On the wall hang all too few photographs of Zhou's life. One with pride of place is that of his late wife, Zhang Yunhe, who died in 2002 at the age of 93. "We were married in 1933 and stayed happily together for, wait, 69 years," he says, quickly doing the math. The couple had a daughter, who died at the age of six, and a son, who still lives in Beijing. "He's my old baby - he is 76," says Zhou. There is also a granddaughter in the United States and a great-grandson, who will soon go to university.
Too many of his memories are now in his mind alone. "During the 'cultural revolution' (1966-76) I was sent to the countryside to be re-educated by the farmers," he says, without a hint of resentment. "During that time my house was occupied and all my photographs - with Mao, with my pinyin research colleagues - were destroyed."
Without any need, this humble man repeatedly apologizes. "Please bear with me - my health is still good but my hearing is not what it was," he says.
In truth, he is still more productive than many people a quarter of his age and to date has had more than 30 books published. "I retired from full-time work when I was 85 but I'm still writing," he says.
He is currently focused on Confucius, one of his favorite subjects. "He is still as relevant as he ever was - he was against violence, against killing, against capitalism, communism and against religious persecution," Zhou, says, taking out a copy of yesterday's transcript.
"The book will be called Zhao Wen Dao Ji and is based on one of Confucius' sayings that 'he who fully realizes the truth in the morning may die without regrets in the evening'."
I had visited his modest Beijing apartment, eager to extract as much information as soon as possible, lest he should suddenly tire and my chance be gone.
Two hours later his nanny opens the door as if to gently indicate it is time for Zhou to have his lunch. Not once had the man himself indicated he wanted to stop. In fact, he beams huge smiles at us as we leave and poses happily for photos.
Is he proud of his life, I ask. "I am not proud," says this follower of Confucius. "But I am happy."
By Alan Simon
Edited by Zhang Xinjie
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