|
Sketch of young Zhou Enlai found in artist's storeroom
1999-09-16
TOKYO - A pencil sketch of former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai (1898-1976) drawn 81 years ago in Japan has been found in an artist's storeroom in Oiso, Kanagawa Prefecture, the artist's son said Thursday. The sketch, drawn when Zhou was a 19-year-old student living in Tokyo, was found in the home of Haruhiko Yasuda, 69, professor of Musashino Art University. Zhou is remembered in Japan for his efforts in helping restore diplomatic relations in 1972. Yasuda said the artwork, which will be donated shortly to a museum dedicated to Zhou in Tianjin, northeastern China, has drawn the interest of experts on Sino-Japanese ties because of a dearth of materials on his sojourn in Japan. Arriving in September 1917 to sit for higher school exams, Zhou attended Japanese-language classes while boarding at the Reibaiin temple in Tokyo's Taito Ward. It was at Reibaiin that a fellow boarder, sculptor Ryumon Yasuda, then a graduate of the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko, one of predecessors to the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music, made a drawing of Zhou in his sketchbook. The sketch was not dated but an entry dated Feb. 6, 1918, in a diary written by Zhou about his stay in Japan, published last year on the occasion of the centenary of his birth, suggested that it was drawn at that time. The sketch shows Zhou in Japanese attire, unmistakable with his fine features and thick eyebrows, prompting the younger Yasuda to remark, ''I was certain after one look that it was Zhou Enlai.'' The sketchbook also contained Chinese characters that suggested the two men conversed with each other in writing. The elder Yasuda passed away in 1965. The sketch was confirmed as authentic by the Zhou memorial museum and Nankai University, also in Tianjin, after a Tokyo-based TV production company making a documentary for the 100th anniversary of Zhou's birth sought their assistance. Hiroshi Suzuki, a professor of modern Chinese history at Sagami Women's University who translated the Zhou diary into Japanese, said the sketch made him feel he was looking at the beginnings of Sino-Japanese friendship. ''The image of Zhou Enlai torn between his studies and revolution at the height of Taisho Democracy seems to float before my eyes,'' Suzuki said, referring to the period between 1905 and 1932 when democratic ideals blossomed in Japan. Failing his exams after taking classes at Waseda University in Tokyo and later at Kyoto University, Zhou returned to China in April 1919, eventually joining a nationalist movement of which Mao Zedong was also a member.
China Declassifies Diplomatic Documents (2004-01-20)China banks to stay open on national day (1999-09-21)Sketch of young Zhou Enlai found in artist's storeroom (1999-09-16) China Marks May 4th Anniversary (1999-05-04)Nixon, Zhou Exchanged view on Japan in 1972 summit: declassified document (1999-04-20)
| 
