CCP Politburo member from 1928 until his death. Premier from 1949 until his death. Instrumental in implementing Great Leap Forward policies. Supported Cultural Revolution policies often for the sake of survival and (mostly unsuccessfully) tried to moderate their excesses. Died of cancer. So beloved that protestors rallied even after his Party enemies tried to limit public displays of mourning.

Political activist who found himself de facto leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1927-1928. Literati figure whose interest in communism was only part of his rich intellectual life. Spoke French and Russian, studied classical Chinese literature, worked on attempts to romanize Chinese, and studied both Buddhist and modern western philosophy. Arrested and executed by the Guomindang.

Senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party. Member of the 28 Bolsheviks, named for their devotion to the orthodoxy of Marx/Stalin. De facto Party leader in the early 1930s, but later displaced by Mao. Died in an airplane crash in Shanxi in 1946 after a meeting in Chongqing to negotiate peace with the Guomindang.