Ep. 318 | The History of Taiwan (Part 9)

We finished last time with the 228 Incident. In Part 9 Chiang Kai-shek has to not only mop up from this PR disaster but get the island all prepped and ready for his later arrival, along with more than a million others feeling the communists. With the three victorious campaigns of 1948-49, the Nationalists are cornered and The Great Retreat steps into high gear.

Everything that Chiang will need to keep his regime going is moved to Taiwan. This included soldiers, government officials, and KMT members, gold, and cultural treasures from the past few thousand years of Chinese history. Once everything is settled on Taiwan Chiang carries out a purge and puts Chen Cheng in place to whip Taiwan into shape. If Chiang was going to take back the Mainland he needed to get his house in order first.

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/Term	Chinese	English/Meaning
Chén Yí	陈仪 / 陳儀	1883-1950, was the chief executive and garrison commander of Taiwan Province after Japan surrendered. He acted on behalf of the Allied Powers to accept the Japanese Instrument of Surrender in Taipei Zhongshan Hall on October 25, 1945. He is considered to have mismanaged the tension between the Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese
Wèi Dàomíng	魏道明	1899-1978, ROC diplomat who served as the Chinese diplomat to the US during the war years and later served as the first civilian governor of Taiwan from 1947-1949
Hú Shì	胡适	1891-1962, Chinese diplomat, essayist, literary scholar, philosopher and KMT politician. He was a giant in 20th century Chinese literature and history
Wellington Koo (Gù Wéijūn)	顾维钧	1888-1985, ROC statesman and diplomat as well as an author, featured in CHP episodes 214-215
Sòng Měilíng	宋美龄	1898-2003, known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek, an extremely influential and consewquential figure from the first half of the 20th century. Besides her role as First Lady of the ROC she was active in the diplomacy of the country and tirelessly raised funds and awareness during China's dark years from 1937-1945
Jīlóng	基隆	Officially known as Keelung City. It's a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with its neighbors, New Taipei City and Taipei.
Běnshěngrén	本省人	Someone of "this province", meaning the people native to Taiwan (as opposed to the wàishěngrén 外省人 who had migrated to Taiwan during and after the Chinese Civil War)
Dù Yùmíng	杜聿明	1904-1981, KMT field commander who fought mostly in south China and in Burma during the Sino-Japanese War
Chén Chéng	陈诚	1898-1965, ROC military leader and one of the main army commanders during the Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. Alsio served as governor of Taiwan, vice-president of the ROC from 1954-1965 and premier from 1958-1963
Lín Biāo	林彪	1907-1971, Chinese military great, one of the Marshal's of the PLA. We'll get to him one day in a future CHP episode
Liáoshěn Campaign	辽参会战	Major military campaign during the final years of the Chinese Civil War that lasted September 12 to November 2, 1948
Huáihǎi Campaign	淮海战役	The second major military campaign during the final years of the Chinese Civil War that lasted November 6,1948 to January 10, 1949
Píngjìn Campaign	平津战役	The third major military campaign during the final years of the Chinese Civil War that lasted November 29, 1948 to January 31, 1949
Jiǎng Jīngguó	蒋经国	1910-1988, Mostly written as Chiang Ching-kuo, he was the son of Chiang Kai-shek and served as president of the ROC from 1978-1988 and premier from 1972-1978
King Wǔ Dīng	武丁	His personal name was Zi Zhao who served as a king of the Shang dynasty who ruled China around 1200s BC. He is the earliest figure in Chinese history mentioned in contemporary records.
Lǐ Zōngrén	李宗仁	1890-1969, a Guangxi warlord and KMT military commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. Also served as vice-poresident and acting president of the ROC 1949-1950 and then vice president from 1948-1954
Hǎinán	海南	An island province off the coast of western Guangdong
Lú Hàn	卢汉	1895-1974, a Chinese general from the Yi ethnic minority who served in the ROC military and later defected to the communists
Lǐ Mí	李弥	1902-1973, ROC general who fought in the Second Sino-Japanese War and in the Chinese Civil War. He is most remembered for retreating south of the Yunnan border into Burma where he kept up the fight against the communists
Dà Chètuì	大撤退	The retreat of the remnants of the KMT government of the Republic of China to the island of Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949. The KMT, its officers, and approximately 1-2 million ROC troops took part in the retreat, in addition to many civilians and refugees, fleeing the advance of the People's Liberation Army
T.V. Soong. (Sòng Zǐwén)	宋子文	1894-1971, prominent financier, politician and major mover and shaker for the ROC during the 1930's to 1960's. He was the older brother of Madame Chiang Kai-shek
Zhèjiāng	浙江	A coastal province in Eastern China, south of Jiangsu and north of Fujian
Qīngtián County	青田县	A city in Zhejiang halfway between Wēnzhōu 温州 and Lìshǔi 丽水
Whampoa Military Academy	中华民国陆军军校	The Military academy for the army of the Republic of China, previously known as the Whampoa Military Academy, the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China's conflicts in the 20th century, notably the Northern Expedition, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. The military academy was officially opened on May 1, 1924, under the Kuomintang
Jiāngxī	江西	Province in southeast China
Jǐnggāngshān	井冈山	A county-level city in southwest Jiangxi that served as Mao's Central Revolutionary Base, or Jiangxi-Fujian Soviet from 1931-1935
Jīnmén	金门	Known as Kinmen or Quemoy, it is an island off the coast of Xiamen that is occupied by the ROC. It will be the site of several battles between the ROC and PRC forces. It lies roughly 10 km east of Xiamen, from which it is separated by Xiamen Bay. Jinmen is located 187 km west from the shoreline of the island of Taiwan across the Taiwan Strait.
Gǔníngtóu	古宁头	Locasted in northwest Jinmen, Guningtou was the site of a major battle between the PLA and ROC troops from October 25-27, 1949
Xiàmén	厦门	Major city in southern Fujian, also known as Amoy
Chóngqìng	重庆	Once a major city in Sichiuan province, Chongqing is now a municipality in its own right
Hokkien	福建	In the Minnan dialect, the people, language and culture of southern Fujian
Shānxī	山西	Province in north China
Yán Xīshān	阎锡山	1883-1960, known as The Shanxi Warlord and The Model Warlord, he controlled Shanxi province from 1911 to 1949. After the Civil War he became a politician in the ROC government
Tàiyuán	太原	Capital of Shanxi Province
Tāng Énbó	汤恩伯	1898-1954, onr of Chiang Kai-shek's major generals during the Sino-Japanese War and duirng the Chinese Civil War
Guóguāng Jìhuà	国光计划	Project National Glory….the most serious attempt by the Nationalists to reconquer the mainland
Sūn Lìrén	孙立人	1900-1990, known as The Rommel of the East, Sun was one of the major military figures during the Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. A favorite of American politicians and military figures, Chiang didn't trust him and sidelined him, keeping him under house arrest for 30 years

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