Chapter 12 7. Zhou Enlai-1

Chinese Revolutionary In the past half century, the history of China has been largely the history of Mao Zedong, Zhou Silai and Chiang Kai-shek.After defeating Chiang Kai-shek's army, and as Mao Zedong's rule over the mainland was consolidated, the Chinese Communists actually portrayed the confrontation between Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek as a battle between God and the devil.Mao sees himself as a modern-day Qin Shihuang, the first emperor to unify China 2,000 years ago. He launched a personal cult movement and deified himself.Zhou Silai has been behind the scenes for a long time, as a loyal official, running China's state machinery.In Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek ruled with dictatorship.However, he did not over-beautify himself like Mao Zedong, so he maintained his dignity, created an economic miracle, and taught the people under his rule to recover the mainland.

Of the three, I have known Chiang Kai-shek the longest.I considered Chiang Kai-shek and his wife friends; in a sense, the other two were not.I have a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek and his wife.Our relationship is also a product of shared beliefs and morals.However, it was Mao Zedong and Zhou Silai who won the war in mainland China.Of the two men, Zhou Enlai was more visionary.In short, he is one of the most extraordinary geniuses I have ever known.He has an insight into the realities of power struggles and has reached a level of proficiency in this area.All three are now dead.However, the legacy left by Zhou Enlai has gradually gained a dominant position in modern China.

Seven months before my visit to China in 1972, Henry Kissinger was sent on a secret mission to Beijing to negotiate arrangements for my visit.During Kissinger's first secret visit to Beijing, he spent more than sixteen hours in frank and extensive discussions with Zhou Silai.When he returned, he told me that Zhou Silai, like de Gaulle, was the most impressive foreign statesman he had ever met. Although Kissinger, like us, sometimes resorts to hyperbole, he does rarely praise a character he has never met.It took me a week of meeting and talking with Zhou Silai before I understood why Kissinger praised Zhou Enlai so unusually.

In my farewell banquet toast at the end of a trip to China in 1972, I said: "We have been here for a week. This is a week that changed the world." Some observers felt that I was carried away by the drama of the visit, The significance of the visit is overestimated.However, I believe that history will prove that the current balance of power with the Soviet Union will be extremely bad for us if we do not take the step of normalizing US-China relations.At that time, the people and events that contributed to this breakthrough in diplomatic relations were included in the 1972 Shanghai Joint Communiqué.One of the most commendable figures is Zhou Enlai.

Zhou Silai is a communist revolutionist and an elegant figure; he is both a person committed to ideology and a shrewd realist; he is both a political fighter and the greatest mediator.Among the characters who play such intricate roles, there are few people who can cope as well in thought and action as Zhou Silai.Zhou Silai, on the other hand, can play any of these roles, or mix them together without hesitation.For him, this doesn't mean acting on the occasion at the right time, but that this man with a rich and complex inner world but sharp and intelligent has several different sides.Much of this suggests that he has had a long and varied career in politics.

The characteristic ruthlessness of the communist theoretician made it possible for him to exploit the opportunities of every historical period and to weather political setbacks as well as material difficulties.The personal quality above the elegance endows him with superhuman character, making him the "respected leader" of hundreds of millions of Chinese people; the shrewdness of the realist enables him to accurately estimate the domestic political and international diplomatic situation potential forces.The concealment of this political fighter enabled his policy to continue after him and extended to the post-Mao era; Nations are held together.

The interplay of these qualities enabled Zhou Silai to remain in the top leadership of the Communist Party longer than Lenin, Stalin, or Mao Zedong. Zhou Silai's early life is a model of the gradual growth of a revolutionary leader in politics.He was born in Huai'an County, Jiangsu Province, about 200 miles northwest of Shanghai.After his mother died, his father could not support him, so the Zhou family took him over and his uncles raised him together.From childhood, Zhou Silai received orthodox education in a traditional Chinese bureaucratic family.When he was living with one of his uncles and aunts in Shenyang, Northeast China, he went to a primary school run by Christian missionaries and studied there until he was fifteen.It was during this time that he learned the "new knowledge" they brought from the West.

After graduating from primary education, Zhou Enlai took the exam to study in the United States, but failed due to his unsatisfactory results in the entrance exam.After that, he was admitted to Tianjin Nankai Middle School, which has an anti-feudal tradition, and spent two years in Japan.There he read the works of Karl Marx for the first time. In 1919, Zhou Enlai returned to China and entered Nankai University to study.However, the work of political agitation was more attractive to him than the study of subjects.He was imprisoned for four months for his role in organizing school strikes and demonstrations.

In 1920, when Zhou Enlai was released from prison, he was already twenty-two years old. Afterwards, he continued his studies in Bazhou and visited England and Germany, but spent most of his time in France.As a strike organizer, his name spread far and wide, and he was also welcomed by radical Chinese students studying abroad.Although he participated in classroom studies, political agitation still took up a lot of his energy.Soon, he received a scholarship from the Comintern. In 1924, Zhou Silai returned to China and joined the Kuomintang led by Sun Yat-sen.At that time, it was the period of state-run cooperation.He was appointed director of the Political Department of Huangpu Military Academy.The principal at that time was the young military officer Chiang Kai-shek.Zhou Silai was so impressed by Chiang Kai-shek that he was retained as political commissar of the Kuomintang army and sent him and several officers to Shanghai to organize an uprising in order to occupy Shanghai by force.

In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek, terrified by the growing power of the Communist Party, captured Shanghai and immediately turned his guns on the Communists in his army.Zhou Silai survived.Zhou Silai had organized several unsuccessful urban riots against the Kuomintang before Chiang Kai-shek's forces forced Zhou's remnants on the Long March.During the 6,000-mile Long March, he became Mao Zedong's reliable assistant.During World War II, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party formed the anti-Japanese united front, and Zhou Enlai communicated with Chiang Kai-shek on behalf of Mao Zedong.Later, as the chief representative of the Communist Party, he negotiated with the Kuomintang aimed at ending the civil war. After the Chinese Communist victory in 1949, Zhou Silai served as premier, foreign minister, and sometimes both, for more than a quarter of a century.

During my visit to China in 1972, Zhou Enlai's incomparable character was one of the deepest impressions I got.Through many long formal and informal conversations, I finally got to know him and developed a great respect for him. "Enlai" translated into English means "benevolence comes".This name can sum up his demeanor and temperament very well.He was very humble, but calm and firm.His elegant demeanor, his straightforward and easy posture, all showed great charm and poised demeanor.In both personal and political relations, he faithfully followed the ancient Chinese creed: never "hurt human feelings". The impression of Zhou Enlai's appearance is: friendly manner, very straightforward, calm and very enthusiastic.When the two sides met formally, he appeared tactful and cautious. He was wearing a well-made gray Zhongshan suit with a small badge of "serving the people" pinned on the upper pocket of his jacket. He sat opposite the negotiating table, leaning forward slightly, with his arms on the table. Sometimes, he His hands are crossed on his chest, and his right arm looks a little thin-this is a permanent memorial left by an injury during the Long March.He was seventy-three years old, but his combed-back hair was only slightly gray and a little curly; his dark complexion was more like that of a Mediterranean than that of other Chinese. In formal meetings, the expression on his chiseled face was always stern; while listening to me, his head was always tilted to one side, and his eyes were fixed on me.Henry Kissinger once compared Zhou Silai to a cobra: crouched quietly, maintaining a striking posture, waiting for an opportunity to pounce.The aphorism once used to describe Charles Parnell, the great Irish patriot of the nineteenth century, could well be applied to Zhou Enlai: he is a volcano covered in heavy ice. Zhou Enlai knew English, French, German, Russian and Japanese.So it is not surprising that he already knew what I meant before he heard the translation. He also occasionally corrected the translation so that it could more accurately express his thoughts and various nuanced meanings of words.He spoke without an outline and rarely brought his assistants into discussions.He spoke logically and completely convincingly.To add weight to his words, he sometimes lowered his voice or nodded for emphasis. Zhou Enlai was thin and seemed to be a little weak.However, he has more energy than many of his younger assistants.Due to his heavy workload, he worked long hours and was prone to rising early and going to late, especially when he was prime minister and foreign minister. He often used the sporadic time in the morning to meet with foreign visitors. The conversation continued until sunrise, and when the conversation ended, his spirit was still as bright as ever. With the increase of informal banquets and sightseeing activities, our mutual understanding has deepened; Zhou Enlai's posture has also become more cheerful, and his expressions have become more abundant.He often leans back in his chair and enhances the conversation with expressive gestures.When he wanted to expand the scope of the conversation, or draw general conclusions from it, he often waved his hands in front of him;In formal conversations, he chuckles to himself at some of the wisecracks; in small talk, he becomes perfectly at ease again, sometimes laughing heartily at good-natured banter.When he laughed, his eyes twinkled with joy, and his face was wrinkled to show that it was genuine joy that came from within. At state banquets, Zhou Silai and I toasted each other with Moutai instead of champagne, the traditional drink often used on such occasions.Moutai is a kind of strong liquor, made from grain, with an alcohol content of more than 50%.There used to be a joke that a man exploded when he lit a cigarette after a meal because he drank too much Moutai.At a banquet, Zhou Silai lit a match and put it on a glass of Moutai to prove its flammability, and the glass of wine burned up soon after. We walked around the banquet hall to clink glasses with more than fifty senior officials, and I noticed that Zhou Enlai only lightly touched the rim of the glass with his lips when toasting each guest.When he and I returned to our seats, we both still held the original glass of wine and sat down to rest.Talking about drinking capacity, Zhou Enlai said to me: By chance during the Long March, he drank twenty-five glasses of wine a day, which surprised me very much.Due to his age, his alcohol intake has been limited to two or three cups.I remember reading a passage that said that during the Long March, the Red Army captured Maotai Village, where Maotai was produced, and drank all the wine there. Zhou Enlai took away the kind of eyes often seen by drug sellers in the Jianghu, and said to me: During the Long March, Moutai was regarded as the "universal medicine" that could cure all diseases. The content of our conversation touches on politics, history and philosophy.Zhou Enlai is very good at all these, Zhou Enlai is a scholar-turned-rebel, but never loses the sharp mind and deep thought of a scholar.However, his ideology sometimes affects his thinking on some issues and makes him misinterpret the history he has read.For example, in our conversation, he referred to the French Revolutionary War's army against the colonialists as the "Volunteer Army."In fact, in the French army at that time, except for a few people like Lafayette (Lafayette), they were all trained professional soldiers who fought for the political purpose of opposing the British army. Zhou Enlai also said to me: Lincoln started the civil war to free the slaves; he won because the "people" supported him.In fact, the reason why Lincoln, a rare great man in history and a figure revered by the Chinese people, started the civil war was not to free the slaves, but to bring the South back to the United States.It was a wise strategy for him to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.But it was only to free the slaves in the rebellious states, not the outlying states that remained in the United States.Lincoln was steadfast in his opposition to slavery, but his first concern was saving the United States. Although Zhou Enlai was a dedicated revolutionary, he lived safely in the resplendent palaces of ancient Beijing, and moved in them calmly and gracefully, like a sage in the age of monarchs.No one who saw him living in such an environment would have guessed that he was one of the leaders of a movement dedicated to conquering the world, transforming civilization, and changing human nature.The decoration in the palace is a sign of respect in China's past.Decorated with sumptuous Chinese landscape paintings and ancient artworks of gold, silver and jade, the palaces bear no trace of the propaganda posters plastered across the streets of Beijing. The exquisiteness of the works of art and decorations there can be compared with the character of Zhou Enlai and his perfect skill in handling the affairs of state.Zhou Enlai's agility and wit greatly surpassed that of any other world leader I know. This is a unique and special quality of the Chinese people, which is the crystallization of centuries of historical development and the essence of Chinese civilization.In the conversation, Zhou Enlai carefully distinguished the different meanings of each word and the nuances between them; in the negotiation, he used the method of moving back to avoid disputes; things to convey important information. Zhou Enlai and other Chinese leaders I met mentioned to me with great interest that the exchange of the table tennis team opened the prelude to a breakthrough in the relationship between our two countries.They all seem to appreciate the means by which this diplomatic breakthrough was achieved, as much as the achievement itself.For example, Mao Zedong said: China once insisted that all major problems should be solved before improving relations, which is indeed a bit "bureaucratic".He said, "Later, I saw that you were doing the right thing. So we started playing ping-pong." Zhou Enlai also possessed another rare gift: he paid great attention to trivial matters without becoming obsessed with them.On our third night in Beijing, we were invited to watch a sports puck show.It was already snowing and we were scheduled to visit the Great Wall the next day.Zhou left for a while, I thought he was going to the lounge. Later I found out that he personally went to take care of people to clear the snow on the road leading to the Great Wall.The next day, the road was as clean as if it had never snowed.This example is very typical. I also found out that the guard of honor that greeted us at the airport was handpicked by Zhou Enlai.These soldiers are well-built, burly, and neatly dressed.Zhou himself also handpicked the pieces for the band to play for us at the dinner.I believe he must have researched my background beforehand, because many of the pieces he chose were my favourites, including "America the Beautiful," which I played at my inauguration.After this trip, Secretary of State William Rogers told me: Once, before he had a meeting with Zhou Enlai, a young woman came in and handed Zhou Enlai a copy of the newspaper for him to look at.This is Zhou's front page for the next day's newspaper. For Zhou Enlai, there was some truth to the adage that any major undertaking begins with attention to the little things.Although he personally tends each tree, he can also see the forest. Zhou Enlai also possessed other Chinese qualities - unshakable self-confidence, which comes from the thousands of years of superior cultural traditions enjoyed by the Chinese people.However, the Chinese also have two different understandings of their own cultural heritage. On the one hand, this recognition, combined with the natural resentment at the national humiliation suffered by China during the past two centuries, made them extremely sensitive to the phenomenon of diplomatic loss of dignity.I have a friend named Harold Lee who is an Oxford graduate and Hong Kong resident.He has an uncanny understanding of both Chinese and Western psychology.He once described in general terms the Chinese attitude towards the outside world. In 1965, I asked him how the Communist Chinese would react if the U.S. government recognized the Beijing government.His answer was straightforward, saying: "Are you going to recognize us?" Then he said in a skeptical tone: "You are completely wrong. The question is whether we will recognize you." In 1954, while discussing the Vietnam issue What happened at the Geneva Conference is enough to illustrate how sensitive Zhou Enlai was when the dignity of the Chinese nation was despised.He was the representative of China; Secretary of State Dulles was the representative of the United States.Dulles once told reporters that he and Zhou Enlai would only meet in one situation, and that was "when our cars collided."It happened that on the eve of a morning meeting, Dulles and Zhou Enlai arrived ahead of time and met. Zhou Enlai extended his hand to shake hands, but Dulles shook his head and walked out of the room, insulting the Chinese foreign minister.Six years later, when Zhou Enlai mentioned the matter to his friend Edgar Snow, his face was still warm.Under the special circumstances at the time, Dulles' neglect of Zhou Enlai was understandable.Because on the Korean battlefield, tens of thousands of Americans were killed by the "volunteers" of Communist China; the Chiang Kai-shek government in Taiwan will soon sign a mutual security treaty with the United States; against the U.S. military alliance.But I know very well that this incident really hurt Zhou Enlai's feelings.So when I first arrived in Beijing, as soon as I stepped off the gangway of the plane, I made a point of walking towards Zhou while holding out my hand.The photo of me shaking hands with Zhou became the most memorable photo during my visit to China. On the other hand, in our dealings with the Chinese, their self-confidence allows them to turn to serious introspection without feeling uncomfortable about their own shortcomings.In our conversations, Zhou Enlai repeatedly referred to the need to understand and overcome their own shortcomings.At our first meeting, he referred to the huge disparity in the average ages of the people present on both sides, saying: "We have too many older people in our leadership. We should learn from you in this respect." "Similarly, when we visited the Ming Tombs in Beijing, a low-ranking official made it a point to order some children to wear bright clothes and to teach them what to do when my party arrived. Zhou Enlai apologized for this and said: "Someone brought some children here to highlight the scenery of the mausoleum and create a false impression. Your reporter pointed this out to us, and we admit that it is wrong. We do not want to cover up the mistakes. And he has already criticized the person concerned." During our visit to China, I couldn't help but think of how pretentious Zhang Xiaofu's high-spirited speech is, and how approachable the Chinese people are.In fact, Zhang Xiaofu's bragging was not to cover up his inferiority complex; Zhou Enlai's astute self-criticism was a clear manifestation of the full development of self-confidence.I know, this is just one way of how to treat people, but in fact, it shows that the Chinese believe in the absolute superiority of their culture and philosophy.With this advantage, they will one day overcome us and others. Zhou Enlai's intelligence and charisma captivated many people.But they did not realize that these qualities of Zhou Enlai coexisted with those of a ruthless political activist.Journalist Fred Utley said that Zhou Enlai was "irresistible . . . witty, charming and strategic".Theodore White admitted that he had "seldom any doubts about Zhou Enlai's character, nor about Zhou's judgment".A Chinese reporter in Japan said: "It should be said that he is the most impressive figure I have ever seen." Others, who met the ruthless statesman and were swayed by his charm, painted Zhou Enlai as a different kind of image.Walter Robertson, who served as Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs in the 1950s, once told me that although Zhou Enlai was very handsome, he once killed someone with his own hands, and then passed away peacefully smoking a cigarette. An American official who dealt with Zhou Enlai in the 1940s said to me: "You pronounce Zhou's surname as Joe. Well, he does look like an ugly person named Joe to me. I once thought that we should break with him. But suddenly I realized that I was wrong. He will not admit that one is one and two is two for things that are useless to him." A senior KMT official who was involved in the negotiations also said to me: "Initially, I completely believed that he was right. So I thought that maybe both sides of the negotiation should make some concessions. But as time passed, I began to doubt this person." .He may be sincere, but he is not completely blindfolded by his political bias. I finally realized that there was no truth in what he said. In the end, I found that he was all acting. He An amazing actor like I've never seen before. He laughed and cried and made his audience laugh and cry with him. But it was pure acting!" Of course, these two different images of Zhou Enlai are combined with each other.He always approaches issues according to his country's interests and ideology.He courted diplomats and journalists almost exclusively to advance his country's interests. However, if these interests require him to break his promise, he may also leave his companions indifferently.In his relationship with us, Zhou Enlai abided by the letter and spirit of his agreement with us.However, he did not do this for the sake of mere friendship, on the contrary, he entered into friendship with us for the benefit of his country. Theodore White, who had known Zhou Enlai in Yan'an, wrote many years later that his past trust in Zhou Enlai was absolute.He linked the two images of Zhou Enlai together, summarizing him saying: Zhou Enlai "is as wise and ruthless as any other wise and ruthless figure in the history of the communist movement in this century. He acts resolutely and wittily, like a cat attacking a mouse. He is very Decisive, able to blaze a trail with his own actions. At the same time, he was a highly enthusiastic, genial, compassionate, and well-mannered individual. " Zhou Enlai combined the personal virtues of a Confucian scholar with the ruthlessness of a Leninist revolutionary.Therefore, his personality is especially suitable for the political role he plays. He is like Taijin steel - the Taijin fused together is stronger than any of the metals.The communist system has always rewarded the subterfuge and destroyed the compromiser.Zhou Enlai's political genius lies in his ability to successfully play the roles of fighter and mediator at the same time. A journalist once asked Zhou Enlai: As a member of the Chinese Communist Party, are you more Chinese or communist, Zhou Enlai replied: "I am more Chinese." Of course, Zhou Enlai's colleagues are all Chinese, But most of them are Communists first and Chinese second.Despite Zhou Enlai's belief in communism, it was not in his nature to extreme this belief. Zhou Enlai came from a bureaucratic family, and this background also set him apart from his colleagues.The family was rooted in the ways of old China, and members of the family always educated their children to study ancient books in order to enter the officialdom and maintain their social status in the bureaucracy of the empire for centuries.Zhou Enlai abandoned the philosophical beliefs of the old society when he was young, but he could not completely get rid of the cultural influence left by the old society on him, and he himself never thought of getting rid of it.To a certain extent, he has always maintained respect for China's past, that is, respecting those things worth preserving in the old society. Unlike most Chinese Communists, Zhou Enlai often admitted to harboring guilt about his past and family. In 1941, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party negotiated to rebuild the anti-Japanese united front.During the recess, Zhou Enlai addressed a small group.Everyone was silent, and Zhou Enlai expressed his guilt with touching words. He said that he hoped that after defeating the Japanese, he could return to visit his mother's grave, which made the hearts of the Chinese present "During the Anti-Japanese War, Zhou's father had no choice but to write to his son, who was already famous at that time, asking for money. Zhou immediately sent a portion of the money from his meager salary to his father. In 1942, his father died. Zhou published an obituary in the Communist Party newspaper according to the custom. I guess, the move Sure to make his colleagues feel suspicious, even surprised. Several years before our historic meeting in 1972, Zhou Enlai told a reporter that it was the fault of the United States that China and the United States had not established normal relations.He said that any American who comes to China will be welcome, but it must be reciprocal.He went on to say: "There is an old saying in China: To come and not to go is impolite." He also emphasized: "This sentence was said by Confucius, but he is not a Marxist." For a Chinese communist, citing the words of Confucius as authoritative could be controversial.But for Zhou Enlai, this is completely in line with his character.The education he received since he was a child made him have the qualities that Confucius called a "gentleman" or a superior person who governs a country-intelligence, self-esteem, elegance, kindness, decisiveness and perseverance. These qualities benefited Zhou Enlai in handling political relations and helped him to live in peace with his competitors for half a century.Zhang Guotao, who once served as a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, said that Zhou Enlai was flexible in the struggle between factions within the party and was a successful mediator.This is mainly because he is a "smooth person", "a person who is easy-going, can make friends, does not go to extremes, and can always adapt to the living environment." The virtues of the Confucian spirit he has also won him the eternal love of the Chinese people.He is the only social activist to receive the title of "Our Beloved Leader".The love of the masses for him has also become a unique force in Chinese politics.This was even more apparent at the time of his death.During the farewell ceremony to Zhou Enlai's body, Jiang Qing, an extreme leftist, rudely refused to take off his hat to pay respects to Zhou Enlai's body.When the scene was televised, a group of Guangzhou residents who were watching by the TV shouted: "Beat her!" At Zhou Enlai's memorial service, Deng Xiaoping, Zhou's chosen deputy, effusively praised the late premier.The speech later became a political issue.In a big-character poster, ultra-leftists demanded that Mao Zedong condemn the speech, saying: "This eulogy must be withdrawn."Although Mao Zedong was politically sympathetic to the extreme leftists at the time, he is said to have replied: "Any attack on Zhou Enlai will be opposed by the people. Zhou Enlai's eulogy cannot be changed. The people will not agree to change it." The ideology of communism made Zhou Enlai accustomed to some brutal events.Marxism-Leninism has a fixed view of history.Its adherents believed that history would eventually lead to communism throughout the world; their task was to move history forward.Because they see themselves in this way, they sidestep all consideration of moral issues.Because they all think that the crimes they have committed are inevitable, and they are to promote the progress of history. For the communists, however, problems arose when there were differences among them.In such a situation, there is no morality at all, no room for compromise, only violence.In a disagreement, both parties cannot be right.No matter which side is wrong, it is "blocking the progress of history". Those who commit serious crimes often lead to death. Zhou Enlai preferred tactics to policy and political issues rather than ruthless repression.As prime minister, he introduced wide-ranging economic reforms, some right and many harmful, but none of which caused any social unrest, unlike his political opponents who often carried out too much in a coercive fashion Too hasty reform, but lead to social turmoil.What the Radicals demanded to be done in a thousand years is done in a week.Despite their opposition, Zhou Silai consistently promoted the gradual modernization plan. Amid China's politically volatile alliances, Zhou Silai wielded power quietly and to great effect.He never gave the impression to his colleagues that he wanted more power.After the formation of a gang centered on hard-line elements under the patronage of Mao Zedong, Zhou Silai was able to work with his opponents, although he was uncomfortable with the new policies promoted by this gang.In this case, he waited until the gang was in trouble.At this time, his support or not becomes very important.At this juncture, he would immediately turn to join the opposition on a more moderate line. However, if someone escalated the inner-party struggle to violence, Zhou Enlai would follow suit.An unfortunate incident that occurred shortly after the announcement of the resumption of diplomatic relations between the United States and China is illustrative.At that time, it became increasingly clear that Lin Biao, who had been the leader of the Red Army, was mobilizing forces against the supreme leadership.Zhou Enlai and his colleagues tried their best to stop him.Lin Biao knew that the matter had been exposed and the failure was a foregone conclusion, so he immediately boarded the plane and attempted to flee abroad.During my meeting with Zhou Silai, he told me that Lin Biao's plane was flying towards the Soviet Union, but disappeared on the way.The plane has since been never found, he added.After speaking, he smiled. China's Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and early 1970s was perhaps the most severe test Zhou Silai faced during his years in power. After the Communist victory in 1949, Mao Zedong had been concerned that the country's revolutionary spirit and activity would fade and that the youth would become demoralized.He believes that only in the midst of great turmoil can China maintain its revolutionary principles.He called on the Chinese youth to fight against the old system, claiming: "When we started the revolution, we were only young men of twenty-three years old; the rulers at that time were older and experienced people. They were more We are learned, but we have more truth than they." In those years, many young people were frustrated by lack of educational opportunities and money.With a sense of vengeance, they responded to Mao Zedong's call and burned hundreds of schools and factories to the ground.The philosopher Lin Yutang turned the cliché that "revolutions always devour their children" on its head, commenting: "In China, it is the children who devour the revolution." The vague mission of Mao Zedong's Red Guards was to destroy the existing political order and bureaucracy.As Premier Zhou Silai was right at the top of this institution.At the height of the Cultural Revolution, nearly half a million Red Guards surrounded the Great Hall of the People, effectively putting Zhou Silai under house arrest.Relying on his usual calm and composed spirit, Zhou Silai conducted marathon negotiations with the people who came to surround him for three days and two nights, vented their dissatisfaction, calmed their anger, and finally the crowd gradually dispersed. . After returning from his secret visit to China in 1971, Kissinger said to me: When Zhou Silai talked about the Cultural Revolution, he could hardly hide his inner depression.This is not surprising, since Zhou Silai was a first-generation leader who fought to realize the vision of an egalitarian society; he was also a leader who wanted to modernize the economy incrementally.Therefore, on the one hand, he agreed with the goals of the Cultural Revolution, and on the other hand, he knew that in order to meet the most basic needs of the people and the needs of national defense in the next few decades, the modernization of the Chinese economy must be realized. As Edgar Snow said, Zhou Silai was "a builder, not a poet".Zhou Enlai must have felt very painful when he saw the fury of the Red Guards destroy the foundation of modernization he had carefully laid. The Chinese miss Zhou Enlai, probably because he is regarded as a great mediator who twisted the party and the state together.However, people in the world miss him because they regard him as China's top diplomat.他是中国的梅特涅、莫洛托夫和杜勒斯。在谈判中，天生的灵活性、对国际权力斗争原则的熟悉和热切坚定的思想信仰这些品格集于周思来之一身，此外，他对外国情况也十分了解，具有高瞻远瞩的历史洞察力和极其丰富的经验。所有这些，使他成为当代最卓越的外交家。 在外交事务上，毛泽东给予周思来以相当大的自由和权限。1972年，在我和毛泽东的晤谈中，当涉及到特定的国际问题时，毛就对我说："这些问题不应在我这里讨论，而是应该和总理会讨论。我和你只讨论哲学上的问题。"因此，我后来和他的谈话虽然涉及到最高级会谈的议程的全部问题，但都是从哲学的角度来进行讨论的。最为有趣的是，在我和周思来随后举行的会谈中，周思来总是引用毛泽东的话语，以此作为他在谈判席上所持立场的指导原则。 中苏分裂和中美建交，是形成当前全球战略平衡的两大外交事件。周思来则是这两个事件的中心人物。导致中苏破裂的论战的起因，归结起来不外是哪个国家在共产主义集团中应居首位这个问题。作为第一个最大的共产主义国家的苏联，1917年起，就在国际共产主义运动中享有至高无上的权力了，它死抱住自己的优越地位不放。中国可能已经成为第二个最大的共产主义国家，但毛泽东和周思来显然不甘心屈居第二位。 谁居首位的问题，既表现在一些具体的问题上，也表现在一些象征性的问题上。苏联成为唯一拥有核武器的共产主义国家之后，其领导人要求中国在外交上也跟着它的指挥棒转，因为中国需要苏联核保护伞的保护。苏联领导人也把核垄断当成对其他共产主义国家的不大不小的威胁。在共产主义世界里，苏联的核武器既是其盟国的保护罩，又是悬在它们头上的剑。 因此，中国想要发展自己的核武器是不足为奇的。中国人要求苏联给予技术援助，苏联开始时勉强同意了，后来索性撕毁了协议。 在一些象征性的问题方面，中国领导人认为，在与苏联打交道中，任何不平等的关系都无异于向野蛮人叩头。1957年，在莫斯科的一次会议以后，周思来气愤地抱怨说，章晓夫也应该学学汉语了，免得谈话老是用俄语进行。章晓夫辩解道："可惜汉语实在太难了。"周恩来愤怒地回答："俄语对我的困难，并不亚于汉语对你的困难。" 在1961年苏共代表大会上，中苏分歧公开化了。当时赫鲁晓夫企图谴责阿尔巴尼亚，因为阿尔巴尼亚一直顽固地坚持走斯大林的道路，无视克里姆林宫的新路线。周恩来作为中国共产党的官方观察员，反对章晓夫这样做。周思来可能已经意识到，如果持独立思想的阿尔巴尼亚今天受到谴责，中国明天也将受到谴责。 在那次会议中，章晓夫发动了对斯大林主义的全面谴责，以此回敬周恩来。周恩来却在这个时候向斯大林墓献了花圈，题签上称斯大林是"伟大的马克思列宁主义者"。章晓夫又采取了一个别人都不敢采取的行动——暗中操纵代表大会，通过了一项关于把斯大林的遗体从列宁陵墓旁边移走的决议。于是周恩来退出了大会会场，中苏两国之间的分裂变得无可挽回了。几年之后，周思来说，"约翰·杜勒斯的阴魂正在克里姆止腔病！ 由于中苏分裂，到了六十年代末期，中国发现自己已经处于孤立的地位，而且被敌对的强国所包围。我最后决定与北京作出和解的姿态之前，曾经尽量为周恩来设身处地地考虑过：当他环顾四周以后，一定会看清中国真正的和潜在的敌人是谁。 中国的东北方是日本。它对中国并未构成军事威胁，但日本的经济力量可能在将来成为对中国的可怕的潜在威胁。 南面是印度。自从中国派遣军队参加了一系列的边境冲突以后，周恩来对印度人只有蔑视而已。然而，他懂得，印度是世界上第二个人口最多的大国，有了苏联的支持，它可能会成为一个严重的威胁。 北边是苏联。它拥有强大的军事力量，可以在三十分钟内突袭并摧毁中国微不足道的核力量。在中苏边境，苏联还驻有全部现代化的四十多个师，比十年前至少增加了三倍。 太平洋彼岸是美国。作为一个共产主义者，周恩来把美国看成意识形态上的最大死敌。但作为一个中国人，他也认识到：在亚洲和太平洋地区所有的邻国中，美国是现在或将来都不想反对中国的唯一国家。更重要的是，美国是唯一有能力制止中国的北方死敌的国家。 上述格局为中美恢复邦交准备了条件。这并非由于这一方喜欢那一方的哲学，而是为了维持力量的微妙平衡——这对中美双方的利益都是至关重要的。他们需要我们，我们也需要他们。正因为如此，当周恩来获知我们希望重新打开两国关系的信号时，他就象毛泽东在一首诗中所写的那样，以"只争朝夕"的精神行动了。