The Chinese university students who protested in Spring 1989 were concerned about inflation, shortages of goods and services, and pay inequities. They disliked corruption, bribery, and unfair favoritism, and wanted more press freedom and more independence for their student organizations. Most of all, they wanted more dialogue with aging leaders…

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,…