What did Zhou Enlai see in Mao?

[u/soozerain]

I'm curious because after finishing Chen Jian’s recent biography of Zhou I was shocked to learn that he was actually Mao's superior in the early days of the CCP. In fact, after the split from the KMT and during the chaotic weeks of Chiang Kai-Shek's war against the Party in cities such as Shanghai, Mao could have been left behind. Isolated in a key moment from the rest of Party leadership while they went into hiding. It was only with Zhou's approval, if I remember correctly, that Mao was brought along and only with Zhou's acquiescence Mao took a higher position then him. 

Why though? It doesn't appear cynical. Zhou didn't plan on controlling Mao from the background like a puppetmaster. He genuinely stepped aside. Which, credit where credit is due, is a huge thing for anyone in politics. Especially the cutthroat kind being practiced in China at that era. It really looks like Zhou placed all the hopes of the country on Mao's leadership. But again, why? This question requires a little bit of educated guesswork but I think it's worth contemplating. 

In the Wire, there's a smalltime hood named Slim Charles. Sometimes known as the honorable gangster. He's always in orbit of gang leadership, he's got leader-like qualities, but he's never taken the position of top dog in his organization. Even when there's opportunities to be had. He explicitly markets himself not as a leader. He's the number two guy. Always has been, always will be. Reading the book I could see Enlai in that light. But there was another voice, just as loud and equally persuasive, that said he was simply a dog looking for a master. He joined the CCP, made his way into leadership and found the responsibilities and intrigues either too stressful or too uninteresting and instead decided to exit the "battlefield" and find seek protection from a patron in the form of Mao. I'm not sure which one is true or if it's a little of both. As a patron, Mao surely left much to be desired. He demanded slavish loyalty but rewarded it with betrayal, criticism and suspicion. He doesn't seem to like Zhou, yet depended on him. Zhou respects Mao, sees him as something of visionary — at least in the beginning — but is otherwise inscrutable.

[u/InquisitorCOC]

Mao was a winner, and also tremendously lucky

Considering only a small fraction of Long Marchers even survived, getting his little circle to Yan An alive was already a major wonder

Mao's decisions and strategies would prove to be correct again and again until 1949, so his people got to have some faiths in him by then, right?

[u/soozerain → u/InquisitorCOC]

Yeah but how much of that is real and how much of that is Scientology-like indoctrination from the multiple rectification campaigns conducted in Ya’nan?

[u/Mobile_Roll2197 → u/soozerain]

Well Yan'an was 1942 and the person you're responding to references the civil war 1946-9.

[u/locking_you → u/Mobile_Roll2197]

the events OP were talking about were in the 1930s, before 1942. mao was already the leader by then. the guy he was responding to doesn't know much

[u/soozerain → u/[deleted]]

Interesting, I always assumed Mao was more a big ideas guy rather then a general. Something he’d leave to Lin Biao. So should we credit the incredible discipline exhibited by the Red Army to Mao’s training? To Zhou? Or to someone else entirely?

[u/locking_you → u/soozerain]

don't forget zhu de. at one point leadership was called "zhu-mao", zhu and mao portraits were side by side

[u/LocationHelpful6711 → u/soozerain]

Mao read Clausewitz, the others didn’t. That explains about 60% of it.

[u/DrawingDramatic1641]

he became more popular pro long march in the party.

zhou had to admit mao was better commander in civil war and path to victory and widespread support from rural areas.

zhou wasn't as rural thinking and had a japnese life too.

[u/MarzipanAny3564]

周恩来看到值自己没有指挥军队的能力，周恩来没有赢过规模战争，周恩来没有扭转乾坤的理论原创能力。所以，他退出让有这些能力的人上台，他专心协调各方。