Shen Shouqian

Shen Shouqian, a native of Xiaoshan County, Zhejiang Province, was born in Changxiang Village, Zhaodong, Xiaoshan. In childhood his family was poor; his father Shen Xiting earned a living by manual labor. Shouqian was bright and diligent in study, educated by his uncles. In the Tongzhi years he entered official service after ranking 39th in the Zhong’en exam, and subsequently held a post in the capital as an official in the Ministry of Public Works.

From 1884 (the 10th year of Guangxu) he served as the magistrate of Taiwan Prefecture’s Taiwan County, governing present-day Chiayi County, Chiayi City, Tainan County, Tainan City, and parts of Kaohsiung County; the area covered about 4,500 square kilometers and was a Han Chinese settlement area during Qing rule. After Taiwan was elevated to a province in 1888, the Taiwan County name remained, and its territory was differentiated into the present-day Taichung City and Taichung County areas. He later served successively as magistrate of Dehua and Shunchang in Fujian, and as prefect of Yongchun. In 1890 (the 16th year of Guangxu) he retired and returned home; the court granted him the rank of Guanglu Dafu, a first-rank official.

Returning home, Shen Shouqian built the “Guanglu Di” residence in Xiaoshan, expanded his landholdings, established a qianzhuang (money house) and a drugstore, and kept maidservants, becoming an important wealthier class in the local area. He conducted himself in a manner that gave him influence locally, and even after retirement he remained concerned about current affairs and national issues.

In 1905 (the 31st year of Guangxu), Zhejiang faced a movement resisting British intruders and their bid to take control of the Su-Hang-Ning railway construction rights; Tang Shouqian was tasked by the Premier with organizing the Zhejiang Railway Company. Shen Shouqian once gathered fellow townsmen at杭州萧绍会馆 (Hangzhou Xiaoshao Association) and led the Shaoxing-Shaoshan gentry to subscribe more than 200,000 yuan, about one-fifth of the total shares; his son Shen Dingyi participated as a shareholder representative in the railway company’s work. After the Road-Protection Movement failed, Shen Dingyi was recommended by the Zhejiang Road-Protection Association to go to Beijing to negotiate, and Shen Shouqian also financed his son’s participation in revolutionary activities and supported actions against Yuan Shikai’s restoration.

Shen Shouqian died in the fifth year of the Republic of China (1916). His tomb site is located at the Yangwu River mouth, on the sunny side of Luo Si Peak of Hangwu Mountain. The epitaph on the tomb reads “Tomb of the Great Father.” During the Cultural Revolution the tomb was destroyed; the site remains at Tongfu Village, Yaqian Town. Records of Shen Dingyi and other descendants and related deeds are also connected with his family’s activities.