Zhou Enlai

The long-time Chinese premier Zhou Enlai (1898-1976) is one of the most important, interesting, and appealing figures among twentieth-century world statesmen. This book asserts that the rich and diverse personal, educational, and political experiences of Zhou's formative years established clear patterns for his future and political orientations. In addition to substantiating the facts of Zhou Enlai's early years for the first time, the author sets Zhou's experience in the historical context of the Chinese youth of his generation, notably such events as Marxism, the Bolshevik Revolution, World War I, and the May Fourth Movement.

Figures and tables; Preface; Part I. Fiction and Contexts: 1. Introduction: reading and vernacular fiction; 2. Regarding books; 3. Basic definition s; 4. Thoughts on the changing social bases for reading audiences; Part II. Fiction as Text: 5. The growth of Chinese fiction; 6. General observations on Chinese vernacular narratives; Part III. Text as Artifact: 7. Physical constituents of the book; 8. The techniques of book production; 9. The business of printing books; 10. General conclusions: fiction as artifact; Part IV. Artifact as Art: 11. Illustrated texts; 12. Illustations and art; Part V. Art as Text: 13. Redefining reading for the illustrated book; 14. Reading audiences for the novel in late imperial China; 15. First impressions, suggestions, and clues for reading texts; 16. Readings guided by commentaries; 17. Habits of viewing pictures; 18. Picturing texts and textualising pictures; 19. Picturing through texts - and pictures; Epilogue: new contexts, new texts; Appendixes; A. Locations for Ming and Quing editions; B. Glossary of names, terms, and phrases; C. Glossary of book and painting titles; Reference matter; Notes; Works cited; Index.