The Death of the Great Survivor – 8th January 1976
By William Budd, Second Year History
For a man who moved in circles so close to Mao, Zhou Enlai’s (周恩来) survival at the peak of Chinese politics is nothing short of extraordinary. Serving as premier of the People’s Republic of China from its founding in 1949 until the day of his death, Zhou is quite possibly the most famous Maoist figure after Mao himself. His death in 1976 was an event of colossal national mourning and shook the country to its foundations so deeply that Mao saw the adulation Zhou received as an affront to his own dominance. Here we explore Zhou’s political role and influence, both in life and death.
Zhou was born in March 1989 Huai’an City, Jiangsu province, a city famous for families involved in various levels of the civil administration, much like the Zhou family. As such, the young Zhou Enlai aspired to enter civil service of some variety and excelled at all levels of education. He was exposed to the intricacies of politics and society at middle school, participating regularly in debates. Clearly, he was a politician in the making from the start.
Following two years of study in Japan, Zhou returned to his home country just in time for the May Fourth Movement, one of the great student protest movements in Chinese history. Whilst his participation in the movement has been called into question, simply living through such a vibrant political climate exposed Zhou to even more revolutionary political thought. He would join the Chinese Communist Party shortly after its formation in the early 1920s during a stint of political activity in Europe and rose to the heights of the communist party leadership during the Long March of 1934/35.
Whilst not all prominent political figures were entirely removed from public life at some point during the period of Mao’s rule, Zhou was the only one to avoid removal entirely. Whereas future leader Deng Xiaoping had to come back from a period of exile after Mao’s death, at no point during his 27 years of premier was Zhou removed from position. It’s fascinating how Zhou managed to evade criticism and demotion for so long. A combination of political positioning and remarkable diplomatic ability enabled him to manoeuvre out from under Mao’s magnifying glass of suspicion with ease, whilst performing his duties with significant success, responsible for Nixon’s famous visit to China in 1972 following years of diplomatic rebuilding between the nations. Where titans like Liu Shaoqi (刘少奇) and Deng Xiaoping (邓小平) were more directly publicly opposed to Mao, Zhou was careful never to criticize him openly in the public sphere, protecting him at the height of the tumultuous Cultural Revolution.
On this day 49 years ago, Zhou died from the cancer plaguing him since 1972, but his influence was not to end here. Following his death, Mao issued no such statement acknowledging Zhou’s widespread achievements, nor did he sanction a period of mourning, and refused to appear at Zhou’s funeral. In his efforts not to be overshadowed, Mao sparked a far greater public outcry for Zhou than he could have ever imagined. Following further suppression of memorials by Zhou’s enemies within the party, on 4th April, an estimated 2 million people descended on Tiananmen Square to celebrate Zhou’s life and achievements. Many were arrested in the days that followed, but this movement against Zhou’s political enemies marked the beginning of the end of their control over the communist party.
In life and death, a hugely influentially and publicly revered man.
‘We shall use only peaceful means and we shall not permit any other kind of method.’ – Zhou Enlai
Edited by Ben Bryant