Since 1912, China's state governance has been meritocratic, which was not overturned and changed until the Cultural Revolution. Chang Chi-yun, a typical local scholar who graduated from National Nanjing Higher Normal School (later renamed National Central University and Nanjing University) and did not study abroad. Taiwan's core educational planning was basically developed by Chang Chi-yun, who was even invited to lecture at Harvard University for a year in his later years and was treated even better than the essayist and scholar Hu Shih. He was also the first scholar in China to study modern national strategy, planning the strategic layout for Chiang Kai-shek, and he developed the strategic framework of Taiwan today. He did not leave much fame in history, but he was the pioneer of Chinese anthropogeography, and proficient in geography and history.

While lecturing at the National Central University in Nanjing, Chang Chi-yun got to know Chiang Kai-shek's key official Chen Bulei by chance. Chen Bulei was so impressed by Chang Chi-yun's talent that he recommended Chang Chi-yun to Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek. What really convinced Chiang Kai-shek was that Chang Chi-yun pointed out to him that only by retreating to Taiwan could he truly remain safe, and analyzed the major problems of retreating to Southwest China and Hainan.

After the People's Liberation Army captured Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek struggled to think of a good strategy. Chiang Kai-shek sat in his office all night, but could not make up his mind. When the day dawned, he stepped out of his office to take a breath of fresh air, he ran into Chang Chi-yun, who had been invited by him, and told Chang Chi-yun what was bothering him.

Although Chang Chi-yun was not a military man, he, as a geography expert, was keenly aware of Chiang Kai-shek's concerns about the retreat. "The best strategy is to retreat to Taiwan", he told Chiang Kai-shek.

Chang Chi-yun believed that retreating to Southwest China would be the worst strategy. Although Southwest China has three gorges along the Yangtze River in the east, the Hengduan Mountains in the south and the Qin Mountains in the north, which were geographically well fortified, the region was too closely linked to the mainland and the southwest mountains simply could not hold back the PLA which could not even be blocked by a natural barrier such as the Yangtze River. Chiang Kai-shek agreed with this.

Retreating to Hainan would also be an impractical idea because Hainan is too close to Guangdong and the Qiongzhou Strait is too narrow that boats from the mainland can reach Hainan in a day, making it even more difficult to defend.

By comparison, the benefits and advantages of retreating to Taiwan become apparent. The Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan from the mainland, is about 410 kilometers wide at its widest point. The conditions of the PLA at that time were not sufficient to carry out war across the sea. The Taiwan Strait is a barrier that directly facilitates Kuomintang's attack and defense.

In addition, with the relatively powerful air force and naval force, the Kuomintang was not afraid of the Communists coming across the sea to attack. The Kuomintang could conserve its strength in Taiwan and then "counterattack the mainland" when the time came.

In addition to the natural barrier of the Taiwan Strait, Chang Chi-yun detailed to Chiang Kai-shek the five advantages of retreating to Taiwan:

The first is that Taiwan's climate is suitable for growing crops and can supply the agricultural needs of tens of millions of people. Second, Japan has left the industry and transportation foundation in Taiwan, and there are natural conditions for economic development. Third, Taiwan's strategic position is extremely important. For the United States, Taiwan was also an "unsinkable aircraft carrier" to counterbalance the Soviet Union. Fourth, after the Nationalist government recovered Taiwan from Japan, Taiwan's aborigines had a sense of belonging to the Kuomintang, which was convenient for the Nationalist government to govern. Fifth, Taiwan is a relatively closed island with very little underground Communist Party activity, unlike Hainan, where there are local Communist forces such as the Qiongya Column.

Chang Chi-yun's logical analysis thoroughly impressed Chiang Kai-shek. After several in-depth talks, Chiang Kai-shek made up his mind to retreat to Taiwan and made a series of arrangements, sending his henchman Chen Cheng to Taiwan to preside over the government affairs.

Thereafter, Chiang Kai-shek sent more than two million people to Taiwan, including talents from the military, science and technology, finance, education, medical and other fields. Chiang Kai-shek also shipped 920,000 taels of gold, more than 30 million silver dollars, more than 80 million U.S. dollars, and various treasures and antiques to Taiwan. With these troops and wealth sent to Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek stabilized Taiwan's political and financial situation and completely controlled Taiwan's military and public sentiment.

In addition, Chang Chi-yun also advocated Chinese studies. In his opinion, calling "Chinese studies" by the term "Han studies", a term adopted by a number of Chinese scholars, causes confusions, and that Western scholars equate "Chinese studies" with "Sinology", where they would exclude other fields of studies such as Tibetan studies and Manchu studies. Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, and other ethnic groups in China have the closest integration with the Han in politics, economy, culture, and geography, and these studies together constitute Chinese studies. It is not only about ethnic Han, but also about the study of ethnic minorities in China.