Ep. 168 | Zhou Enlai (Part 8)

In this bonus one-hour+ episode we look at the last six years of Zhou Enlai’s life. It was a bittersweet end for Premier Zhou. In between doing great things for China and guiding the country’s general well-being, he was forced to play a central role in some of the worst internecine politics in CCP history.

Listen On Your Favorite Podcast Player

---

Terms in Episode

Pinyin/Term	Chinese	English/Meaning
Beidaihe	北戴河	Beach resort near Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, popularly used as a Party retreat for informal meetings
Chen Boda	陈伯达	Former secretary, speechwriter to Mao
Chen Yi	陈毅	Another great military leader, later foreign minister
Deng Yingchao	邓颖超	Wife of Zhou Enlai, later chairperson of the CPPCC
Gaige kaifang	改革开放	The policy of reform and opening up to the outside world
Hua Guofeng	华国锋	named as acting Premier to replace Zhou, later Party Chairman
Jiang Qing	江青	Wife of Mao Zedong, Gang of Four leader
Jiangxi Province	江西	Province in eastern China
Li Xiannian	李先念	Great military and political leader, later President of Chian 1983-88
Lin Biao	林彪	Revolutionary hero, great general, Mao chosen successor
Lin Liguo	林立果	Son of Lin Biao, main planner of the attempted coup of Lin Biao
Liu Shaoqi	刘少奇	State Chairman (title changed to president in 1982), main target of Cultural Revolution
Luo Ruiqing	罗瑞卿	Popular general, early victim of the Cultural Revolution
Lushan	庐山	Scenic spot in northern Jiangxi, site of many historic meetings
Mao Yuanxin	毛远新	Mao’s nephew, son of his younger brother Mao Zemin
Nanchang	南昌	Capital of Jiangxi province
Nancy Tang Wensheng	唐文生	Mao’s English interpreter
Peng Dehuai	彭德怀	Great military leader, destroyed by Mao at Lushan in 1959 due to criticism of the Great Leap Forward
Pi Lin Pi Kong	批林批孔运动	The Criticize Lin Biao, Criticize Confucius Campaign
Poyang Lake	鄱阳湖	China’s largest freshwater lake
Shanhaiguan	山海关	Historic district near to Beidaihe and Qinhuangdao
Sige Xiandaihua	四个现代化	The Four Modernizations
Sun Weishi	孙维世	Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao’s adopted daughter
Tangshan	唐山	City in Hebei, just east of Beijing, epicenter of the great earthquake of 1976
Wang Dongxing	汪东兴	Mao’s bodyguard during the Cultural Revolution years. Commander of the 8341 Special Regiment
Wang Hairong	王海容	Mao’s grand niece and later vice minister of the Foreign Ministry
Wang Hongwen	王洪文	Young, unknown Shanghai radical hand picked by Mao to be his successor
Wu Faxian	吴法宪	Former Air Force commander, staunch Lin Biao supporter
Wumao’s	五毛党	People in the Party’s employ responsible for flooding the internet with pro-Party comments in an effort to sway public opinion.
Xian Incident	西安事变	October 12, 1936 kidnapping of Chiang Kai-shek
Xinjian County Tractor Factory	新建县拖拉机厂	Factory outside Nanchang where Deng Xiaoping was sent to work after his first political purge in 1969
Yao Wenyuan	姚文元	Prominent writer, critic…wrote the initial critique of Wu Han’s play that kicked off the Cultural Revolution
Ye Jianying	叶剑英	Great PLA general, great leader, rose to the occasion at several key moments in China history
Ye Qun	叶群	Wife of Lin Biao
Zhang Chunqiao	张春桥	Political theoretician, later member of the Gang of Four
Zhongnanhai	中南海	Government leadership compound adjacent to the Forbidden City
Zhu De	朱德	PLA founder, great general and comrade of Mao
Zhuang Zedong	庄则栋	One of China’s greatest table tennis champions
Zunyi Conference	遵义会议	Historic CCP conference in January 1935 in which Mao and Bo Gu fought for supremacy
“Tian yao xia yu, niang yao jia ren, wufa keshe, you ta qu ba!”	天要下雨，娘要嫁人，无法可设，由他去吧	"The heavens must rain and a woman wants to be wed….nothing can be done about this….let him go.”

---

Enjoy the show and want to support the CHP?

Join the CHP Patreon

Make a Direct Donation

---