Zeiss /zas/, Carl (1816-88), German optical instrument-maker. He established a workshop in Jena for the production of precision optical instruments in 1846, quickly establishing a reputation for products of the highest quality. Twenty years later he went into partnership with Ernst Abbe, who further enhanced the reputation of the company and eventually became its sole owner. After the Second World War a separate Zeiss company was formed in West Germany, producing microscopes, lenses, binoculars, and cameras; following German reunification, the two companies merged but the original site at Jena was closed down.

Zhou Enlai /d enla/ (also Chou En-lai /t/) (1898-1976), Chinese Communist statesman, Prime Minister of China 1949-76. One of the founders of the Chinese Communist Party, he joined Sun Yat-sen in 1924. In 1927 he organized a Communist workers' revolt in Shanghai in support of the Kuomintang forces surrounding the city. From the early 1930s he formed a partnership with Mao Zedong, supporting his rise to power within the Communist Party in 1935. On the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949 Zhou became Premier and also served as Foreign Minister (1949-58). During the 1960s he continued to keep open communication channels with the US, and he presided over the moves towards detente in 1972-3. He was also a moderating influence during the Cultural Revolution.