Lin Biao (1907-1971) was the youngest of the Chinese Communist Party’s top military leaders. He led the Red Army in several decisive defeats over Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces, earning himself a spot at the top of the post-war power structure. Lin came to fore in the mid 1960s, when he supported Mao’s plan to launch… Read more »
Zhou Enlai (1898-1976), was Mao’s longest serving companion at the top of the Chinese Communist Party. Born in Jiangsu province and raised in Tianjin, Zhou also spent a significant amount of time abroad in Japan and France, where he met Deng Xiaoping. While Zhou outranked Mao at times in the early days of the party, he… Read more »
Liu Xiaobo was born in the Manchurian city of Changchun in 1955. During the Cultural Revolution, Liu was swept up in Mao’s youth reeducation campaigns and sent to live in the countryside. When the Cultural Revolution ended after Mao’s death, Liu entered college where he studied literature. After earning a BA in his home province, Liu earned a… Read more »