Image-making in United States-China relations: Images of Chiang Kai-Shek in American newsmagazines

This researcher examines the role that Henry Luce played in shaping America's image of China in the mid-twentieth century. Newsmagazines had a special place in American culture during this time. Time and Life, through their distinct styles, grabbed the public's attention.; The son of a missionary reared in China, Henry Luce, had a personal vision of what direction China should take in its development. Through his publications, Time and Life, Luce covered the major events of China from the Henan famine to the Communist take-over of the mainland. Luce's Life magazine became well known by using big pictures and color photographs to report the news. Life presents a visual chronicle of contemporary America and current events in popular culture. Readers find powerful images of Chiang Kai-shek throughout the late 1930's and 1940's. By the 1950's, the viewpoint has shifted to present less positive images. The stories that Luce provides in his newsmagazines present Chiang Kai-shek as a leader concerned about the welfare of his people and a person committed to the notion of democracy. Scholars did not agree.; While Henry Luce enjoyed early success at influencing American foreign policy toward China, by 1950 this influence had waned as American policymakers became aware of corrupt aspects of Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist regime.