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Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek, also known as Chiang Chung-cheng, was the
son of a middle-class wine merchant who lived in the village of Chikow in
Chekiang Province. When he was fourteen years old, following the Chinese custom
of that time, he was arranged to be marry by his mother (the bride’s name is not
mentioned). His bride and he did not see each other until his walk down the
aisle. He did this without complaints only to please his mother. Once he was
married he met his bride’s parents, as was tradition. Due to Chiang’s bad
temper, the meeting ended in arguments between Chiang and his bride’s father.
Once home he tried to keep his mind off of the marriage and concentrated more on
what kind of man he wanted to become. He dreamed of becoming a soldier. He saw
adventure in a military career and felt comfortable with the demand for
authority, order, and strength. Though his family objected and hoped for him to
study law, he went off to Tokyo Military Staff College in 1907. There he became
a follower of the revolutionary leader Dr. Sun Yat-sen. This encouraged him in
1911 to take part in the revolt that established the Chinese Republic. In 1917
when Sun established the Guangzhou government, Chiang was his military aide. Sun
sent him to the USSR to study Russia military methods and was more than willing
to go. He got a good response from the people there.
Not only did they give him
advice but they also sent thirty or so military men as help. One of these men,
named Michael Borodin suggested that they start a military academy in China.
They placed it in Whampoa and named it the Whampoa Military Academy. Their main
goal was to demand and deserve respect. Once opened they received 1,500
applicants. It planned to register only 300. Sun began to encourage Chiang’s
participation in the Nationalist party. After Sun died in 1925, Chiang became a
powerful figure in the it and in 1926 took command of the Nationalist army. This
was called the Northern Expedition, entering into Shanghai, Hankou, and Nanjing.
Chiang initiated the long civil war between the Nationalist government and the
Communists.. This was ended in 1936 by General Chang Hsueh-liang who hoped to
unite in defense of the approaching Japanese. Many felt that unity could not be
achieved unless Chiang were removed as commander-in-chief even before the
expedition was completed. To avoid such humiliation, he resigned from his
position. He issued a public statement to the newspapers. It said, “I am willing
to sacrifice my position in order to assist the unification of the party and to
make possible the accomplishment of the chief objective of Kuomintang.”
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