Chung-Chang Shen

Chung-Chang Shen[lower-alpha 1] (13 July 1905 – 19 March 1987) was a Chinese linguist, folklorist, ethnomusicologist, and antiquarian best known for rescuing the Juyan Han wooden slips during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Shen.
The native form of this personal name is Shen Chung-Chang. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Chung-Chang Shen
沈仲章
Born(1905-07-13)13 July 1905
Suzhou, Qing Empire
Died19 March 1987(1987-03-19) (aged 81)
Shanghai, People's Republic of China
NationalityChinese
Other namesC.C. Shen, Shen Chung-Chang, Shěn Zhòngzhāng
EducationSouthwest Jiaotong University, Peking University
Occupation(s)Linguist
Folklorist
Ethnomusicologist
Known forRescuing the Juyan Han wooden slips

Early life

Chung-Chang Shen was born in Suzhou with ancestral roots in Wuxing, Zhejiang, China. He studied at the Tangshan Jiaotong University (now Southwest Jiaotong University) and at Peking University, where he received a Bachelor's degree in philosophy. He fostered connections with scholars in many different academic fields. Among them were foreign scholars including Alexander von Staël-Holstein, Richard Wilhelm, Vincenz Hundhausen, and Sven Hedin, as well as Chinese scholars such as Chen Yinke, Hu Shih, Liu Tianhua, Liu Bannong, Jin Kemu, Fu Ssu-nien, Yuen Ren Chao, and Xu Zhimo.[1][2]

Juyan Han wooden slips

From 1933 to 1937, Chung-Chang Shen served as an assistant researcher at the Institute of Liberal Arts of Peking University and as the administrative officer for the Council of the Sino-Swedish Expedition.[1][3] In 1937, after the Second Sino-Japanese War began, Chung-Chang Shen rescued 10,200 wooden slips dating from the Han dynasty, initially excavated in the Juyan Lake Basin during the Sino-Swedish Expedition.[4][5][6] In order to protect them from potential damage by Japanese troops, he transported the Juyan Han wooden slips from Beijing to Tianjin and then to the University of Hong Kong. He stayed in Hong Kong afterwards for four years and photographed the wood slips utilizing infrared technology.[7][8][9][10][11]

Later life

In 1938, the National Southwestern Associated University appointed Chung-Chang Shen assistant to the Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and kept the position open for him until 1945 while he was doing underground work for the Wartime Cultural Relics Preservation Committee and the Rare Book Preservation Society.[12] In 1945, he was offered the position of director of the Inventory and Recovery Committee of Cultural Relics and Books of the Republic of China's Canton-Hong Kong District, but he instead served as a special committee member of the Inventory and Recovery Committee of Cultural Relics and Books of the Nanking-Shanghai District from 1945 to 1947.[1][2] From 1946 to 1948, he was also a member of the Taiwan Provincial Mandarin Promotion Committee headed by Wei Jiangong and He Rong.[13][14]

From 1950 until the end of his life, Chung-Chang Shen was a member of the Chinese Musicians' Association. From 1953 onward, he was a researcher at the National Music Research Institute of the Central Conservatory of Music. In 1980, he also became a special researcher at the Music Research Institute of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Starting in 1982, he served as an editor for the Shanghai Cultural Relics Management Committee.[1][2]

Notes
  1. Chinese: 沈仲章; pinyin: Shěn Zhòngzhāng; Wade–Giles: Shen3 Chung4-chang1, also known as C.C. Shen as he usually signed documents in Western languages.

References
  1. Shen, Yaming (2022). Stars Scattering Above: C.C. Shen and His Friends (Zhong xing he li li shen zhong zhang he ta de peng you men) 《眾星何歷歷：沈仲章和他的朋友們》 (in Chinese). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. ISBN 9787101158342.
  2. Lin Youren, Liu Lixin (1987). "A Brief History of Shen Zhongzhang's Life 沈仲章生平纪略". Music Art《音乐艺术》 (in Chinese). 2 (2): 58–62 – via CNKI.
  3. Shen, Yaming (2017). "Segments from C.C. Shen's Recollections about Sven Hedin: Lending Archaeological Collections to Sweden" (PDF). Disquisitions on the Past & Present (in Chinese) (30): 109–130 – via Institute of History & Philology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
  4. ChinaKnowledge.de - An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature and Art. "Juyan Hanjian 居延漢簡, the Han-Period Texts of Juyan".
  5. Hedin, Sven Anders. "History of the Expedition in Asia, 1927-1935 Reports from the Scientific Expedition to the North-Western Provinces of China under the Leadership of Dr. Sven Hedin : The Sino-Swedish Expedition".
  6. Shen, Yaming (2022). "The 'Arks' that C.C. Shen Used to Rescue Juyan Han Wooden Slips: From Peking to Tientsin" (PDF). Disquisitions on the Past & Present (in Chinese) (39): 189–212 – via Institute of History & Philology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
  7. China Central Television (CCTV), 2022. "They Live Forever, Season 2, Episode 4" (in Chinese).
  8. Peking University, School of Archeology and Museology. "Chronicle Memorabilia 1937" (in Chinese). “After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, C.C. Shen of the Liberal Arts Research transported the Juyan Han Wooden Slips that belonged to the Northwest Scientific Expedition Group to the University of Hong Kong.”
  9. Zhang Defang, Sun Jiazhou (2012). Juyan Dunhuang Han Bamboo Slips Field Investigation Essay Collection 《居延敦煌汉简出土遗址实地考察论文集》 (in Chinese). Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House. pp. 1–8. ISBN 9787532565450.
  10. Deng, Guangming (1996-11-01). "In Remembrance of My Beloved Teacher Fu Ssu-nien (懷念我的恩師傅斯年先生)". Journal of National Taiwan University History 《臺大歷史學報》 (in Chinese) (20): 1–18 – via Airiti Library.
  11. Lao, Kan (1948). "Introduction to the Work of "Chu-yan Han Chein," the Wooden Documents discovered at the Valley of the Etsin-gol" (PDF). Bulletin of IHP (10): 647–658 – via Institute of History and Philology, Sinica, Taiwan.
  12. 清华大学校史研究室, Tsinghua University History Research Office (1994). 《西南联合大学与清华大学（1937-1946）》，《清华大学史料选编》第三卷（下） (in Chinese). Beijing: Tsinghua University Press. p. 289. ISBN 9787302013754.
  13. Sugano, Atsushi 菅野敦志 (2012). Spoken and Written Language in Taiwan 《台湾の言語と文字》 (in Japanese). Tokyo: Keiso Shobo 勁草書房. pp. 23–24. ISBN 9784326302062.
  14. Liu Baojun, 刘宝俊 (2020). Commentary on Yan Xuequn 《严学宭评传》 (in Chinese). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company 中华书局. ISBN 9787101148435.
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