Chinese Working Group Book Discussion: “Zhou Enlai: A Life”
Tuesday, October 15, 2024 12:00–1:00 PM
- Location
- DescriptionProf. CHEN Jian will discuss his book “Zhou Enlai: A Life” (Harvard University Press, 2024), which is being called the definitive biography of the first premier and preeminent diplomat of the People’s Republic of China, who protected his country against the excesses of his boss—Chairman Mao.
Zhou Enlai spent twenty-seven years as premier of the People’s Republic of China and ten as its foreign minister. He was the architect of the country’s administrative apparatus and its relationship to the world, as well as its legendary spymaster. Richard Nixon proclaimed him “the greatest statesman of our era.” Yet Zhou has always been overshadowed by Chairman Mao. CHEN brings Zhou into the light, offering a nuanced portrait of his complex life as a revolutionary, a master diplomat, and a man with his own vision and aspirations who did much to make China, as well as the larger world, what it is today.
CHEN Jian is the Director of the NYU Shanghai-ECNU Center on Global History, Economy, and Culture, a Distinguished Global Network Professor of History at NYU Shanghai, and a Global Network Professor in the Department of History at NYU. He is also Zijiang Distinguished Visiting Professor at East China Normal University. Prior to joining NYU Shanghai, he was the Michael J. Zak Professor of History for US-China Relations at Cornell University, Global Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson Center, the Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at the London School of Economics, and visiting research professor at the University of Hong Kong (2009-2013). He holds a PhD from Southern Illinois University and an MA from Fudan University and East China Normal University in Shanghai.
Sponsored by the Liu Institute's Chinese Working Group.
Professor Chen has graciously donated free copies of his book to be distributed at his talk while supplies last.
Lunch Provided - Please Bring Beverages
In support of the Liu Institute’s growing commitment to sustainability, we will no longer be offering drinks at our public lectures and panels. We encourage audience members to bring their water bottles or to drink from nearby water fountains.
Originally published at asia.nd.edu. - Websitehttps://events.nd.edu/events/2024/10/15/chinese-working-group-lecture-with-jian-chen/