Madame Chiang Kai-shek: Face of Modern China (Signature Lives)

Madame Chiang Kai-shek was a powerful figure in Chinese politics. As wife of the Nationalist leader, she helped modernize China through the New Life Movement of the 1930s. She was educated in the United States and developed a unique understanding of American culture. She used this background to win U.S. support for the Nationalists in their struggles against Japan and the communists. Her diplomatic skills won her many admirers, but others criticized her obvious wealth at a time when most Chinese suffered from great poverty.