Use of symbolic figures in the college level world history course can provide a vehicle for studying social organization, political movements, and economic institutions of a given period. For example, Zhou Enlai, an activist and leader throughout much of the 20th century, symbolizes the major themes and forces of this era: change, industrialization, the rise of the masses, the state, nationalism, and international relations. Zhou's understanding of nationalism, political parties, and the masses is evident in the pivotal role he played in critical Chinese movements such as the May Fourth Incident (1919), the war against Japan, the Chinese Communist movement, and the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Following the establishment of the PRC, China's foreign policy, guided by Zhou, became crucial to the global balance of power. Zhou played a key role in the Bandung Conference of African and Asian States in 1955 and the reestablishment of United States-China relations in 1972. Zhou's realization of the importance of industrialization is evidenced in the efforts he made in establishing the PRC's first Five Year Plan and the Great Leap Forward. (LP)