Editing Zhou Enlai (section)

===Establishment in Guangzhou===
[[File:Zhou Enlai 1924.jpg|thumb|right|Zhou Enlai as the director of the Political Department at Whampoa Military Academy (1924)]]
Zhou returned to China in late August or early September 1924 to join the Political Department of the [[Whampoa Military Academy]], probably through the influence of Zhang Shenfu, who had previously worked there.<ref>Lee 165</ref> Zhou was Whampoa's chief political officer.<ref name="Crean">{{Cite book |last=Crean |first=Jeffrey |title=The Fear of Chinese Power: an International History |date=2024 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |isbn=978-1-350-23394-2 |edition= |series=New Approaches to International History series |location=London, UK |pages=}}</ref>{{Rp|page=55}} While he was serving in Whampoa, Zhou was also made the secretary of the Communist Party of Guangdong-Guangxi, and served as the CCP representative with the rank of major-general.<ref>Barnouin and Yu 32</ref>

The island of Whampoa, ten miles downriver from Guangzhou, was at the heart of the Soviet-Nationalist Party alliance. Conceived as the training center of the Nationalist Party Army, it was to provide the military base from which the Nationalists would launch their campaign to unify China, which was split into dozens of military [[satrap]]ies. From its beginning, the school was funded, armed, and partly staffed by the Soviets.<ref>Wilbur, ''Nationalist'' 13–14</ref>

The Political Department, where Zhou worked, was responsible for political indoctrination and control. As a result, Zhou was a prominent figure at most Academy meetings, often addressing the school immediately after commandant [[Chiang Kai-shek]]. He was extremely influential in establishing the political department/party representative (commissar) system which was adopted in Nationalist armed forces in 1925.<ref>Wilbur, ''Missionaries'' 238</ref>

Concurrent with his Whampoa appointment, Zhou became secretary of the Communist Party's Guangdong Provincial Committee, and at some point a member of the Provincial Committee's Military Section.{{NoteTag|"Secretary of provincial committee" is according to Barnouin and Yu, 32. Other works give different dates and positions. His work in the Provincial Military Section probably came a little later, see Barnouin and Yu 35.}} Zhou vigorously extended Communist influence at the academy. He soon arranged for a number of other prominent Communists to join the Political Department, including [[Chen Yi (communist)|Chen Yi]], [[Nie Rongzhen]], [[Yun Daiying]], and [[Xiong Xiong]].<ref>For Chen Yi, see Boorman, "Chen Yi", 255. For the rest, see Weidenbaum 212–213</ref> Zhou played an important role in establishing the Young Soldiers Association, a youth group which was dominated by the Communists, and Sparks, a short-lived Communist front group. He thus recruited numerous new Communist party members from cadet ranks, and eventually set up a covert Communist Party branch at the academy to direct the new members.<ref name="Barnouin and Yu 35">Barnouin and Yu 35</ref> When Nationalists concerned with the increasing number of Communist members and organizations at Whampoa set up a "Society for [[Sun Yat-sen]]ism", Zhou attempted to squelch it; the conflict between these student groups set the background for Zhou's removal from the academy.<ref>Hsu 47–48</ref>