THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL WORLD LEADERS OF ALL TIME

7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7

since the 17th century—and establish a republic. In 1911
Chiang returned to China and took part in the revolt that
accomplished that goal.
In 1913, with the new republic in the hands of a
would-be dictator, Yuan Shikai, Chiang joined in an
unsuccessful revolt. This cost him his army post. After
the death of Yuan in 1916, various leaders and warlords
struggled for power in the country. Sun Yat-sen, as leader
of the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party), tried to unify the
country. In 1923 he sent Chiang to Moscow to study
Soviet military and political institutions. On his return
Chiang became the director of a military academy at
Canton (Guangzhou), the southern stronghold of the
revolutionaries.
After Sun’s death in 1925, Chiang, supported by his
well-trained cadets, rose to power in the Kuomintang. In
1926 he took command of the revolutionary army. The
general then began advancing to the north of China, with
Beijing, capital of the weak republic, as his goal. In a
1,200-mile (1,900-kilometer) march, he gained control
of south and central China. During this period Chiang
took two steps that were to have major consequences for
the country and his own life. Alarmed by the growth of
Communism, he dismissed his Soviet advisers and expelled
the Communists from his party. He also married the
American-educated Soong Mei-ling. Known as Madame
Chiang, she became her husband’s close adviser.
In 1928 Chiang’s army entered Beijing and, as chief of
the Kuomintang, he became the head of the Republic of
China. Nanjing (Nanking), to the south, was made the new
capital. China, however, was still far from unified. For years
Chiang battled insurgent regional commanders and armed
Communist forces. When Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931,
Chiang decided not to resist the coming Japanese invasion
until after he had crushed the Communists—a decision