Chiangism, also known as the Political Philosophy of Chiang Kai-shek, or Chiang Kai-shek Thought, is the political philosophy of President Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, who used it during his rule in China under the Kuomintang on both the mainland and Taiwan. It is a right-wing authoritarian nationalist ideology based on mostly Tridemist principles mixed with Confucianism.[1] It was primarily practiced as part of the New Life Movement, as well as the Chinese Cultural Renaissance movement. It is influenced by other political ideologies, including socialism, fascism,party-state capitalism,paternalistic conservatism, as well as Chiang's Methodist Christian beliefs.
Chiangism opposed feudalism, communism, and imperialism while promoting ideals of a unified Chinese national identity. It was initially socialist in outlook but became increasingly aligned with authoritarian capitalism after 1955. The extent of fascist influence on Chiang is debated among scholars. Chiangism was largely diminished in Mainland China by the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries of the communists and began to wane at the start of democratization in Taiwan.[2]
The socialist ideology of the Kuomintang was one of the ideologies which greatly influenced this philosophy. In the West, Chiang Kai-shek was hailed as one of the world's greatest socialist leaders. His portraits were carried along with portraits of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and other socialist and communist leaders. Despite earlier alliance, Chiang Kai-shek would soon be an enemy of the CCP in the Chinese Civil War following the Shanghai Massacre as he turned into a staunch anti-communist. Eventually, he would lose the civil war to his opponent Mao Zedong and the ideology of Maoism.
Unlike Sun's original Tridemist ideology that was heavily influenced by Western enlightenment theorists such as Henry George, Abraham Lincoln, Russell, and Mill,[3] the traditional Chinese Confucian influence on Chiang's ideology is much stronger. Chiang rejected the Western progressive ideologies of individualism, liberalism, and the cultural aspects of Marxism. Therefore, Chiangism is generally more culturally and socially conservative than Sun Yat-sen ideologically.
The Kuomintang government under Chiang Kai-shek denounced feudalism as counterrevolutionary and proclaimed itself to be revolutionary. He accused other Chinese warlords of being feudalists. Despite being a conservative ideology, Chiangism supported modernization policies such as women's rights, scientific advancement, and universal education.
The Kuomintang and the Nationalist Government supported women's suffrage and education and the abolition of polygamy and foot binding. Under Chiang's leadership, the Republic of China government also enacted a women's quota in the parliament with reserved seats for women. During the Nanjing Decade, average Chinese citizens received the education they'd never had the chance to get in the dynasties that increased the literacy rate across China. The education also promotes the ideals of Tridemism of democracy, republicanism, science, constitutionalism, and Chinese Nationalism based on the Political Tutelage of the Kuomintang.[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
See also: Martial law in Taiwan.
After losing the Chinese mainland to the CCP and retreating to Taiwan, the KMT under Chiang's leadership established agencies such as the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, the Political Warfare Bureau, and the Taiwan Garrison Command to provide surveillance on the population and suppress dissidents, including suspected communists, during the White Terror.[9] [10] Constitutional rights of freedom of speech, assembly, religious expression, and legal guarantees of fair trials were suspended under martial law.
Chiang Kai-shek, the head of the Kuomintang, warned the Soviet Union and other foreign countries about interfering in Chinese affairs. He was personally angry at the way China was treated by foreigners, mainly by the Soviet Union, Britain, and the United States.[11] Chiang's New Life Movement campaigned for the end of Soviet, Western, American, and other foreign influences in China. Chen Lifu, a CC Clique member of the KMT, said, "Communism originated from Soviet imperialism, which has encroached on our country." It was also noted that "the white bear of the North Pole is known for its viciousness and cruelty."[12]
Chiang was also staunchly against imperialism and colonialism, as he opposed FDR's offer of China's seizure of Indochina and argued that China had no intent to replace Western imperialism with its own. He also viewed foreign powers, including the USA, the USSR, and the Empire of Japan as imperialist powers that wanted to exploit China.[13] [14] [15]
Chiang promoted strong Chinese nationalism throughout the territories controlled by the ROC as well as the Tridemist ideal of a unified "Dang Guo" (Party-state). Mandarin Chinese became the sole official language, and standard education curriculums emphasized Chinese history with Confucianism culture.[16] [17]
As an opponent of Japanese imperialism, Chiang was the biggest supporter of the Korean independence movement. His Nationalist government supported the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, and the secret militant branch Blue Shirts Society (BSS) supported left-wing nationalist Kim Won-bong and Kim-led Korean National Revolutionary Party.[18] [19] [20]
See also: Socialist ideology of the Kuomintang.
The Kuomintang was a Chinese nationalist revolutionary party that had been supported by the Soviet Union. It was organized on Leninism.[11] Contrary to the view that he was pro-capitalist, Chiang Kai-shek behaved in an antagonistic manner to the capitalists in China, often attacking them and confiscating their capital and assets for the use of the government.
Chiang cracked down on pro-communist unions and peasant organizations, and the wealthy Shanghai capitalists at the same time. Chiang Kai-shek continued Sun's anti-capitalist ideology. The Republic of China's media openly attacked the capitalists and capitalism, supporting a government-controlled economy instead of privately owned ones.
Taylor has noted that Chiang's hybrid revolutionary nationalism ideology is inspired by both the French republican movement and Confucianism. He described Chiang as a "left-leaning Confucian-Jacobinist".[21]
See also: Anti-communism in China.
The Blue Shirts Society, also known under a variety of other names, has been described as one of the most relevant fascist groups in China at the time. It began as a secret society in the KMT military before being reformed within the party.[22] By the 1930s, it had influence upon China's economy and society.[23] [24] Historian Jeffrey Crean notes, however, that the Blue Shirts impacted only elite politics, not the vast majority of China's population. The Blue Shirts held contempt for liberal democracy and stressed the political usefulness of violence.[25] They were influenced by KMT contact with Nazi advisors and inspired by the German Brownshirts and the Italian Blackshirts. Unlike those organizations, however, the Blue Shirts were composed of political elites, not the popular masses. The later New Life Movement drew inspirations from the society, although some historians are reluctant to define them as fascist.
Chiang Kai-shek started the New Life Movement under Confucian ideals. It was a government-led civic campaign in the 1930s Republic of China to promote cultural reform and Neo-Confucian social morality and to ultimately unite China under a centralized ideology following the emergence of ideological challenges to the status quo. The movement itself was modeled on Confucianism, mixed with Christianity, nationalism, and authoritarianism that have some similarities to fascism,[26] and thus, it rejected individualism and liberalism. The Kuomintang launched the initiative on 19 February 1934 as part of an anti-communist campaign and soon enlarged the campaign to target all of China. Some historians regard this movement as imitating Nazism and regard this movement as being a neo-nationalistic movement used to elevate Chiang's control of everyday lives. Frederic Wakeman suggested that the New Life Movement was "Confucian fascism".[27]
Historian Jay Taylor, argue that Chiang's ideology does not espouse the general ideology of fascism despite his growing sympathies with fascist ideas in the 1930s.[28] Chiang repeatedly attacked his enemies such as the Empire of Japan as fascistic and ultra-militaristic; he also declared his opposition to the fascist ideology in the 1940s.[29] [30] The Sino-German relationship also rapidly deteriorated as Germany failed to pursue a détente between China and Japan, which led to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. China later declared war on fascist countries, including Germany, Italy, and Japan, as part of the Declarations of war during World War II and Chiang became the most powerful "anti-fascist" leader in Asia.[31]
See also: Party-state capitalism.
After the government of the Republic of China moved to Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek's economic policy turned towards to economic liberalism. He used Sho-Chieh Tsiang and other liberal economists to promote economic liberalization reforms in Taiwan.[32]
However, Jay Taylor has noted that the developmental model of Chiangism in Taiwan still had elements of socialism, and the Gini index of Taiwan was around 0.28 by the 1970s, lower than the relatively equal West Germany. ROC (Taiwan) was one of the most equal countries in the pro-western bloc. The lower 40% income group doubled their income share to 22% of total income, with the upper 20% shrinking from 61% to 39%, compared to Japanese rule.[28] The Chiangist economic model can be seen as a form of dirigisme or bureaucratic capitalism,[33] [34] with the state playing a crucial role in directing the market economy. Unlike most other major capitalist countries, small businesses and state-owned enterprises flourished under this economic model in Taiwan, but it didn't see the emergence of corporate monopolies.
After the democratization of Taiwan, it began to slowly drift away from the Chiangist economic policy to embrace a more free market system as part of the economic globalization process under the context of neoliberalism.[35]