Fast Facts About China 245Soong Qingling
Wife of Sun Yat-sen, and one of the three famous Soong
sisters, she was the first lady of modern China. After the
establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949,
Soong remained on the mainland, where she was revered
by the communists because she provided a symbolic link
between the People’s Republic and the older revolutionary
movement of Sun Yat-sen. She became an important official
within the new government, focusing on the welfare of
women and children. In 1951, she was awarded the Stalin
Peace Prize for her work on welfare and peace committees.
She was named honorary Chairman of the People’s Republic
in 1981, shortly before her death.
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong was the preeminent leader of the People’s Republic
of China and first secretary of the Chinese Communist Party
(CCP) from 1943 until his death. Heavily influenced by Marxist
thinking, Mao was a leader in the Communist Revolution that
overthrew Chiang Kai-shek’s forces, defeated the Japanese and
forged modern China. A keen strategist, capable poet, avid
swimmer and charismatic politician, Mao sought to remake
China into a modern and industrial power using unorthodox
means. His role in the Cultural Revolution, coupled with the
damage inflicted by The Great Leap Forward, have diminished
his status in modern Chinese society.
Zhou Enlai
An early labour organiser, in 1949, with the establishment
of the People’s Republic of China at Beijing, Zhou became
premier and foreign minister. He headed the Chinese
Communist delegation to the Geneva Conference of 1954.
In 1958, he relinquished the foreign ministry but retained
the premiership. A practical-minded administrator, Zhou
maintained his position through all of Communist China’s
ideological upheavals, including the Great Leap Forward and
the Cultural Revolution. Although supportive of government
initiatives, Zhou was reputed to be a voice of reason behind
the scenes and helped restrain extremists. As a result, he was