Claim profile

Zhou Enlai

1st Premier of the People's Republic of China

  • Fame67.9
  • Momentum2.0
  • China rank#86
Source-basedFalling
  • Fame67.9
  • Momentum2.0
  • China rank#86
  • Wikipedia95.2K
Lived 1898–1976, aged 78China
ChinaChinaPoliticiansPolitician
  • Wikipedia
    85 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Rank in China
    #86
    Politicians
  • Era
    1898–1976
    Aged 78
  • Known for
    State Funeral
    2019
Summary
Updated 2026-09-05

He was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China for twenty-seven years, the diplomat who opened the door to Nixon, and the man who tried to temper the chaos of the Cultural Revolution from the inside. His death in 1976 triggered grief so vast it ignited a riot against the Gang of Four.

Biography

About

Zhou Enlai rose as a revolutionary alongside Mao Zedong, helping the Communist Party seize power and then serving as Premier from October 1949 until his death in January 1976. He was foreign minister through the 1950s, advocating peaceful coexistence with the West and attending the 1954 Geneva and 1955 Bandung conferences; he later orchestrated Richard Nixon's 1972 visit. While Mao turned inward during the Cultural Revolution, Zhou ran the state's daily machinery and worked to shield others from the Red Guards, earning quiet loyalty. In 1973 the 10th Central Committee elected him First Vice Ch…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Zhou Enlai

Zhou Enlai
said
China is an attractive piece of meat coveted by all … but very tough, and for years no one has been able to bite into it.
— To the Chinese Communist Party Congress, as quoted in The New York Times (1 September 1973)
Zhou Enlai
said
The awakening and growth of the Third World is a major event in contemporary international relations.
— As quoted in Report To The Tenth National Congress Of The Communist Party Of China (28 August 1973)
Zhou Enlai
said
For us, it is all right if the talks succeed, and it is all right if they fail.
— On President Richard Nixon’s visit to China (5 October 1971), as quoted in Simpson's Contemporary Quotations (1988) edited by James Beasley
Zhou Enlai
said
The peoples of Asia and Africa created brilliant ancient civilizations and made tremendous contributions to mankind.
— As quoted at speech in the Plenary Session of the Asian-African Conference (19 April 1955)
Zhou Enlai
said
Now first of all I would like to talk about the question of different ideologies and social systems.
— Supplementary Speech at the Plenary Session of the Asian African-Conference (19 April 1955)
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Where to find them

Platforms

By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Falling
67.9
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum2.0
Historical27.4
Now attention8.1
Source confidence65.0
Completeness75.0
Global rank
—
Country rank
#86
Category rank
—
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence