Emphasis on Education
The early life of Zhou En Lai shows the importance the ordinary Chinese as well as the Chinese government placed on education, even during the warlord era of the 1900s.
It also highlights the monetary and logistical sacrifices made by family and distant relatives to enable Zhou to sail to Japan and then France, furthering his education.
Zhou Yigeng, his uncle, had supported him for the last 7 years, but could not support him for overseas study.
However, the Chinese government would cover the tuition and living expenses of a Chinese student who was admitted to a recognised Japanese university. [See p 30
Zhou Enlai by Chen Jian, 2024].
To get the scholarship, Zhou needed to pass the entrance exam to enter a Japanese university. A modest sum was raised by his family, relatives, teachers, and close friends at Nankai to help Zhou. With this, he sailed to Japan.
Due to famine, war, and poverty, 90% of China was illiterate when Mao came to power in 1949. [See p 12 The Red Emperor by Michael Sheridan, 2024]
However, because education is ingrained in the Chinese character, when students from China, i.e., Shanghai, competed for the very first time in the 2009 and 2012 international triennial PISA test for math, science, and reading, they topped the rankings.
(See Education in China by Janette Ryan, 2019ed]