Zhou Enlai was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the inaugural premier of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 1949 until his death in 1976, and concurrently as the inaugural Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1949 to 1958. Zhou was a key figure in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and ally of Mao Zedong during the Chinese Civil War, later helping consolidate its control, form its foreign policy, and develop the economy.
The Long March was a military retreat by the Chinese Red Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from advancing Kuomintang forces during the Chinese Civil War, occurring between October 1934 and October 1935. About 100,000 troops retreated from the Jiangxi Soviet and other bases to a new headquarters in Yan'an, Shaanxi, traversing some 10,000 kilometres. About 8,000 troops ultimately survived the Long March.
Zhu De was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Chen Yi was a Chinese communist military commander and politician. He served as Mayor of Shanghai from 1949 to 1958 and as Foreign Minister of China from 1958 to 1972. He is one of Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China.
The Sino-Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War. This was primarily caused by doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications of Marxism–Leninism, as influenced by their respective geopolitics during the Cold War of 1947–1991. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Sino-Soviet debates about the interpretation of orthodox Marxism became specific disputes about the Soviet Union's policies of national de-Stalinization and international peaceful coexistence with the Western Bloc, which Chinese leader Mao Zedong decried as revisionism. Against that ideological background, China took a belligerent stance towards the Western world, and publicly rejected the Soviet Union's policy of peaceful coexistence between the Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc. In addition, Beijing resented the Soviet Union's growing ties with India due to factors such as the Sino-Indian border dispute, and Moscow feared that Mao was too nonchalant about the horrors of nuclear warfare.
Ping-pong diplomacy refers to the exchange of table tennis (ping-pong) players between the United States and the People's Republic of China in the early 1970s. Considered a turning point in relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China, it began during the 1971 World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan, as a result of an encounter between players Glenn Cowan and Zhuang Zedong. These interactions sparked diplomatic breakthrough, by signaling that both sides were willing to interact and engage in dialogue. The exchange and its promotion helped people in each country to recognize the humanity in the people of the other country, and it paved the way for President Richard Nixon's visit to Beijing in 1972 and the Shanghai Communiqué. The Shanghai Communiqué was a pivotal diplomatic document issued on February 28, 1972, during President Richard Nixon's visit to China. It marked a significant shift in U.S.-China relations, as both countries acknowledged their differences while committing to improving their relationship, ultimately setting the stage for détente between the two nations.
Chen Boda, was a Chinese Communist journalist, professor and political theorist who rose to power as the chief interpreter of Maoism in the first 20 years of the People's Republic of China. Chen became a close associate of Mao Zedong in Yan'an, during the late 1930s, drafting speeches and theoretical essays and directing propaganda.
Gao Gang was a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader during the Chinese Civil War and the early years of the People's Republic of China (PRC) before he became the victim of the first major purge within the party since before 1949. The events surrounding Gao's purge, the so-called "Gao Gang Affair", are still the subject of debate: a limited amount of research has been done on the topic, partly because of the relatively small amount of information available.
The Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance, or Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance for short, was a bilateral treaty of alliance, collective security, aid and cooperation concluded between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on February 14, 1950. It superseded the previous Sino-Soviet treaty signed by the Kuomintang government.
The Dragon's Pearl: Growing Up Among Mao's Reclusive Circle is a 1994 autobiography by Sirin Phathanothai with James Peck. It tells of Phathanothai's experiences growing up in the 1950s and 1960s among the leaders of China.
The Diaoyutai State Guesthouse (DSG) (simplified Chinese: 钓鱼台国宾馆; traditional Chinese: 釣魚臺國賓館; pinyin: Diàoyútái Guóbīnguǎn) is an ancient royal garden and modern state guesthouse-complex located on the east side of Yuyuantan Park in Haidian District, Beijing, China. Emperor Zhangzong of Jin once built a fishing platform here, thus the name "Diaoyutai", which has a history of more than 800 years. During the Qing Dynasty, the Qianlong Emperor ordered to dredge the Yuyuantan and build a palace here, which was then turned into a royal garden. The modern State Guesthouse Park was built by the government of the People's Republic of China in 1958–1959 on the basis of the ancient Diaoyutai Scenic Spot, as a place for visiting dignitaries to stay and for meetings and conferences. Diaoyutai State Guesthouse is located outside Fuchengmen in western Beijing, east of Yuyuantan, southwest of the intersection of Fucheng Road and Sanlihe Road.
The first large-scale Asian–African or Afro–Asian Conference, also known as the Bandung Conference, was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, which took place on 18–24 April 1955 in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The twenty-nine countries that participated represented a total population of 1.5 billion people, 54% of the world's population. The conference was organized by Indonesia, Burma (Myanmar), India, Ceylon, and Pakistan and was coordinated by Ruslan Abdulgani, secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia.
Lucian W. Pye was an American political scientist, sinologist and comparative politics expert.
Li Kenong was a Chinese general and politician, one of the creators of the security and intelligence apparatus of both the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army. Notably, he served as Director of the Central Investigation Department, Deputy Chief of the PLA General Staff Department and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and was awarded the rank of General in 1955.
Zhou Enlai: The Last Perfect Revolutionary is a book written by Gao Wenqian. Before moving to the United States in 1993, Gao had been a researcher at CPC Central Party Literature Research Center, where he penned the official biographies of Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong. The book was published in 2008 by Public Affair in English. As the book is based on secret and classified Chinese archives, upon emigrating to the United States Gao realized it would not be possible to take all the necessary documents and notes with him, so for a decade he had friends of his in China send and smuggle them out in chunks.
Qiao Guanhua was a politician and diplomat in the People's Republic of China and played an important role in the talks with United States on the opening of China and the drafting of the Shanghai Communiqué.
Zhang Shenfu, born Zhang Songnian (张崧年), courtesy name Shenfu (申甫), was a founder of the Chinese Communist Party, a philosopher, and a political activist. Zhang was born on June 15, 1893, in Xiaoduo village, Zhili. His father, Zhang Liangong, was a senior official. In 1912, Zhang enrolled at Middle School Affiliated to Senior Normal School (高等师范学堂附属中学班) in Beiping. He later enrolled at Peking University to study philosophy and math in 1914. After graduating, Zhang started to lecture at Peking University, as well as assisting the work of university librarian Li Dazhao. When the Chinese Communist Party was founded by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao in the French concession of Shanghai in 1921 as a study society and informal network, Zhang organized the counterpart group in France and then introduced his fiancée Liu Qingyang and friend Zhou Enlai to CCP.
Li Yueran was chief Russian-language interpreter and translator of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. From August 1949 to May 1965, Li served successively as translator for Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun, Peng Zhen, Chen Yi, Bo Yibo and Li Fuchun, and in 2001 he published his memoirs A Record of the Personal Experiences of the Sino-Soviet Diplomacy. He joined Beijing International Studies University as professor of Russian Studies in 1965, and later served as vice president.
Wang Bingnan (1908–1988) was a diplomat and foreign affairs official of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China.
The Vietnam War was a major event that shaped the course of the world in the second half of the 20th century. Although it was a regional conflict that occurred on the Indochinese Peninsula, it also affected the strategic interests of the People's Republic of China, the United States and the Soviet Union as well as the relations between these great powers. China, in particular, also played an important role in the Vietnam wars starting from the First Indochina War. China militarily supported North Vietnam by fighting South Vietnam and the United States in the Vietnam War, as well as providing extensive logistical, training, and material aid.
