Background
Gen. Chiang was born in Dongguan, Guangdong, China, December 17, 1887. He died in Beijing, China, June 8, 1967.
Gen. Chiang was born in Dongguan, Guangdong, China, December 17, 1887. He died in Beijing, China, June 8, 1967.
Gen. Chiang Kuang-nai graduated from Baoding (Paoting) Military College.
Mr. Chiang was a Commander of 2nd Regiment of First Brigade of the Kwangtung Provincial Army and vice Commander of 10th Division of the 4th Nationalist Army and concurrently Beerimental Commander of the Division. He was a Commander of the 10th Division and Vice-Commander of the 11th Army. Gen. Chiang Kuang-nai also was a Commander of the 61st Division.
He was promoted Commander-in Chief of the 19th Route Army, in which capacity he commanded the Defence Force in Shanghai against the Japanese Invasion in the spring 1932, and rose fo fame as national hero together with the Field-Commander of the Army, Gen. Tsai Ting-kai. When the Army was transferred to Fujian (Fukien) for the suppression of Communists, he was promoted Pacification Commissioner of Fujian (Fukien). Then Mr. Chiang was known to be a Chairman of the Fujian (Fukien) Provincial Government and concurrently Commissioner of Civil Affairs.
When the Fujian (Fukien) Independence Movement broke out, he was an important member of the "People's Government" at Fuzhou (Foochow). After the cease-fire was brokered, the 19th Army was reassigned by Chiang Kai-shek to suppress Chinese Communist insurrection in Fujian. It won some battles against the Communists but then negotiated peace with them. Jiang Guangnai joined an insurrection that, on 22 November 1933, established a new People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China, free from the control of Chiang's Nanjing government.
The new Fujian government was not supported by other warlords or by all elements of the communists and was quickly crushed by Chiang's armies in January 1934. Jiang escaped with his family to Hong Kong and the rest of the army was disbanded and reassigned into other units of the National Revolutionary Army. After the collapse of the movement he retired to his native city.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War from 1939-1944 he returned to become Deputy Commander in Chief of the 4th War Area and in 1945 Deputy Commander in Chief of the 7th War Area.
After the Chinese Civil War, Mao assigned Jiang to be Minister of Textiles of the new People's Republic of China from 1950.
Most high-ranking officials struggled with the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. Jiang, however, was saved by Zhou Enlai. Zhou carefully and cleverly arranged for Jiang to join him and Mao Zedong on Tiananmen to inspect the Red Guards, some of whom had just stormed Jiang's home the previous day. During the inspection Jiang was positioned almost next to Mao. Zhou personally walked over to Jiang in front of the Red Guards, asking him how he was doing after the "visit" by the Red Guards the day before. In front of Mao, Jiang was quick to reply that the Red Guards were still relatively civilized. After that, they did not bother Jiang again. He died in 1967 in Beijing.