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“China Cannot Be Conquered” (Speech, 1939)
By Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi, 1887-1975) took over as leader of the Guomindang (Nationalist Party) after the death of Sun Yat-sen (b. 1866) in 1925. As leader of the Guomindang and, from 1928 until 1949, of China, Chiang Kai-shek inherited, among other things, the role of defining and strengthening Chinese nationalism, a force that he hoped to use to unify the Chinese people behind him and his government.

The document below is from a speech on national unity delivered by Chiang in January 1939 when China was in a full-scale war with Japan.

Excerpts with Document-Based Questions
From Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, edited by Patricia Buckley Ebrey, 2nd ed. (New York: The Free Press, 1993), 401-406. ©1993 The Free Press. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.
“China Cannot Be Conquered” (Speech, 1939)
By Chiang Kai‑shek
… We are fighting this war [against the Japanese] for our own national existence and for freedom to follow the course of national revolution laid down for us in the Three Principles of the People. …
… You [high‑level Guomindang officials] should instruct our people to take lessons from the annals of the Song and Ming dynasties. The fall of these two dynasties [to the Mongols and the Manchus] was not caused by outside enemies with a superior force, but by a dispirited and cowardly minority within the governing class and society of the time. Today the morale of our people is excellent. …
… Our resistance is a united effort of government and people. … Concord between government and people is the first essential to victory.
… The hearts of our people are absolutely united. …
Questions:
  1. In these remarks, made in 1939, how does Chiang Kai-shek portray the relationship between the government and the people?
  2. Why does Chiang Kai-shek have the confidence that the Chinese will be victorious? Is his reasoning about the causes of victory and the relationship between people and government during wartime applicable in other times and other places, past or present?
  3. What government policies do you think might be implied when a national leader (who is leader because he is also a general) makes such remarks during wartime?

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