in every corner of the globe rests on Zhouās work.
PRODUCT DETAILS :
| ISBN : 9780674303492 | |
| BY (AUTHOR) Chen, Jian | |
| PUBLISHER : Harvard University Press | PUBLICATION DATE : January 13, 2026 |
| COUNTRY OF PUBLICATION : United States | IMPRINT : Harvard University Press |
| LANGUAGE : English | AGE : General |
| PRODUCT FORM : Paperback / softback | |
WEIGHT : 1034 g
PRODUCT SAFETY : US CPSIA or other international hazard warning - No California Proposition 65 hazard warning necessary
PRODUCT CATEGORY :
Biography, Literature & Literary studies
History & Archaeology
Society & Social Sciences
