First Impressions Zhou Enlai

In light of the recent shutdown of Polytechnic School as a result of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, I have started "Zhou Enlai, the Last Perfect Revolutionary." The content of the book is quite interesting, as it talks about Zhou Enlai, the Chinese Premier famous for his de-escalation of China/US tensions during the "Ping Pong Diplomacy" of the 70s and part in the orchestration of Richard Nixon's historic visit to China. While I will have much more to talk about down the line, I'm particularly struck by how Zhou Enlai deliberately stayed out of the spotlight and supported Mao Zedong years in advance on topics he would address. He shrewdly stayed clear of purges that happened to the upper echelons of China's communist party and ultimately went down as a figure with mixed impact. On one hand, he was able to consistently support Mao and tone down his policies so that they would not have as much harmful impact to China, but without him, Mao's leadership wouldn't have persisted as strongly. I will update this blog post. as I progress with the book

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