As the leader of the Kuomintang, Chiang Kai-shek's habit of not smoking or drinking, and drinking only plain water is curious.
This unique and poor and unique living habit seems to be inconsistent with his identity, what is the hidden meaning behind it? In the memoirs of his ex-wife Chen Jieru, this little-known story was unexpectedly revealed.
During the revolutionary war, Chairman Mao faced many challenges and difficulties, and often smoked to think about problems and relieve stress.
Although Chairman Mao knew that smoking was harmful to his health, he still relied on it a lot, and not all senior leaders liked to smoke like Chairman Mao, and Chiang Kai-shek did not like to smoke, which is a little puzzling.
Chiang Kai-shek lived a strict and simple life, usually drinking only a glass of boiled water, even when thinking about problems.
As to why Chiang Kai-shek had such a strict living habit, Chen Jieru's memoirs reveal the hidden meaning behind this habit.
Chen Jieru was once an ex-wife who had a deep emotional entanglement with Chiang Kai-shek, and when they first met Zhang Jingjiang's home, Chen Jieru was in the prime of her thirteen-year-old youth, with stunning beauty and graceful posture, which deeply attracted Chiang Kai-shek.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek launched a passionate pursuit of Chen Jieru, but her parents objected to this, because Chiang Kai-shek already had other wives and concubines at that time, and he was also old and his career was at a low point.
Chiang Kai-shek, who faced many difficulties, did not give up pursuing Chen Jieru, and even after the death of Chen Jieru's father, he wore filial piety clothes to mourn, which touched Chen Jieru's heart and won the recognition and support of Chen's mother.
In the end, the two walked into the palace of marriage hand in hand, and after that, Chiang Kai-shek's career also ushered in an important change, gradually climbing to the high position of commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army.
This marriage did not last long, with the acquaintance of Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling, Soong Meiling could bring Chiang Kai-shek greater help to the development of his career, Chen Jieru chose to leave in desperation.
After 1949, Chen Jieru stayed in Shanghai to live. During this period, Premier Zhou was quite concerned about her living situation and arranged for her to settle in Hong Kong.
During her time in Hong Kong, Chen Jieru lived a simple life, and devoted more energy to writing the Memoirs of Chen Jieru, which contains many stories related to Chiang Kai-shek, and it is through this book that we can understand the reasons behind Chiang Kai-shek's habit of drinking only plain water.
Chiang Kai-shek was exposed to strict traditional culture from an early age, and from the age of six to his private school, until his later years, reading was always a part of his daily life, and he also developed the habit of keeping a diary.
Chiang Kai-shek's lifestyle was regular, and to some extent, influenced by his study life in Japan.
The experience of living in Japan allowed Chiang Kai-shek to develop many unique living habits, such as going to bed early and waking up early, which was an important factor in maintaining his physical health.
In daily life, Chiang Kai-shek had the habit of drinking boiled water, almost not touching a drop of alcohol, his eating habits were very unique, eating both Chinese and Western food, the staple food was mainly plant foods such as green vegetables and tofu, supplemented by fruits, fresh milk, etc.
Chiang Kai-shek did not have a special preference for fruits, all kinds of fruits were not refused, and the boiled water he drank seemed ordinary, but in fact he was very particular, and half an hour before he got up every day, the service staff would start boiling to ensure that he could drink the right temperature of boiled water when he woke up.
In fact, Chiang Kai-shek's habit was influenced by Zhang Jingjiang and Soong Meiling.
When Zhang Jingjiang was ill, Chiang Kai-shek visited him, during which Zhang Jingjiang recommended to him the benefits of boiled water, believing that it was effective in detoxification and more practical than medicine.
On the other hand, during her stay in the United States, Soong Meiling was deeply influenced by the culture of Western medicine, and after returning to China, she promoted the concept of drinking boiled water to Chiang Kai-shek to promote health.
Chen Jieru mentioned in her memoirs that Chiang Kai-shek had infected her with venereal diseases, which caused her to suffer from flower willow disease.
Chiang Kai-shek felt deeply guilty about this, and vowed not to drink or smoke again, and only drank plain water for the rest of his life to express remorse.