The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China, by Jay Taylor

Abstract

Although not, in general, a fan of political biography as a genre, I found Taylor's highly positive presentation of Chiang Kai-shek's life hard to put down. At nearly 600 pages it might be regarded as a daunting read, but I finished it in just four days. The principal problem with the book, however, lies not in its length but in Taylor's use of Chiang Kai-shek's diary; rather than engaging with it critically as a complex document, he primarily uses the diary as a source of fact for Chiang's life. Thus, while the primary strength of the book is its ability to string together the numerous, momentous events of Chiang's life, a more nuanced reading of the key text—his diary—would have improved the book immensely. First, to the weaknesses: Taylor confesses himself to have been, earlier, a critic of Chiang, but, through an examination of the former dictator's diary and other materials, has come around to a more positive view. Most Republican era specialists are re-evaluating the efficacy of Chinese Nationalist (GMD) rule; nevertheless, Taylor's view errs, in my view, too much on the positive. When discussing the state-led attacks on Chinese Communists after 1927, Taylor admits that ‘very likely [Chiang] had a hidden hand in them’ (p. 70), but that seems hardly a strong enough assessment of the regime's responsibility, considering the fact that the perpetrators were often directly appointed by Chiang himself. Whenever Taylor is unable to find direct evidence of Chiang's involvement (particularly in his diary), he seems reluctant to assign responsibility; although, as (even titular) commanding officer of these forces, Chiang was in some sense responsible for their actions. As Taylor in fact demonstrates quite well in the book, the Chiang family at this time navigated the turbulent political world as (or more) brutally than their rivals. Taylor also attempts to moderate criticism of Chiang in his discussion of the 1938 destruction of the Yellow River dykes (p. 155) by saying how his utter lack of remorse was ‘like other leaders in the great war’.