Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正) was a Chinese nationalist politician, revolutionary and military leader who was President of the Republic of China. He led the Republic of China from 1930 to 1949 in mainland China until he was overthrown by Mao Zedong in the Chinese Civil War. He fled to the island of Taiwan, where he ruled from 1950 until his death in 1975. Taiwan still remains under control of the Kuomintang. He is glorified in Taiwan and hated in China.
There is a song named after him.
Biography[]
Chiang Kai-Shek was born on 31 October 1887, in Zhejiang, China. He received a military education at the Baoding Military Academy and later studied in Japan at the Tokyo Shinbu Gakko. These formative years laid the groundwork for his future role as a military and political leader. His exposure to different ideologies and military strategies influenced his approach during pivotal moments in Chinese history. After his father died, Chiang joined the army. At first, he went to Baoding in northern China to study military science. Later, he went to Japan to learn more about the military.
In 1918, he joined the Nationalist Party of Sun Yat-sen, who helped Chiang Kai-Shek make a military academic school called Huangpu Military School. In 1926 and 1927 he led the Northern Expedition to conquer local warlords and unify China. After Sun Yat-sen died, he kicked the communists out of China in 1927. In 1928, he made a new government in Nanjing, and became Head of State. He focused on fighting the communists and the Empire of Japan. In 1937, Japan began to invade China, and Chiang was in charge of the Nationalist Chinese Army, until the war ended in 1945. Chiang ruled China until 1949, when Mao Zedong, who led the Chinese Communist Party, attacked Chiang and his officials, and they were forced to flee to Taiwan. Chiang established the Republic of China in Taiwan in 1949. He governed Taiwan until his death in 1975, leaving a complex legacy of authoritarian rule under a military junta and anti-communist propaganda. He had also been a Nazi sympathizer.