Since the monopoly on political power by the Kuomintang government in Taiwan was broken, in the 1980s, the corruption of Chiang Kai-shek has been taught to primary school children in Taiwan. I do not know how much they stressed this corruption on the mainland, but the truth is, it was bad, real bad. Worse than the corruption of the robber barons during the Gilded Age in the USA or the Harding Administration in the early 1920s. An excellent, in depth look at this topic is provided by Barbara Tuchman in her book "Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-1945". She won the Pulitzer Prize for this book in 1972 and it opened many eyes in the USA. Who lost China ? was a bone of contention between the Republicans and Democrats during the early Cold War, but after reading this Tuchman book, it is clear that the bulk of the blame can be laid at the feet of Chiang Kai-shek and his cronies in the Song family.
Joe Stilwell was an abrasive figure and truly earned his nickname "Vinegar Joe" but his relationship with the Chinese Generalissimo deteriorated to the point Stilwell was fired in 1943 and replaced with Albert Weydemeyer. General Weydemeyer, in his reports back to George C Marshall and the White House said it was useless to try and get Chiang Kai-shek to form a coalition government with the Communists, or to try and prod the Nationalists into making a stronger effort against the Japanese army in China. Weydemeyer went so far as to say, the US Government would get more bang for their buck if they directed their Lend Lease aid to Mao and the Communists and cut Chiang Kai-shek off. He also stated that eighty percent of the aid given to the Communists did not evaporate without a trace, like the Lend Lease aid sent to the Nationalists did. Washington did not listen to Weydemeyer and his career came to an abrupt end, shortly after the war.