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The Production of the Chiang Kai-shek Personality Cult, 1929–1975

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2006

Abstract

One of the most visible features of Nationalist rule on Taiwan throughout the period of martial law (1948–87) was the promotion of a personality cult focused on the figure of Chiang Kai-shek. This article is an examination of the ways in which the disparate elements which made up this cult were produced. It considers how the cult reflected a political culture which originated in the Nanjing decade and the subsequent war years, yet which adapted to the realities of post-war exile in Taiwan. This study suggests that whilst the Chiang personality cult was promoted by the central government (and by Chiang himself) it was quasi-official organizations and individuals who were primarily responsible for the production of its written, visual and monumental texts.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
The China Quarterly, 2006

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