His stubbornness allowed him to make decisions that could cause massive human suffering, like the flooding of the Yellow River during the war against Japan. He also had a flexible ideology, so he kept the KMT a Leninist organization, even though he loathed communism. In his youth Ching-kuo was a Communist and a. Chiang Ching-kuo, son and political heir of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, was born in 1910, when Chinese women, nearly all illiterate, hobbled about on bound feet and men wore pigtails as symbols of subservience to the Manchu Dynasty.

He tried to instil a nationalist mentality of a strong and united China. Gratis frakt inom Sverige över 199 kr för privatpersoner. His military education in Japan gave him the background for militarizing and mobilizing society. He valued personal loyalty above all else, thus he tolerated corruption amongst his peers. His Neo-Confucian background shaped his hierarchical view of society, in which he saw himself as the right man to lead the country. In The Generalissimo, Taylor also focuses on Chiang’s achievements, highlighting his struggle to unify the country, defend against external threats and gain the support of superpowers through cunning political manoeuvres.Ĭhiang Kai-shek’s personality and leadership style significantly affected society in the places he controlled during the wartime period.

The generalissimo (2009 edition) Open Library It looks like you're offline. Numerous comparisons between Chiang and other dictators, such as Mao Zedong, also help to contextualize his actions and portray him as less brutal than other leaders. The generalissimo by Jay Taylor, 2009, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press edition, in English - 1st. Taylor’s use of Chiang’s personal diaries compels the reader to sympathize with Chiang and downplays some of the atrocities that took place under his regime. In The Generalissimo, Jay Taylor refutes the popular belief that Chiang Kai-shek was an incompetent tyrant and instead portrays him as a sympathetic figure who lost China due to circumstances that were largely out of his control.

The Generalissimo by Jay Taylor