Zhou Enlai’s nephew Zhou Guozhen:
‘Grandpa said the road has to be travelled by oneself’
March 30, 2018 10:53
Source: Huaihai Evening News
Zhou Guozhen is the nephew of Zhou Enlai’s grandson. His grandfather, Zhou Enkui, and Premier Zhou were cousins who grew up together.
Zhou Guozhen lost his mother at a young age, and Premier Zhou brought him to Beijing to take care of him. Recalling his life with Premier Zhou, Zhou Guozhen said with emotion, ‘Grandpa deeply influenced my life.’
When Zhou Guozhen first arrived in Beijing, he was in junior high school. Premier Zhou’s secretary wrote a letter of introduction, to take him to one of the most prestigious schools in Beijing. Unexpectedly, when Premier Zhou learnt about what had happened, he criticized his secretary severely; then told Zhou Guozhen that he had to take the exams on his own, and could not rely on his connections to get into the school. He educated him that ‘the road has to be taken by oneself’.
Later, Zhou Guozhen was admitted to an ordinary school, where teachers and classmates didn’t know his identity. He lived and studied like an ordinary student. ‘Grandpa told me several times to be an ordinary citizen and not to make a name for myself. I also never mentioned Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao in all the forms and files I had to fill out.’
Zhou Guozhen usually lived in the school, and only occasionally returned to the West Flower Hall in Zhongnanhai to visit them on weekends.
Afterward, Zhou Guozhen was involved in math education and, reflecting on Olympic math, he founded the Hope Cup National Invitational Math Competition and the World Math Team Championships.
‘This was also influenced and inspired by Premier Zhou — in life, to be an ordinary citizen, not to show off and not to pursue riches.’ Zhou Guozhen said that Premier Zhou was strict with his family, and did not allow them to be special.
(Tang Lu, Zhang Xin)
http://zhouenlai.people.com.cn/n1/2018/0330/c409117-29899190.html
