Economic Teaching of Chiang Kai-Shek: Political Assessments and Academic Interpretations (Part 1. Chinese and Foreign Reactions of the 1940s)

The paper examines the problems of perception of the content of Chiang Kai-shek’s book «Chinese Economic Teaching» (1943), shaped by political approaches and academic context. This book was both part of the political propaganda of the Kuomintang and a reflection of the scholarly pursuits of the Chinese economic community. Until 1949, inside China, the book was praised by supporters of the official ideology and criticized by Marxist economists. The publication of the English translation of the book, with comments extremely negative towards the author, had a significant impact on foreign audiences. The assessment of the academic content of the book was subordinated to the condemnation of Chiang Kai-shek as a political figure. Criticism of the Kuomintang leader’s views overshadowed the analysis of his arguments in favor of developing a Chinese economic teaching based on ancient tradition. The commentaries to the English translation fundamentally rejected the possibility of the existence of a specific Chinese economic theory different from, much less superior to, Western economic theory. In addition to political biases, inaccurate interpretations were due to terminological differences and the limits of theoretical horizons.