Chiang Fang-liang

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Chiang Fang-liang
蔣方良
Фаина Ипатьевна Вахрева
Faina Chiang.jpg
Chiang in 1944
First Lady of the Republic of China
In office
20 May 1978 – 13 January 1988
PresidentChiang Ching-kuo
Preceded byLiu Chi-chun
Succeeded byTseng Wen-hui
Personal details
Born
Faina Ipat'evna Vakhreva

(1916-05-15)15 May 1916
near Orsha, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire
Died15 December 2004(2004-12-15) (aged 88)
Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Resting placeDaxi Presidential Burial Place
Touliao, Taiwan
NationalityRepublic of China
Spouse(s)
(m. 1935)
ChildrenChiang Hsiao-wen, Chiang Hsiao-wu, Chiang Hsiao-yung (son) and Chiang Hsiao-chang (daughter)
OccupationFirst Lady of the Republic of China

Faina Chiang Fang-liang (Chinese: 蔣方良; pinyin: Jiǎng Fāngliáng, born Faina Ipat'evna Vakhreva (Russian: Фаина Ипатьевна Вахрева, Belarusian: Фаіна Іпацьеўна Вахрава); 15 May 1916 – 15 December 2004) was the First Lady of the Republic of China on Taiwan from 1978 to 1988 and the wife of President Chiang Ching-kuo.

Early life[]

On 15 May 1916, Faina was born near Orsha, then part of the Russian Empire, now in Belarus. Faina was orphaned at a young age and raised by her older sister Anna.[1][2]

Career[]

At age 16, as a member of the Soviet Union's Communist Youth League, Faina worked at the Ural Heavy Machinery Plant, where she met Chiang Ching-kuo, her supervisor.[3][4]

Biography[]

With Chiang Ching-kuo and Chiang Hsiao-wen in Gannan Prefecture, where CCK was serving as commissioner (c.1940s)

The couple's first child, Hsiao-wen, was born in December 1935.[3] The couple had a daughter, Hsiao-chang (born 1938 in Nanchang), and two more sons, Hsiao-wu (born 1945 in Chongqing) and Hsiao-yung (born 1948 in Shanghai). Each of her three younger children were born in different parts of China, reflecting turbulent years as an official of China.[4]

In December 1936, Joseph Stalin finally granted Chiang's return to China.[2] After the couple was received by Chiang Kai-shek and his wife Soong Mei-ling in Hangzhou, they traveled to the Chiang home in Xikou, Zhejiang, where they held a second marriage ceremony.[4] Fang-liang stayed behind to live with Chiang Ching-kuo's mother, Mao Fumei. She was assigned a tutor to learn Mandarin Chinese, but she learned the local Ningbo dialect of Wu Chinese instead.[1][2] She reportedly got along well with Mao Fumei and did her own housework.[2][4]

When Chiang Ching-kuo became President, Fang-liang rarely performed the traditional roles of First Lady. That is partly due to her lack of formal education; her husband also encouraged her not to get into politics.[5] She largely stayed out of the public spotlight[1][3] and little was ever known of her in an anti-communist atmosphere in the government. She never returned to Russia, and traveled abroad only three times in the last 50 years of her life, all to visit her children and their families. In 1992, she received a visit from a delegation including the mayor of Minsk, the capital of Belarus.[4][6] It was the only time that she made contact with anyone from her homeland.

All her children were sent to study in foreign universities[4] – Hsiao-wen to West Point and Park College, MO, Hsiao-wu to Munich, West Germany and the remaining children to the United States. All three sons died shortly after Ching-kuo's death in 1988: Hsiao-wen in April 1989, Hsiao-wu in July 1991, and Hsiao-yung in December 1996.[3] Fang-liang then lived in the suburbs of Taipei. She received occasional visitors, such as some prominent politicians who went to pay their respects every few years. In the Taiwanese media, if she ever received coverage, she was depicted as a virtuous wife who never complained and endured her loneliness with dignity.[1][2][7]

Personal life[]

Faina met Chiang Ching-kuo, son of Chiang Kai-shek, while working at the Ural Heavy Machine Plant in Sverdlovsk, Russian SFSR. On 15 March 1935, aged 18, Faina married him.[2][3] On 14 December 1935, their first son Chiang Hsiao-wen was born in the Soviet Union. Faina 's other children are Chiang Hsiao-chang (b. 1938 in Nanchang), Winston Hsiao-tzu Chang (b. 1942 in Guilin), John Hsiao-yen Chiang (b. 1942 in Guilin), Chiang Hsiao-wu (b. 1945 in Chekiang) and Chiang Hsiao-yung (b. 1948 in Shanghai).


hideFamily of Chiang Fang-liang
Soong May‑ling
宋美齡
Mao Fumei
毛福梅
Chiang Kai‑shek
蔣介石
Yao Yecheng
姚冶誠
Chen Jieru
陳潔如
Faina Chiang Fang‑liang
蔣方良
Chiang Ching-kuo
蔣經國
Chang Ya‑juo
章亞若
(mistress)
Shih Chin‑i
石靜宜
Chiang Wei‑kuo
蔣緯國
(adopted)
Chiu Ju‑hsüeh
丘如雪
Chen Yao‑kuang
陈瑶光
(adopted)
Alan Chiang Hsiao‑wen
蔣孝文
Amy Chiang Hsiao‑chang
蔣孝章
Alex Chiang Hsiao‑wu
蔣孝武
Eddie Chiang Hsiao‑yung
蔣孝勇
Winston Chang Hsiao‑tzu
章孝慈
John Chiang Hsiao‑yen
蔣孝嚴
Chiang Hsiao‑kang
蔣孝剛
Nancy Xu Nai‑jin
徐乃錦
Yu Yang‑ho
俞揚和
Wang Zhang‑shi
汪長詩
Michelle Tsai Hui‑mei
蔡惠媚
Elizabeth Fang Chi‑yi
方智怡
Chao Chung‑te
趙申德
Helen Huang Mei‑lun
黃美倫
Wang Yi‑hui
王倚惠
Theodore Yu Tsu‑sheng
俞祖聲
Chang Ching‑sung
章勁松
Chang Yo‑chu
章友菊
Vivian Chiang Hui‑lan
蔣惠蘭
Chiang Hui‑yün
蔣惠筠
Chiang Wan‑an
蔣萬安
Chiang Yo‑mei
蔣友梅
Alexandra Chiang Yo‑lan
蔣友蘭
Johnathan Chiang Yo‑sung
蔣友松
Demos Chiang Yo‑bo
蒋友柏
Edward Chiang Yo‑chang
蒋友常
Andrew Chiang Yo‑ching
蒋友青
Chiang Yo‑chüan
蒋友娟
Chiang Yo‑chieh
蒋友捷
Notes
  • Dashed lines represent marriages
  • Dotted lines represent extra-marital relationships and adoptions
  • Solid lines represent descendants
Sources

Death[]

Chiang died of respiratory and cardiac failure stemming from lung cancer in Taipei Veterans General Hospital at the age of 88 (or 89 according to East Asian age reckoning).[1][7][8][9]

Legacy[]

Chiang's funeral was held on 27 December 2004, with President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu in attendance.[10] Kuomintang politicians Wang Jin-pyng, Lin Cheng-chih, P. K. Chiang, and Ma Ying-jeou draped her casket with the Kuomintang party flag, and Kuomintang party elders Lee Huan, Hau Pei-tsun, Chiu Chuang-huan, and Shih Chi-yang draped her casket with the ROC national flag.[11][12] Chiang was cremated and her ashes taken to her husband's temporary mausoleum in Touliao, Taoyuan County (now Taoyuan City). They were buried together in the Wuchih Mountain Military Cemetery.[1]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Tsai, Wen-Ting; Tsai, Julius (January 2005). "Farewell, Faina — Chiang Fang-liang Dies Aged 90". Taiwan Panorama. Taipei, Taiwan. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Wu, Pei-shih (May 18, 2003). "Forgotten first lady served as model traditional wife". Taipei Times. Taipei, Taiwan. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Wen, Stephanie (December 16, 2004). "Chiang Fang-liang remembered". Taipei Times. Taipei, Taiwan. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Wang, Jaifeng; Hughes, Christopher (January 1998). "Cover Story — Love to Fang-Liang – the Chiang Family Album". Taiwan Panorama. Taipei, Taiwan. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  5. ^ "The lonely widow of Huaihai Rd in sealed memory". China Daily. Beijing. January 12, 2005. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  6. ^ Yu, Susan (June 16, 1992). "Mensk officials meet Chiang Fang-liang Chiang Ching-kuo's widow breaks precedent to receive countrymen". Taiwan Today (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Taipei, Taiwan. Archived from the original on 2014-11-07. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Yiu, Cody (December 16, 2004). "A sad life ends for Chiang Fang-liang". Taipei Times. Taipei, Taiwan. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  8. ^ "Faina Chiang dies at 88 in Taipei". China Daily. Beijing. December 15, 2004. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  9. ^ "President Chen pays tribute to former first lady Faina Chiang". China Post. Taipei. December 17, 2004. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  10. ^ "Nation bids farewell to former first lady Faina Chiang". China Post. Taipei. December 27, 2004. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  11. ^ Chuang, Jimmy (December 25, 2004). "Faina Chiang's funeral will be held on Monday". Taipei Times. Taipei, Taiwan. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  12. ^ "Faina Chiang's funeral held in Taiwan". sina.com. December 27, 2004. Retrieved November 4, 2014.

Bibliography[]

  • 周玉蔻 [Zhou, Yu-kou] (1993). 蔣方良與蔣經國 [Chiang Fang-liang and Chiang Ching-kuo]. 台北市: 麥田出版有限公司. ISBN 9789577081070.
  • O'Neill, Mark (2020). China's Russian Princess: The silent wife of Chiang Ching-kuo. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing Company. ISBN 978-9620446153.

External links[]

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