Chiang Fang-liang

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.

Chiang Fang-liang
蔣方良 Фаина Ипатьевна Вахрева
Chiang in 1944
First Lady of the Republic of China
In office 20 May 1978 – 13 January 1988
President	Chiang Ching-kuo
Preceded by	Liu Chi-chun
Succeeded by	Tseng Wen-hui
Personal details
Born	Faina Ipat'evna Vakhreva 15 May 1916 near Orsha, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	15 December 2004 (aged 88) Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Resting place	Daxi Presidential Burial Place Touliao, Taiwan
Nationality	Republic of China
Spouse(s)	Chiang Ching-kuo ​ (m. 1935)​
Children	Chiang Hsiao-wen, Chiang Hsiao-wu, Chiang Hsiao-yung (son) and Chiang Hsiao-chang (daughter)
Occupation	First Lady of the Republic of China

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 form 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).

Hsiao-Chang was able communicate with her in Russian, and had immigrated to the United States.

Family 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 are scheduled to be buried together in the Wuchih Mountain Military Cemetery.[1]

See also

• Cafe Astoria

References

1. Tsai, Wen-Ting; Tsai, Julius (January 2005). "Farewell, Faina — Chiang Fang-liang Dies Aged 90". Taiwan Panorama. Taipei, Taiwan. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
2. Wu, Pei-shih (May 18, 2003). "Forgotten first lady served as model traditional wife". Taipei Times. Taipei, Taiwan. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
3. Wen, Stephanie (December 16, 2004). "Chiang Fang-liang remembered". Taipei Times. Taipei, Taiwan. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
4. 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. 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

• Love to Fang-liang - the Chiang Family Album