Chiang Kai-Shek (蒋介石)

Chiang Kai-Shek (蒋介石)

Chiang Kai-Shek rebelled against the Qing Dynasty in his youth and went to Japan for military training. After the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, he joined Sun Yat-Sen's Nationalist Party and defeated warlords. In Shanghai, Chiang purged the Nationalist Party of communist factions ending the first united front. Chiang ran a fledgling government from Nanjing between 1928-1937 and presided over China during the Sino-Japanese War. He lost the ensuing Civil War to the Communists due to a combination of strategic errors and the mistrust of local populations towards the Nationalists. Chiang exiled himself, his army and party to Taiwan where he instigated martial law to suppress independence and communist resurgences but equally laid the ground for Taiwan's future economic prosperity before his death in 1975.

Lauren Walden

University of Leicester