Tsiang Ting-fu (蔣廷黻, 1895-1965), born in Hunan, China, was a renowned historian and diplomat. In 1912, he went to study in the United States and earned a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University in 1923. After returned to China, he became a professor of history at Nankai University and later at Tsinghua University. In 1935, he left Tsinghua and went into government service as Director of Political Affairs at the Executive Yuan. In 1936-1938, he was Chinese Ambassador to the Soviet Union, after which he returned to his position as Director of Political Affairs at the Executive Yuan. In 1945-1946, he was Director-General of the Chinese National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. In 1947, he was appointed Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations and Representative at the Security Council, striving for ROC to retain its seat at the UN. He held the position until 1962. His last position was Ambassador to the United States, which he served from 1961 to 1965. He passed away in New York in October 1965.

The original diaries of Tsiang Ting-fu are housed in the Harvard–Yenching Library. Spanning from January 1944 to June 1965, the diaries consist of 22 volumes, one per year, written primarily in English with occasional entries also containing Chinese or French words. The content focuses on his daily work and observations, interactions with colleagues, friends, and family, as well as his views on political and international affairs, personal sentiments, and leisure activities.

The Taiwan Diary Knowledge Bank has recently added diary entries from 1958 to 1965. With this update, the complete “The Diary of Tsiang Ting-fu”—a total of 7,835 entries comprising approximately 1.37 million words—are now fully accessible. Scholars and the public are welcome to explore and utilize the database.