Chiang Kai-shek

Chinese military commander, revolutionary, and statesman; President of the Republic of China from 1948 to 1975.

He was born on 31 October 1887 in Xikou, a village south of Ningbo, to a merchant family.^[1] He died on 5 April 1975.^[2] From 1948 until 1975, Chiang Kai-shek held the office of President of the Republic of China, having previously been a military commander, revolutionary, and statesman.^[2]

Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Office: 1st President of the Republic of China
Took office: 1 March 1950

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

He failed the imperial examination for the xiucai degree in August 1903.^[3] Chiang was inducted into the Tongmenghui in 1908 and swore allegiance to the Three Principles of the People.^[4] On 12 April 1927 he carried out a purge of suspected Communists in Shanghai, beginning the White Terror.^[5] Chiang Chao-tsung, Chiang Kai-shek's father, operated the Yutai Salt Store and worked as a salt-seller.^[1]

Following his father's death on 24 August 1895, a dispute over property resulted in Chiang's half-brother Ruisheng inheriting most of the family estate, leaving his mother Wang to support him by weaving linen.^[6] In May 1906, prior to boarding a ship for Japan, Chiang cut off his queue, an act that was criminal under Qing rule.^[7] Following Sun Yat-sen's death on 12 March 1925, Chiang rose in power and on 5 June 1926 was appointed commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army.^[8][9]

What the cited sources add

A 2014 edition of "China at War 1901-1949" was published by Taylor & Francis Group.^[10] The same source notes that over 300,000 people died in anti-communist suppression campaigns in the year after April 1927.^[11][5]

References

Wikipedia, "Chiang Kai-shek" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fenby 2005, p. 17–18; Fenby 2005, p. 17–18; ; .; ; . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Chiang Kai-shek" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Chiang Kai-shek" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; .; Crozier 2009, p. 31; Pantsov 2023, p. 16–17, 495 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Chiang Kai-shek" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pantsov 2023, p. 16–17, 495 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Chiang Kai-shek" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mayhew, "Shanghai", Lonely Planet, 2004, p. 51; Barnouin, Barbara and Yu Changgen. Zhou Enlai: A Political Life . Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. . Retrieved 12 March 2011. p. 38 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Chiang Kai-shek" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; .; Pantsov 2023, p. 16–17, 495; Pantsov 2023, p. 16–17, 495; Pantsov 2023, p. 16–17, 495; Fenby 2005, p. 17–18; Crozier 2009, p. 31; Crozier 2009, p. 31 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Chiang Kai-shek" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; ; . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Chiang Kai-shek" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Eileen, "China: Understanding Its Past", 1998, p. 174 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Chiang Kai-shek" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Taylor 2009, p. 11 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Open Library record, ISBN 9781317899846 ("China at War 1901-1949"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
Open Library record, ISBN 9781740593083 ("Lonely Planet Shanghai"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Chiang Kai-shek (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.