My Seven-Year Itch with Chiang Kai-shek: The Memoirs of Chen Jieru

Author: Chen Jieru
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: This work was completed in 1963 and published in 1992, hidden away for nearly 30 years. The author claims it is a truthful record of her own life, but others argue it distorts history to serve a particular agenda. Chen Lifu, a founding member of the Kuomintang, wrote to Chen Jieru urging her not to publish her memoirs: "I beg you not to publish your memoirs. Over the years, your sacrifices and silence for China's unification have made you a great figure and a loyal citizen. But if you publish this book, it will only harm the Supreme Commander and the Kuomintang. Therefore, I sincerely hope you will remain silent as before." Under immense pressure, the silent Chen Jieru remained quiet. Only after the main figures in her memoirs had passed away and the 30-year-old "black box" was finally opened did the tragedy of her marriage come to light.
The parts of Chen Jieru's memoirs that can be trusted are her personal relationship with and the intimate details of their lives together. — Li Ao
It contains many firsthand historical materials unknown to the outside world, making it a genuine historical document that can provide micro-level evidence to support macro-level history. — Tang Degang
A black box of history, this book has changed the course of history, revealing many facts previously unknown. — Taipei Biographical Literature
The memoirs record many of's words and deeds, especially the details of their married life, with great credibility. — Yan Ruiping
At the age of 15, she married a man who would briefly dominate the political arena—. By 21, she was abandoned and alone in a foreign land. She witnessed the most critical seven years of's political career. She became extraordinary because of, once the glamorous wife of a commander-in-chief; but she also became lonely for life because of. The official history books of the Kuomintang deliberately omitted her story, leading to the suppression of this memoir for 30 years after its completion. The book includes 145 precious historical photographs, making it highly valuable for research.