Chiang Kai-shek, born on October 31, 1887, and died on April 5, 1975, was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and military leader. He was also the head of the Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) party, General of the National Revolutionary Army, and the Republic of China (ROC) leader in mainland China from 1928 until 1949. After being defeated in the Chinese Civil War by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1949, he led the ROC on the island of Taiwan until he died in 1975.
Chiang Kai-shek: National icon and hero
Chiang Kai-shek had a very solid spiritual foundation. The Chiang family had been believers in Buddhism for generations. Influenced by the family environment, Chiang Kai-shek had been rooted in Buddhism since he was a child and believed in it. When Chiang became an adult, he lovingly copied the Surangama Sutra for his mother. He also received a traditional Confucian education in his youth. His memoirs record that even when he was on military duties, he still devoted himself to studying Wang Yangming’s philosophy and Zeng Guofan’s works.
Later in life, Chiang Kai-shek followed his wife, Soong Mei-ling, and converted to Christianity, but he always maintained his belief in Buddhism. Whether as a Buddhist or a Christian, Chiang Kai-shek believed in God and the power of prayer. According to the recollections of Chiang Kai-shek’s bodyguard, Qian Shushi, Chiang visited Mount Emei in 1935 and was taught meditation by an eminent monk. From then on, Chiang Kai-shek practiced meditation every morning and evening. The guard once accidentally discovered Chiang in a meditative state.
Many miraculous experiences occurred in Chiang Kai-shek’s life, showing that he enjoyed Divine favor and blessings.
His car malfunctioned, leading to a miraculous escape
In May 1925, Chiang Kai-shek, then the principal of Whampoa Military Academy, chief of staff of the Guangdong Army, and commander of the Guangzhou Garrison, received a letter threatening to take his life. To strengthen security, Chiang bought a high-grade black bulletproof Citroen from abroad. Every time he traveled, a blue sky and white sun party flag was placed on the car, and another Citroen of the same color and model followed behind.
Two months later, after Chiang Kai-shek lectured the Whampoa Military Academy Freshmen Corps under the scorching sun, he got into his car and prepared to return to the city to deal with other official matters. The Citroën suddenly broke down, and the engine would no longer start, so Chiang could only take the reserve Citroen car that didn’t display a flag to return to the city.
Huang Youwen, the guard platoon leader, stayed behind and waited for the car to be repaired. Strangely, when Chiang Kai-shek took off, his official Citroen was repaired and could run again. Huang Youwen and a few other guards then hurriedly chased after the car ahead.
Chiang Kai-shek’s car smoothly passed Dongpo Pavilion, but Huang Youwen and the others were ambushed when they passed by in the Citroen bearing the flag. Due to the close firing range, the Citroen’s bulletproof glass was severely hit and shattered by the frantic firing of the machine guns, killing two guards on the spot; the driver and Huang Youwen were injured.
After hearing the tragic news, Chiang Kai-shek understood that he had escaped a disaster. It was later ascertained that “the person behind the Dongpo Pavilion shooting was Yang Jinlong, the brigade commander of a particular unit of the Fourth Army. Yang Jinlong was arrested and subsequently shot while trying to escape.
The eminent monk interprets a Tang poem
In 1926, to fulfill Mr. Sun Yat-sen’s last wish, Chiang Kai-shek led the Northern Expedition Army in July. In mid-September, the Northern Expedition Army suffered a setback when attacking Nanchang. In mid-October, after Chiang captured Niuxing Station, which is about 30 miles away from Nanchang, Chiang ordered the establishment of a general headquarters at Niuxing Station.
When Chiang Kai-shek was on tour, he heard that there was a small temple nearby, so he walked in with Bai Chongxi. Chiang first offered a salute to the Buddha statue, drew a divination lot, and asked the monk to decipher it. On the lot (bamboo stick) drawn by Chiang Kai-shek was a poem, Stone City, written by Liu Yuxi of the Tang Dynasty, which said: “Hills surround the motherland; flood-tides hit the empty city, and ebb, and quiet befalls; east of Huaibei, that same old moon; deep in the night, still climbs across the jagged battlement walls.”
The monk asked Chiang Kai-shek what he wanted to enquire. Chiang asked: “I want to know whether we will be victorious or defeated in the war.” The monk said that the war was auspicious and victory would be achieved. However, the fourth sentence, “deep in the night, still climbs across the jagged battlement walls,” refers to disaster in the middle of the night, so it is necessary to prevent being cut off from the escape route and beware of the enemy attacking your stronghold and camp.
After hearing this, Chiang Kai-shek nodded and gave the monk 200 Yuan. Then, he returned to headquarters with Bai Chongxi and ordered Bai to transfer two regiments from the reserve army just in case, enabling the guard regiment to bolster vigilance.
The next day, in the middle of the night, the Lu Fanting Division, affiliated with the warlord Sun Chuanfang, sent a team of men and horses from the inland roads of Nanchang City to attack the headquarters of Niuxing Station of the Northern Expedition Army. The vigilant and prepared guard regiment defeated the sneak attack force. More than 1,000 rebels were captured.
When Bai Chongxi interrogated a captured officer, the officer said: “I wanted to cut off your escape route,” which is the same as what the monk in the small temple had deciphered. It was because Chiang Kai-shek had taken the advice of the eminent monk that he had escaped again.
Conversion to Christianity
After two escapes, Chiang Kai-shek believed that gods and Buddhas protected him. Later, because of Soong Mei-ling, Chiang Kai-shek gradually accepted the tenets of Christianity, after which he experienced several miracles.
Prayers for the Central Plains War came true
Pastor Jiang Changchuan (1884-1958) recounted a story from Chiang Kai-shek’s life. In 1930, during the Central Plains War between Chiang Kai-shek and the warlords, Chiang was trapped near Kaifeng by the enemy and was surrounded. In desperation and helplessness, Chiang Kai-shek prayed to God for help and made a vow that if he were saved this time, he would officially convert to Christianity.
At that time, it was not the snowy season, but suddenly, there was a heavy snowfall out of nowhere, and the advancing enemy could not continue with the attack. At the same time, the central reinforcements rushed from Nanjing to the front line by rail. The heavy snowfall and reinforcements came at the right time, and Chiang Kai-shek’s life was saved again. The near-certain defeat was turned into victory. The Central Plains War was a historical milestone, and Chiang Kai-shek secured the first position in the National Government. Pastor Jiang Changchuan returned to Shanghai.
Ominous premonition led to the cancellation of vacation and escaping from rebel shelling
December 1, 1929, was the second wedding anniversary of Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling. The couple was scheduled to go to the outskirts of Nanjing to celebrate and take a vacation. Soong Mei-ling was suddenly and inexplicably upset, so she temporarily canceled the trip. When Soong was resting that day, she dreamed of a huge boulder standing abruptly in the middle of a river of blood. She woke up with palpitations and a premonition that something was wrong.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek was in his study meeting the “rebellious general” Shi Yousan (1891-1940). Soong Mei-ling knocked on the door, entered the room, and told her husband to be careful if something unexpected happened.
Within hours, at about 3:00 a.m. on December 2, Shi Yousan openly rebelled and ordered the bombardment of Nanjing. The suburb where the Chiang and Soong couple had planned to spend their vacation was hit the hardest. Chiang Kai-shek and his wife escaped the disaster because of Soong Mei-ling’s astonishing premonition.
Biblical Oracle: ‘The enemy will retreat voluntarily’
In the early morning of December 2, Soong Ai-ling rushed to Nanjing to meet her younger sister, Soong Mei-ling, only to realize the situation was dangerous. For safety reasons, Soong Mei-ling asked her sister to leave quickly. After Soong Ai-ling reluctantly left her younger sister, she sent an urgent telegram to her mother in Shanghai, informing her that something unfortunate was about to happen in Nanjing. The two sisters begged their Christian mother to pray for them.
Two hours later, the mother of the Soong family, Ni Guizhen, sent a telegram quoting a sentence from the Bible: “The enemy will retreat voluntarily.” Peculiarly, in the afternoon of the same day, Shi Yousan’s rebels retreated. It turned out that Shi Yousan’s rebels saw several warships in the Yangtze River and thought that Chiang Kai-shek had already laid an ambush, so they gave up their plan to advance south and led their troops to withdraw.
The end of life and death quietly came
On the morning of the Qingming Festival on April 5, 1975, Chiang Ching-kuo paid his respects to his father, Chiang Kai-shek. When Chiang Ching-kuo was about to leave Chiang Kai-shek unexpectedly called him back and intermittently told his son to pay attention to his body. It seems that Chiang Kai-shek had a premonition that death was just around the corner at any time.
At that moment, when Chiang Kai-shek was about to die, the big curtain in his room suddenly slipped down. The wind and clouds outside suddenly changed to thunder and rain, especially when the medical officer officially announced the death of Chiang Kai-shek. The thunder was deafening, and the “wind and rain were fierce,” which stunned Soong Mei-ling, Chiang’s son Chiang Ching-kuo, and others. Then, it rained non-stop.
The rain suddenly stopped in the early morning of April 6 when the guards were about to carry Chiang Kai-shek’s body to the hearse. While the hearse was moving, it began to rain again. There is a saying: “From birth to death, the limit is reached; Heaven and man respond to each other and share the same sorrow.” Chiang Kai-shek died of a heart attack at the age of 88.
Translated by Chua BC
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