Taiwan's Academia Historica digitizes Chiang family diaries

台灣歷史研究院將蔣氏家庭日記數位化

4th batch of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo diaries available online


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Academia Historica announced on Monday that the fourth batch of Chiang family diaries is now available to the public via a digital archive database.

According to the institute’s press release, Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) diaries from 1930 to 1933 include 1,481 entries and 2,214 digital files. Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) diaries from 1943 to 1944 contain 1,014 entries and 1,253 digital files.

While the public can search the diary catalog through Academia Historica's record system, digital image files are not accessible online and must be viewed or copied in person at the Taipei reading room.

The diaries are organized by volume and subdivided into daily entries, with covers, annual summaries, and significant events treated as separate entries.

In September 2023, 59 boxes of Chiang family artifacts were returned to Taiwan from Stanford University. These artifacts included Chiang Kai-shek’s diaries spanning 1917 to 1972, Chiang Ching-kuo’s diaries from 1937 to 1979, personal letters, and other documents.

Academia Historica has since organized, cataloged, and digitized the materials in chronological order. Due to the severe deterioration of some original diaries, transcribed copies were used for certain years to expedite the digitization process and enhance accessibility, the institute said.