Editor’s note:
Rome wasn’t built in one day. Neither does Shanghai. Once called ‘the Paris of the East’, the city has become an amalgamation of multiculturalism. Over time, Shanghai has amassed a collection of stories about the people and events that shaped its history. Five parts of the city take pride of place in that journey: People’s Square, Jing’an Temple, Xujiahui, Lujiazui and Xintiandi This series, a collaboration with Shanghai Local Chronicles Library, visits them all to follow in the footsteps of time .
Completed the year of his death, Yingchuan Xiaozhu immediately stood out, with its elegant blend of Chinese and Western architecture. The house has been carefully designed, with high brick walls and refined wooden beams. The rooms were symmetrically arranged around open courtyards that created an oasis of tranquility.
From the engraved scenes from the Chinese classic novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” on the beams to the twelve carved floral panels that symbolized each month of the year, Yingchuan Xiaozhu was an artistic statement that reflected Chen’s cultural pride and refined taste.
He named the mansion after his ancestral home in the Yingchuan area of central China’s Henan province, linking his legacy to a sense of heritage and family roots.
Chen’s path to becoming one of Shanghai’s most respected philanthropists was neither simple nor easy. Born into a poor family, he faced hardships at an early age. He was orphaned at a young age and raised by his brother. He worked as a longshoreman before eventually entering the then bustling shipping industry.
Through courage and determination, he built a thriving shipping company that became a crucial figure in the trade along the Huangpu River.
Yet personal success as a merchant was not an end point for him. With every step of his journey, he remained deeply connected to the struggles of ordinary people, developing a deep understanding of the city’s growing need for healthcare and social infrastructure.
Perhaps his most lasting contribution was the establishment of Pudong’s first hospital, which is now the Shanghai East Hospital, to address the area’s critical lack of healthcare facilities. During that period, many Pudong residents suffered from preventable diseases such as cholera and typhoid. Shocked by their lack of health care, Chen led a campaign to build a modern hospital.
His friend, the famous artist, poet and calligrapher Wu Changshuo (1844-1927), joined this cause and created works of art to raise money for the medical facility.
Chen was the hospital’s first director, overseeing operations and ensuring that the hospital remained accessible to ordinary people.
His beloved home of Yingchuan Xiaozhu was torn from its peaceful origins during the dark times of the Japanese invasion of Shanghai in the late 1930s. During the Japanese occupation it was converted into a military outpost and prison, where resistance fighters were tortured and executed.
After World War II, with the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War, the mansion again became a place of persecution under the Kuomintang government. The communist martyr Li Bai (1910-49) was once held there.
Today, Yingchuan Xiaozhu symbolizes the sacrifices of the patriots who fought for the liberation of Shanghai and the independence of China. It is preserved as a protected heritage site and houses the Wu Changshuo Memorial Hall.
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