Chengshu Shen (1915-2007)

Shen, Chengshu, also styled himself with the name Zai-tian, was born in 1915 in a scholar's family in Beijing. He began to study traditional Chinese landscape painting at the age of 13, under the guidance of Mr. Wang Shensheng and Mr. Wu Xiceng (also known as Jingting), who were famous Chinese painters in the 1930s. Mr. Wang and Mr. Wu were mentors of the Peking Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Research Association", whose members included many famous painters at the time. Under the guidance of famous teachers, Shen, Chengshu started going to the Forbidden City to sketch ancient paintings collected by the past dynasties since he was 13 years old. Since the age of 17, he has held art exhibitions in Beijing. For this reason, his mentor Wu Jingding gave him the scholar name Zaitian, which meant the reincarnation of Shen Shi-tian (Famous Ming Dynasty Painter). The traditional painting has a deep and profound meaing, which is deeply rooted in the charm of the "Four Kings" paintings of the Qing Dynasty. The late famous Chinese painter Zhou Huaimin commented that his copy of Wang Shigu's "Mangroves in the Autumn Mountains" had "simple brushwork and profound craftsmanship". Shen, Chengshu has held personal art exhibitions in China and the United States, and his works have been selected into national art exhibitions many times.

His Legacy

Shen, Chengshu was born on December 1, 1915, in Beijing, the capital of the Beiyang Chinese government. Thirteen years later, the North Expedition Troop changed Beijing to Peking. When Shen, Yangfang (father) went to Beijing in 1905, the Qing Dynasty had abolished the imperial examination and established the Western Education system. Shen, Yangfang was the first generation of the Shen family who bypassed the old imperial examination system and became a government official from the new system. In the late years of Emperor Guangxu (1908), after graduating from Beijing Capital College, Shen, Yangfang entered the Department of Justice in the Qing Dynasty Government, and later transferred to the Capital University as a dean. After the Qing Dynasty fell, he was admitted to the Department of Treasury of the Beiyang Chinese Government and later served as the supervisor of Peking University.

Shen,Yangfang is a typical Confucian scholar. He has received strict family education from the traditional Chinese intellect, loyalty and integrity were among his values. But he also received western education and developed an open mind. After his parents died, he was raised by his stepmother, who had a good upbringing and the demeanor of a nobility. Shen, Yangfang named his son Chengshu Shen, which meant inheriting the traditions of the literati. Shen, Chengshu was raised with American and traditional Chinese values, which made him stand out in 1930s China. C.S. Shen was the eldest son. His father hoped that he would succeed in his studies and inherit the family tradition. After graduating from elementary school, he entered Peking Sicun Middle School, which was an American Catholic Institution. When he visited the US in 1996, and he was able to handle conversations in English with local Americans. (This was after experiencing the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward)

Family photo in 1947. C.S Shen with his wife, kids, brother, sisters and his parents, two years before the Communist took over the country

Shen, Chengshu was the eldest son. His father was proficient in poetry and wanted to train him into a traditional scholar. When he was in junior high school, he learned landscape painting from his teacher Chen Ruji after school. At the age of 15, he was taken to study traditional Chinese painting from Wang Rong, a master painter at the time. Wang was a painter of flowers and birds, lacked the skills in traditional painting, so he introduced C.S Shen to Mr. Wu as his apprentice. After that, C.S. Shen participated in the Peking Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Research Society with Mr. Wu. Later, he also participated in the painting conference in Beijing, and an art exhibition in Tsingtao.

Eventhough Shen, Yangfang placed high hopes on Chengshu from the family tradition to become a scholar, but he never forced him to accept his wishes and gave Chengshu full freedom to decide for himself. C.S Shen once said that after he entered junior high school, his father no longer interfered with his studies and relied entirely on his own consciousness and interests. Later, he abandoned art to study engineering and embarked on the road of industrial salvation for China during the War.

In 1934, Shen, Yangfang was invited by a friend to serve as the section chief of the Tsingtao Railway Bureau. The picture above shows Shen, Yangfang and Shen, Chengshu taking a group photo with their neighbors and friends in Tsingtao. The person in the middle wearing a hat is Shen, Yangfang, and the one standing outside the wall on the left is Shen, Chengshu.

After graduating from high school, Chengshu was admitted to Shandong University in Tsingtao, at that time it was a Catholic University run by Germans and Americans.(Tsingtao was once a German Colony) Originally, his father wanted to train him into a traditional intellectual who was good at playing chess, calligraphy and painting, but Chengshu had no interest in playing chess, calligraphy and painting, and instead loved sports, and became an athletic star at Shandong University. Triple jump and javelin were his specialties, and he was regarded as the top athlete of Shandong University. Chengshu Shen also liked Peking Opera and was a very active Peking Opera fan in Beijing and Tsingtao. He studied under an old Opera School and the students admired his performance for a long time. In the play "The Meeting of Heroes", he played the role of Zhao Yun(considered the greatest warrior during the Three Kingdoms) and then Lu Su(one of the smartest military strategists during the Three Kingdoms).

After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, Shen, Chengshu sought to serve his country on the engineering front. He entered Zhejiang University, which moved to inland China to the southwest city of Guilin, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in auto mechanics

After graduating from the Mechanical Department of Zhejiang University in 1940, Shen, Chengshu worked as a trainee technician at the Ford Motor Plant in Guiyang. After the opening of the Burma Road, United States was able to send supplies in China’s western region through the Burma Road. Here, he met Miss Huang, Peifen who had fled from the war from Guangzhou, and they got engaged on December 7th, 1941, the day Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, which marked an important day for the Chinese Theater of War. The entire country of China was thrilled to know that the United States declared war on Japan in 1941 following FDR's speech. They knew, with American support, they would win the war against Japan. The following year, in June of 1942 after the decisive victory by the American Fleet in the Battle of Midway, they decided to get married.

In the picture below, it was a post card congratulating the couple’s engagement, it reads: This couple was engaged on Dec 7th, 1941, it marked the beginning of the United States entering the war with Japan. This was a Great Day to be remembered, we will never forget this. The United State Declaring war on Japan might have been the most significant turning point of the war for China. The two countries soon became close allies in the war, famous events such as the Flying Tigers, Doolittle’s raids, and Chinese First Lady spoke to the United State Congress soon followed.

The Peking Sicun High School was an American Catholic private school in Peking where CS Shen received his education. While he was working in the southwest part of China, his fluent English and mechanical degree from Zhejiang University stood out from the crowd. At that time, his manager at Ford Motors, an American citizen, admired him very much. When he was leaving China, he suggested that C.S. Shen should follow him and move to Detroit to further his education and training.

It was in the midst of the Sino-Japanese war, and YF Shen(dad) was far away in the Japanese occupied area of Peking. After C.S Shen’s mother passed away, she left five children behind; the youngest sister was less than 10 years of age. Being the oldest son, C.S Shen felt the need to shoulder the burden of the family during such conflict. Conflicted by the options, C.S Shen decided to stay with his compatriots during a time of hardship for the country. Later on when asked, he said it was one of the hardest decisions he had to make. Therefore, he declined the offer and stayed in China. It wasn’t until 1996 CS Shen had the chance to visit the US, and just by a coincidence, his first stop in the US was Detroit!

During the most difficult days of the Sino-Japanese War, Shen, Chengshu left the peaceful life from the southwest part of China,(where Japanese forces couldn't reach) and went to Gansu province, a region that was remote and under-developed, to design and manufacture China's own oil mining machinery. Later, he returned back to city of Chongqing due to work transfer. City of Chongqing was in the Sichuan province, at that time it was not occupied by Japan, but the area was disturbed by local war lords and corrupt government officials who were on the take.

His father, Shen, Yangfang, maintained his national integrity and refused to hold an office position during the Japanese occupation, and lived at home in Peking. After the victory of the Sino-Japanese War, even in his 60s, he was still appointed as the Commissioner of the Railway Bureau in Tsingtao. Shen, Chengshu led his family to Tsingtao, after being separated for eight years during the war, the family finally reunited after the victory of the Sino-Japanese War. Chengshu was a mechanical engineer who only wanted to use his professional expertise to contribute to the reconstruction of the country after the war. He left the picturesque city of Tsingtao, went to the Shenyang Bicycle Factory, and then moved to the Tianjin Bicycle Factory, he stayed there until Tianjin city was occupied by the Communist bandits during the Chinese Civil War.

Picture here was C.S Shen at work in the city of Tianjin in 1948. He was transferred to Beijing in June of 1950 and participated in the establishment of the Ministry of Heavy Industry in China. In 1951, the Ministry of Heavy Industry sent him to city of Taiyuan, Shanxi to inspect the dilapidated factory left by War Lord Yan Xishan. He was strongly persuaded by Liu Zhengzhi, the then director of Taiyuan Mining Machinery Factory (later the deputy governor of Shanxi) and Yue Weifan, the mayor of Taiyuan. After consideration, he finally decided to accept the offer, gave up the comfortable working and living conditions in Beijing and moved to the city of Taiyuan, an impoverished city that was devastated by the war.

After the Communist Take-Over

Shen, Chengshu never talked about the reasons why he moved to Taiyuan, not even his wife knew about it. In 1996, when he visited the United States and met an Alumnus from Peking Beiman Girls' High School and Fu Jen Catholic University. For the first time, he talked about the reasons why he decided to move to Taiyuan. He only implied his reason but here I can summarize with three reasons. One, driven by Patriotism and service to one’s country. Ever since he entered college, China has been ravaged in war. His upbringing had taught him to be a patriot and pledge loyalty to those whom he serves, but he didn’t feel he had done enough for his country during the war. Entering the peacetime, he sincerely wanted to work hard to build the country up where it was most needed, instead of sitting in a comfortable office. 2nd, he was a man with a strong sense of responsibility. After more than ten years of war, the entire nation made great sacrifices to preserve peace. He always felt that he owed the country of service and wanted to give back to the country that he loved. 3rd, C.S Shen’s chivalrous sentiments of serving those who had done well for you, he strongly felt it was his debt to pay back to the Governor of Shanxi. During the anti-rightist movement, the factory workers with selfish deeds could not understand why he gave up the superior status and environment in the Beijing Ministry to work in a dirty and dilapidated factory, thinking that he must have ulterior motives.

In China, the poor working migrants had instinctive hatred toward the city people who were better off, mostly driven by jealousy and greed. They were envious of those who had a better upbringing than themselves and they would always be happy to see someone like that to fall. Being educated in an American school and fluent in English was more than enough of a “Crime” for those workers to throw C.S Shen in jail. The factory reported him as a rightist, (during the Anti-Rightist movement in the 1950s anyone labeled as a ‘rightist” would be thrown into jail without any reasons) but the Mayor at that time, Yue Weifan came to Shen’s defense and took him under his protection. As a result, Shen Chengshu escaped persecution. In order to protect Shen, Mayor Yue appointed him as deputy secretary-general of the Taiyuan Municipal Science and Technology Commission. Before the Cultural Revolution, Mayor Yue was transferred to the post of mayor of Nanjing, and Chengshu Shen's protection was gone.

He was demoted to chief engineer of the Municipal Heavy Industry Bureau, without any administrative position, and even his furniture at home were taken away by the government. In order to survive in the dangerous political environment, he had to keep a low profile, but his upright and outspoken nature remained unchanged. Once, the bureau organized a medical examination for the retired officers. The doctor said to Chengshu that your blood fat, blood sugar, and blood pressure were all at healthy levels. He replied: "Because I don't eat or drink on the public dimes."

In the early days of the Cultural Revolution, Chengshu Shen was identified as an "Anti-Revolutionary Academic Traitor" and "a son and grandson of the former Qing Dynasty elders. Those were enough of an accusation to make him the public enemy. He experienced criticism and struggles and had his house and properties confiscated. Later on, the Communist Army came to his house and confiscated his home. The CCP propaganda team imprisoned him on the charge of being a "class enemy." During one of the persecutions, Shen, Chengshu suffered from intestinal obstruction due to muscle spasm from high tensions. His body was curled up in pain as he laid on the ground groaning. The inhumane communist bandits actually rebuked him for "pretending to be dead to avoid punishment" and continued the brutal beating.

It wasn't until his colleagues from work came forward to send him to the hospital for surgery that his life was saved. The CCP army relies on killing enemies to achieve merit. In peacetime, when there was no war, the enemy must be found among the people and has to be eliminated in order to get a promotion. During the period of military control in China, the military had the power to kill anyone they deemed as “bad”, over 130,000 people were killed in the name of "being a bad guy" without any dual process. The majority victims were intellectuals with ideas and independent thinking abilities. They were deemed as public enemies because they were able to think critically and had the courage to criticize the government. Millions of them were tortured to death, all of whom were Unjust, false and wrongfully convicted. Chengshu was imprisoned for more than a year. He was found to be not guilty of any crimes, so he had to be released. However, he was not allowed to resume his work, and he only worked as a handyman in the bureau.

Above is C.S. Shen's family picture during cultural revolution, C.S Shen (right) with his wife (3rd from right) and their kids, do you notice anything different about them? Notice the differences of their clothes compared with before Mao's take over? Remember how they used to have smiles on their faces before 1949? Smiles were gone after Mao's take over.

After the Cultural Revolution, Chengshu Shen's old work was resumed, and his situation began to improve. After the country established the Standards Bureau, he was appointed deputy director and chief engineer of the Shanxi Standards Bureau. Because of his wealth of knowledge, he worked until the age of 71 before retiring. Not long before his death, he told his son that since his retirement, he had been thinking about his last days. At the same time, he was someone who was unwilling to do nothing and waste his time. He worked for fifty years before retiring and only had Sundays off every week, I am guessing due to his Catholic upbringing that Sundays must be Sabbath. After retirement, he continued to hold honorary leadership positions in the Shanxi Association for Science and Technology, Machinery and Standardization Association, and wrote papers in the fields of machinery and standardization. He also devoted all his efforts to his hobby of calligraphy and painting, he painted more than 200 pieces and hundreds of calligraphy pieces over his life time. A few days before his death, he was so weak that he couldn't sit still. He said: Now all I do is eat and sleep, can’t do anything else. Showed the kind of character he had, of a benevolent personality with endless dedication of services to others and for the greater good of his community.

Influenced by his father, C.S. Shen never focused on materialistic things, which allowed him to focus on this hobbies and missions in life. He was never greedy for wealth, nor was he ever jealous of others who were more fortunate. He spent his life dedicated to Art, Sports, and Engineering, and service to his country and his fellow citizens in the time of needs.

Today, many people are very loud about things they are doing and trying to get everyone's attention, stating that what they do can change the world, but all that's doing is getting air time and followers on Twitter. We really should look at the generations before us, and all the sacrifices and efforts they had made to hand us this world we live in today. The true warriors are the ones who would do great things quietly for their country and citizens, not those who are loud on the streets begging for attention.

The Greatest Generation was Great because they wanted to serve for a cause that's greater than their own lives.