Faith, Self Denial, and Self Discipline: Chiang Kai Shek’s Secrets to a Long Life
Chaing Kai Shek (1887–1975) was the leader of the Chinese Nationalist movement from the mid-1920s until his death in 1975. As one of the longest-serving leaders in the Chinese world, Chiang led China through the Second World War, the Chinese Civil War, and other pivotal events of modern Chinese history. Regardless of how one may view his political positions, it is often accepted by most Chinese historians that Chiang, in his mid to later life, lived a very disciplined and austere lifestyle, which may have equipped him with the health to live until 88 years old. It is often stated in the Chinese-speaking world that if Chiang was not injured in a car accident in the 1960s, he would have lived much longer. Chiang’s high sense of self-discipline and self-cultivation journey was well recorded in both primary sources and in his own personal diaries.
What was the secret to longevity according to Chiang? According to Chiang, the secret to long life were abstinence and self-denial — that is the abstention from anger, lust, and sex of any kind, and replacing it with monotonous rituals, routine, and spirituality.
An Early Life of Degeneracy
In the 1910s, the young Chiang Kai Shek was a footman in the brutal Shanghai underworld. He participated in various criminal activities alongside the triads in the streets of Shanghai, which at the time was a hotbed of street violence, gambling, prostitution, and vices. Chiang’s activities were well known by the Shanghai International Settlement police, which regularly monitored him and prepared to charge him with several major felonies, but he was never arrested.
During this time, while involved in the Shanghai underworld, Chiang dabbled in vices. He was married to multiple women, while at the same time keeping many alternating female partners. At one point, he even caught gonorrhea from a prostitute, resulting in him becoming infertile. Chiang’s temper was a serious issue that he suffered from, causing him to behave violently and impulsively.
The Influence of his Fourth Wife and Christianity Changed Chiang Kai Shek’s Life
By 1925, Chiang Kai Shek was rapidly ascending the ranks of the Chinese Nationalist movement and his military career was beginning to take formation. According to his personal diary, it appears that Chiang began to develop a self awareness of his personal emotions and poor habits, which were becoming detrimental to his career. In a 1925 diary entry, he made a personal “oath” to “not swear, not hit others, not express anger, and not express arrogance.”
However, the greatest turning point in Chiang’s life came when he married Soong Mei Ling. In 1927, Chiang divorced all his previous wives and married his fourth wife, Soong Mei Ling. The condition for marriage from the Soong family, especially Chaing’s mother in law, was that Chiang must convert to Christianity. Chiang admitted that his understanding of Christianity was limited, but promised the Soong family that he would make an effort to learn.
On Christmas 1929, Chiang recorded in his diary:
“I have been irritable and arrogant recently, my attitude is abnormal, no matter how big or small I am, I must be respectful. I am arrogant now, how can I succeed, to stop it? After reviewing in the morning, I went to the political meeting and then went to the devotion club to watch the video of Jesus. I felt very deeply that he was the same in life and death. After the afternoon banquet, I went to my mother-in-law’s house to listen to the sermon…On December 29, the Eighth Division was transferred back to Peking to discuss military matters. In the morning, I received guests and reviewed, then went to Tangshan to listen to my mother-in-law’s teachings.”
The year 1930 was a critical year in the history of the development of Chiang Kai-shek’s faith. In diary entries written in January 1930, Chiang wrote of how he wanted to use Christianity as a means of self improvement:
Christian religion taught people the three words faith, hope and love, especially the word love… With this in mind, I plan to write an article about the mistakes and shortcomings of last year, as a reference for this year to make up for the mistakes. I went to Kong’s apartment to see my little sister’s illness and prayed for her.
On October 23, 1930, Chiang Kai-shek received a Christian baptism in Shanghai under the auspices of Pastor Jiang Changchuan (1884–1958). Contrary to some accusations, this was not a political move, as it appears that Chiang may have sincerely and genuinely accepted Jesus in his life.
If we review Chiang Kai Shek’s diary entries, Chiang expressed his faith several times following his baptism. He wrote in his diary on the day after his baptism:
“…righteousness is my belief in political action, and Jesus is the foundation of my religious spirit. In this life, I take Christ as my only model. To save people and save the world, I should never give up.”
In 1932, Chiang Kai-shek recorded that he finished reading the Old Testament of the Bible in his diary.
On December 12, 1938, during the war against Japan, Chiang Kai Shek wrote,
“Although the situation today is under the pressure of the Japanese pirates, it is far worse than the crisis in Xi’an. God can rescue from all evils. In such a dangerous situation…I only pray that God can forgive our sins as soon as possible, so that the rest of the country and the nation can get rid of oppression and achieve independence. “
On July 25, 1944, during the Battle of Hengyang between Chinese and Japanese forces, Chiang Kai Shek wrote in his diary,
“May the Lord give me victory in the Hengyang battle. I will build a big iron cross on the top of Nanyue to repay the Lord’s grace.”
On August 15, 1945, after the defeat of Japan, Chiang Kai Shek wrote in his diary, “I can only sincerely thank God for the great grace and wisdom bestowed upon me”
On September 4, 1945, Chiang Kai Shek met Mao Zedong. Chiang wrote in his diary that he prayed to God to soften the heart of Mao Zedong,
“This morning at 5 o’clock, before dawn, I got up and prayed. I hope that the Communist Party of China and Mao Zedong will repent, so that the country can truly be unified peacefully.”
Chiang also remained loyal to Soong Mei Ling. Chiang was said to have avoided contact with other women in his daily life after his marriage, including secretaries and employees in his office. He also stopped smoking and drinking.
Although Chiang Kai Shek was a Christian, Chiang also continued to perform traditional Chinese folk rituals — including ancestral veneration ceremonies. Chiang attempted to find a way to balance Chinese traditional beliefs like Confucianism, and Daoism alongside Christianity — with his theory of harmony, to achieve the unity of the various lifestyles.
After the Second World War ended, Chiang ordered the Ministry of Interior to research and investigate the entire Chiang family tree back to the 12th century. Once the project was completed, on April 2, 1947, Chiang Kai Shek and his entire family traveled to his ancestral village in Xikou. A tomb-sweeping festival was carried out in which Chiang read a manuscript to his ancestors and made offerings to the grave.
Ancestral veneration is a practice that is considered controversial among Chinese Christians. Certain denominations of Christianity consider Chinese ancestral veneration to be a form of idol worship, while others consider it to be a secular practice. In any case, Chiang Kai Shek’s practice of ancestral veneration is widely recorded.
During his time in the Chinese Mainland, Chiang and his wife attempted to introduce a social project among the Chinese populace known as the “New Life Movement.”
This movement attempted to introduce moral precepts from a hybrid of Christianity, and Confucianism, along with a campaign to advocate the cessation of vices, gambling, smoking, and drinking within the Chinese society. Chiang claimed that certain habits of the Chinese masses were “hedonistic” and “lazy”, resulting in nihilism among the masses and the Chinese being physically and spiritually weak. During this movement, Chiang relied on the police and other government bodies to enforce discipline and other social behaviors. This movement largely failed due to its poor understanding by grassroots-level authorities and its ideological complexity.
After the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, Chiang Kai Shek frequently recording in his diary that he prayed to God, expressing his willingness to sacrifice his life for the great cause of China’s unification, saying, “If God wants to give me this mission, I will die for China’s unification.” Chiang Kai Shek would kneel and pray every morning until his doctor advised him to stop due to foot pain.
In 1975, Chiang Kai Shek died. Chiang Kai Shek’s tomb is in Cihu, Taiwan. A cross decorates the tomb.
Daily Habits of Chiang Kai Shek
In terms of daily habits, Chiang Kai Shek, towards his mid and late life, insisted on living a regimented and monotonous life. This was the result of his one year experience training in the Japanese military during the 1910s.
While reflecting on his army experience in Japan, Chiang once wrote,
“I spent one year in the regiment as a mere soldier. Life was extremely monotonous and severe. At that time I felt it was unreasonable because of the restrictions, the monotone of life and boredom. However, recollecting the past now, the foundation for me to be able to live a simple life every day, to work constantly, and to live a life for forty years as usual, was established in this one year of training as a soldier.”
Chiang had a routine of going to bed early and waking up early. Regardless of the season, he would wake up early in the morning and drink boiled water. Then he would wash his face in cold water. To Chiang, coldness represented military prowess and strength. In fact, the concept of washing in cold water was encouraged among the Chinese population during the “New Life” movement.
Afterwards, Chiang would stretch and perform light body weight exercises for twenty minutes. Then he would pray and sit quietly in meditation.
After meditation, a briefing on current developments would be held. Breakfast would be served before 9:00 AM and usually consisted of rice cakes, dumplings, bread rolls, or rice porridge.
Following breakfast, Chiang would begin his workday and work until lunchtime at 1:00 PM.
Lunch usually consisted of Chinese dishes. However, there were certain dishes that were considered must-haves: bamboo shoots with sesame paste, “Whampoa” eggs, and chicken soup.
After lunch, Chiang would take a walk and pray for about 20 minutes before resuming work.
After returning from work in the evening, Chiang would go on another walk with his wife. Then he would have dinner, which again consisted of porridge and bamboo shoots. Movies imported from the United States would be played.
Chiang fixed his bedtime at 10:00 PM. His bed was hard, supposedly to protect his spine. Before sleeping, he stretched out his hands 20 times in a counterclockwise and then clockwise position.
Chiang insisted on this daily schedule, and any deviation from it made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
Chiang Kai-shek’s Legacy
Chiang Kai-shek’s radical self-regimentation and self-discipline were his greatest strengths and also his greatest weaknesses. His self-discipline and spirituality resulted in a strong martial character, but it also led to a sense of aloofness and stubborn conservatism, which hindered flexibility in policy and decision-making. This was likely why Chiang lost the country to the Communists
For the first fifty years of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Communists considered Chiang Kai Shek to be the Chinese people’s number one arch-enemy. However, in the mainland today, there has been an unofficial rehabilitation of his character, with more and more Chinese people viewing his character in a much more positive light. This is while ironically on Taiwan, there has been an anti-Chiang movement, to remove his statues and references, and to portray him in a more negative light.
While certain aspects of Chiang Kai-shek’s political decisions and policies might have been flawed or erroneous, it’s essential to recognize that his personal journey remains a part of China’s history. Chiang’s life is a chapter in epic history of the great Chinese nation, and thus is deserving of thorough research and respect.
