Zhou?Enlai?was?the?most?popular?leader?in?China?during?the?20th?century.?Even?among?the?madness?during?the?Cultural?Revolution,?he?continued?to?make?an?effort?to?pursue?democratic?ideas,?while?at?the?same?time?supporting?leaders?like?Mao.?
He?exercised?his?diplomatic?skill?to?open?China?rather?than?isolate?it?from?the?rest?of?the?world.?In?turn,?he?brought?China?into?a?period?of?stable?economic?vitality,?and?many?nations?throughout?the?world?cheered,?as?they?could?now?trade?their?goods?and?services.?
In?1898,?Zhou?was?bon?in?Huaian,?Jiangsu?province.?His?childhood?is?said?to?have?been?an?unhappy?time?of?his?life.?Four?months?after?his?birth,?he?was?adopted.?Shortly?after?that?his?new?foster?father?died.?In?1907,?when?he?was?nine?years?old,?his?mother?died,?and?his?foster?mother?died.?
The?despair?and?poverty?brought?the?family?to?new?lows.?Zhou?often?worked?the?fields?to?secure?food?for?his?family.?In?1910,?when?he?was?ten?years?old,?he?left?Huaian?and?went?to?Manchuria.?He?studied?academics?there,?and?had?excellent?grades?most?of?the?time.?In?those?days,?he?learned?politics,?which?had?a?deep?impacton?his?life.?When?he?was?fifteen?years?old,?he?began?middle?school?in?Tianjin.?During?his?four-year?stay?there?he?surrounded?himself?in?books,?sports,?and?political?movements.?From?ages?17?to?19,?he?studied?at?Japan.