Saint John's University, Shanghai
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St. John's University (SJU) was a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
university in
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
. Founded in 1879 by American missionaries, it was one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China, often regarded as the
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
of China. After the founding of the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, the Communist government closed the university in 1952. Most of its faculty members, students and library collections were transferred to
East China Normal University East China Normal University (ECNU) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Shanghai, China. It was formed in 1951 by the merger of the Great China University (est. 1924) and Kwang Hua University (est. 1925) and origin ...
. Its board of governors moved the university to
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, founding
Chung Chi College The Chung Chi College is one of the constituent colleges of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and one of the three original colleges that joined to form the CUHK in 1963. Founded in 1951 by representatives of Protestant churches in ...
, a part of the
Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university an ...
. Its former campus at Shanghai is now utilized by the
East China University of Political Science and Law East China University of Political Science and Law (ECUPL; ) is a public university in Shanghai, China, founded in 1952. It has two campuses, one in Songjiang University Town in Songjiang District, and the other in Changning District. History Th ...
.


History


Foundation as St. John's College

The university was founded in 1879 as "St. John's College" by William Jones Boone and
Joseph Schereschewsky Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky (pronounced skĕr-ĕs-kūs'kĭ ; 6 May 1831 – 15 October 1906), also known as Joseph Schereschewsky, was the Anglican Bishop of Shanghai, China, from 1877 to 1884. He founded St. John's University, Shanghai, ...
, Bishop of Shanghai, by combining two preexisting Anglican colleges in Shanghai. The architect for the college's original quadrangle of buildings was
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.William Halsey Wood William Halsey Wood (April 24, 1855 – March 13, 1897) was an American architect. Early life Wood was the youngest of four sons born to Daniel Halsey Wood and Hannah Lippincott Wood. Shortly after his birth in 1855, the family relocated from ...
. The first president was Yen Yun-ching (Chinese: 顏永京, 1838–98). During the early period of St. John's College, Lydia Mary Fay (1804–78), a missionary of the Protestant Episcopal China Mission (or the American Church Mission), helped to set up Duane Hall, a secondary school which later became part of St. John's College. St. John's began with 39 students and taught mainly in Chinese. In 1891, it changed to teaching with English as the main language. The courses began to focus on science and natural philosophy.


St. John's University

In 1905, St. John's College became St. John's University and became registered in Washington D.C. in the United States. It thus had the status of a domestic university and American graduates of St. John's could proceed directly to
graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...
s in the United States. As a result, the university attracted some of the brightest and wealthiest students in Shanghai at the time. It was the first institution to grant
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
s in China, starting in 1907. The university was located at 188 Jessfield Road (now Wanhangdu Lu), on a bend of the
Suzhou Creek Suzhou Creek (or Soochow Creek), also called the Wusong (Woosung) River, is a river that passes through the Shanghai city center. It is named after the neighboring city of Suzhou (Soochow), Jiangsu, the predominant settlement in this area prior ...
in Shanghai and was designed to incorporate Chinese and Western architectural elements. In 1925, some academics and students left St. John's and formed the Kwang Hua University. In 1951, Kwang Hua was incorporated into
East China Normal University East China Normal University (ECNU) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Shanghai, China. It was formed in 1951 by the merger of the Great China University (est. 1924) and Kwang Hua University (est. 1925) and origin ...
.


Chinese Civil War and disestablishment

The university survived World War II and the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
. However, in 1952 the
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
government adopted a policy of creating specialist universities in the Soviet style of the time. Under this policy, St John's was broken up. Most of its faculties were incorporated into the
East China Normal University East China Normal University (ECNU) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Shanghai, China. It was formed in 1951 by the merger of the Great China University (est. 1924) and Kwang Hua University (est. 1925) and origin ...
. The medical school was incorporated into
Shanghai Second Medical College The Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SJTUSM, ), formerly Shanghai Second Medical University, is a public medical school in Shanghai, China. Clinical medicine of SJTUSM is consistently ranked first among medical schools nationa ...
, which became the School of Medicine,
Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU; ) is a public research university in Shanghai, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university was established on April 8, 1896 as Nanyang Public School (南洋 ...
in 2005. The campus became the site of the
East China University of Politics and Law East China University of Political Science and Law (ECUPL; ) is a public university in Shanghai, China, founded in 1952. It has two campuses, one in Songjiang University Town in Songjiang District, and the other in Changning District. History T ...
. After the Cultural Revolution in mainland China, the surviving personnel of the original St. John's University Medical School administration decided to recognize the students who were mandated to transfer and subsequently graduated from Shanghai Second Medical College with honorable St. John's University Medical School degree; the diploma was signed by their well respected original president of St. John's.


Notable alumni

:''See also :St. John's University, Shanghai alumni'' * Clement Chang (1929–2018), a Taiwanese academic and politician * Chen Chi-lu (1923–2014), minister of the Council of Cultural Affairs of the Republic of China, 1981–1988 * Cheng Tien-hsi (1884–1970), author and jurist, last ambassador of the Republic of China to the United Kingdom * Irene Chou (1924–2011), artist *
Cheng Youshu Cheng Youshu (; 1924 – 5 May 2021) was a Chinese diplomat and poet. Cheng was fluent in English and Danish. Biography Cheng was born in Beijing in 1924, with her ancestral hometown in Xiangxiang, Hunan. Her father Cheng Shewo was a newspaper ...
(born 1924), diplomat and poet *
Raymond Chow Raymond Chow Man-wai, (; 8 October 1927 – 2 November 2018) was a Hong Kong film producer, and presenter. He was responsible for successfully launching martial arts and the Cinema of Hong Kong, Hong Kong cinema onto the international stage. ...
(1927–2018), filmmaker
Shelley N. Chou
(1924–2001), neurosurgeon, U.S. Navy; interim dean of Univ of Minnesota Medical School *
Chung Sze Yuen Sir Sze-yuen Chung, (; 3 November 1917 – 14 November 2018), often known as Sir S.Y. Chung, was a Hong Kong politician and businessman who served as a Senior Member of the Executive and Legislative Councils during the 1970s and 1980s in ...
(1917–2018),
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
politician *
Thomas Dao Ling Yuan "Thomas" Dao (April 27, 1921 – July 16, 2009) was a Chinese American physician and specialist in breast cancer, its causes and treatment, who was one of the earliest proponents of minimalist alternatives to radical mastectomy as a ...
(1921–2009), physician who developed
breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
treatment alternatives. * Robert Fan (1893–1979), architect * Z. Y. Fu, or Fu Zaiyuan (1919–2011), Chinese-Japanese entrepreneur and philanthropist *
Francis Hsu Francis Hsu Chen-Ping ; (20 February 192023 May 1973), was a Chinese clergyman. He was the third bishop, (the first ethnically- Chinese one), of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong. Born into a Methodist family in Shanghai, Hsu joined the ...
(1920–1973), former Catholic bishop of Hong Kong *
Rayson Huang Rayson Lisung Huang, (; 1 September 1920 − 8 April 2015), was a Hong Kong chemist, who was an expert on radicals. He was the first Chinese Vice-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong, a position in which he served from 1972 until 1986. Ea ...
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(1920–2015), chemist, vice-chancellor of University of Hong Kong * Hu Peiquan (1920–2019), engineering mechanician and aerospace engineer. *
Wellington Koo Koo Vi Kyuin (; January 29, 1888 – November 14, 1985), better known as V. K. Wellington Koo, was a statesman of the Republic of China. He was one of Republic of China's representatives at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Wellington Koo ...
(1888–1985), diplomat, former president of the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
, foreign minister, former judge and vice-president of the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
* Kwan Sung-sing (1892–1960), architect, “father of track and field in Taiwan” *
Lin Yutang Lin Yutang ( ; October 10, 1895 – March 26, 1976) was a Chinese inventor, linguist, novelist, philosopher, and translator. His informal but polished style in both Chinese and English made him one of the most influential writers of his generati ...
(1895–1976), writer * Liu Hongsheng (1888–1956), industrialist, known as the "King of Matches" * Liu Tonghua (1929–2018), pathologist, academician of the
Chinese Academy of Engineering The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE, ) is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for engineering. It was established in 1994 and is an institution of the State Council of China. The CAE and the Chinese Academy of Sciences ...
*
Liu Yichang Liu Yichang, BBS, MH (; 7 December 1918 – 8 June 2018), was a Shanghai-born and Hong Kong-based writer, editor and publisher. He is considered the founder of Hong Kong's modern literature. His best-known works are ''The Drunkard'' (1963), c ...
(1918–2018), writer *
Lu Ping Lu Ping (; 27 September 1927 – 3 May 2015) was a Chinese politician and diplomat. He served as Head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. He is best known as China's delegation head ...
(1927–2015), Chinese politician in charge of the return to China of
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
* Ma Yuehan, or John Ma (1883–1966), founder of physical education in modern China * Meng Xiancheng (1899–1967), educator, the first president of
East China Normal University East China Normal University (ECNU) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Shanghai, China. It was formed in 1951 by the merger of the Great China University (est. 1924) and Kwang Hua University (est. 1925) and origin ...
*
Ngan Shing-kwan Ngan Shing-kwan, (; 1900 or 1903 – 14 April 2001), born in Hong Kong,I. M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...
(1917–2019), architect (attended the university high school) *
Qian Liren Qian may refer to: *Guizhou, abbreviated as ''Qián'' (黔), province of China *Mace (unit), or Qian, one of the Chinese units of measurement, equal to 5g *Qian (hexagram), the first hexagram of the ''I Ching'' *Qian (surname), a Chinese surname ( ...
(born 1924), Chinese politician and diplomat *
Shi Jiuyong Shi Jiuyong (; 9 October 1926 – 18 January 2022) was a Chinese judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Shi was elected to the ICJ on 6 February 1994, and became President nine years later on 6 February 2003. In 2010, he announced h ...
(born 1926), jurist, former president of the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
*
Rong Yiren Rong Yiren (; May 1, 1916 – October 26, 2005) was the Vice President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 1998 and was heavily involved with the opening of the Chinese economy to western investment. Rong is known both in China and ...
(1916–2005), "Red Capitalist" founder of
CITIC Group CITIC Group Corporation Ltd., formerly the China International Trust Investment Corporation (CITIC), is a state-owned investment company of the People's Republic of China, established by Rong Yiren in 1979 with the approval of Deng Xiaoping ...
and vice president of the People's Republic of China * Jiang Shaoji (1919–1995), internist and gastroenterologist in China *
Jing Shuping Jing Shuping (, 7 July 1918 – September 14, 2009) was a Chinese businessman who founded the Minsheng Bank, the first privately owned bank to open in the Communist People's Republic of China, in 1996. Jing Shuping graduated from Saint John' ...
(1918–2009, graduated 1939), businessman, founder of Minsheng Bank, China's first privately owned bank *
T. V. Soong Soong Tse-vung, more commonly romanized as Soong Tse-ven or Soong Tzu-wen (; 4 December 1894 – 25 April 1971), was a prominent businessman and politician in the early 20th-century Republic of China, who served as Premier. His father was Char ...
(1894–1971), politician and businessman, premier of the Republic of China, brother of the
Soong sisters The Soong sisters () were Soong Ai-ling, Soong Ching-ling, and Soong Mei-ling, three Shanghainese people, Shanghainese (of Hakka people, Hakka descent) Christian Chinese women who were, along with their husbands, amongst China's most significant ...
* K. H. Ting (1915–2012), Anglican bishop and national leader of Protestants in the People's Republic of China *Tsai (Cai) Neng (1930–1996), psychiatrist of the Shanghai Mental Health Center and pioneer of Chinese
psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology (from Greek grc, ψῡχή, psȳkhē, breath, life, soul, label=none; grc, φάρμακον, pharmakon, drug, label=none; and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none) is the scientific study of the effects drugs have on m ...
, geriatric psychiatry, and psychosomatic medicine *
Frank Tsao Tan Sri Frank Tsao Wen-king (; 1925 – 12 August 2019) was a Chinese-born entrepreneur who established shipping and textiles businesses in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Tsao took over his family shipping business in Shanghai and ...
(1925–2019), shipping magnate, founder of IMC Group and
Malaysia International Shipping Corporation MISC Berhad () was incorporated in 1968 as Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Berhad and is the leading international shipping line of Malaysia. In September 2005, Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Berhad adopted its present c ...
* Vivian Shun-wen Wu (1913–2008), businesswoman *
Yen Chia-kan Yen Chia-kan (; 23 October 1905 – 24 December 1993), also known as C. K. Yen, was a Kuomintang politician. He succeeded Chiang Kai-shek as President of the Republic of China on 5 April 1975, being sworn in on 6 April 1975, and served out the ...
(1905–1993), politician, former vice president and
president of the Republic of China The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had aut ...
*
Chou Wen-chung Chou Wen-chung (; July 28, 1923 – October 25, 2019) was a Chinese American composer of contemporary classical music. He emigrated in 1946 to the United States and received his music training at the New England Conservatory and Columbia Univer ...
(1923–2019), Chinese American composer of classical music *
Zhou Youguang Zhou Youguang (; 13 January 1906 – 14 January 2017), also known as Chou Yu-kuang or Chou Yao-ping, was a Chinese economist, banker, linguist, sinologist, Esperantist, publisher, and supercentenarian, known as the "father of Pinyin", a system ...
(1906–2017), linguist * Wang Yongnian (1927–2012), literary translator *
Yu Hung-chun Yu Hung-chun (; 4 January 1898 – 1 June 1960), also known as O. K. Yui, was a Chinese political figure who served as mayor of Shanghai, chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government and Premier of the Republic of China. Right before the Battl ...
(1898–1960), or O. K. Yui, premier of the Republic of China *
Zhu Qizhen Emperor Yingzong of Ming (; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), personal name Zhu Qizhen (), was the sixth and eighth Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He ascended the throne as the Zhengtong Emperor () in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in ...
(1927–2014), deputy foreign minister, Chinese ambassador to the US, and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Peoples Congress of China *
Zhang Boling Chang Po-ling (; April 5, 1876 – February 23, 1951) was a Chinese educator who, with Yan Xiu, founded Nankai University and the Nankai system of schools. Biography Chang Po-ling was born in Tianjin in 1876 during the last years of the Qi ...
(1876–1951), founder of
Nankai University Nankai University (NKU or Nankai; ) is a national public research university located in Tianjin, China. It is a prestigious Chinese state Class A Double First Class University approved by the central government of China, and a member of the fo ...
and the Nankai system of schools *
Zhang Changshou Zhang Changshou (; 6 May 1929 – 30 January 2020) was a Chinese archaeologist who served as vice director of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). He was a corresponding member of the German Archaeological In ...
(1929–2020), archaeologist * Chen Zhongyi (1923–2019), engineer, academic, and politician *
Alpha Chiang Alpha Chung-i Chiang (born 1927) is an American mathematical economist, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Connecticut, and author of perhaps the most well known mathematical economics textbook; ''Fundamental Methods of Mathemat ...
(born 1927), mathematical economist *
Pauline Woo Tsui Pauline Woo Tsui (October 2, 1920 – November 27, 2018) was a Chinese American anti-discrimination activist. As a co-founder of the Organization of Chinese American Women, she is considered a pioneer of Chinese women's rights in the United States ...
(1920–2018), Chinese American women's rights activist


Administration

* Francis Lister Hawks Pott, president of St. John's College 1888 to 1896, president of St. John's University from 1896 to 1941 *William Z.L. (SiLiang) Sung was the vice president of St. John's University under Francis Lister Hawks Pott and later the first Chinese-born acting president during WWII. He was accused of collaboration with the Japanese after the war, imprisoned, and later acquitted. He was helped lead the first two delegations from China to the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. He emigrated to the US and became a priest in the Episcopal church, working as a chaplin with the Diocese of California. Also an undergraduate alumni. * William Payne Roberts, instructor and acting president in the absence of Pott (needs verification) *David Z.T. Yin, rector of the university, was a distinguished Chinese scholar who had represented the YMCA in Shanghai at the turn of the century.


Institutions with names that commemorate SJU

To keep the school's traditions alive, SJU
alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
(called Johanneans) have founded three academic institutions bearing the same name: * in Tamsui District, Taiwan, St. John's University was established in 1967; * In
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, St. John's College at the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
was established in 1997, and; * In
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, St. John's College at the
East China Normal University East China Normal University (ECNU) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Shanghai, China. It was formed in 1951 by the merger of the Great China University (est. 1924) and Kwang Hua University (est. 1925) and origin ...
will open its door in 2016.Newsletter, SJUAA
/ref>


See also

*
St. John's University (Taiwan) St. John's University (SJU; ) is a higher education institution in Tamsui District, New Taipei, Taiwan. It is the successor institution of the former St. John's University, Shanghai and St. Mary's Hall, Shanghai. Two well-known educational in ...
* St. Mary's Hall, Shanghai


References


Citations


Further reading

* ''Seeds From The West : St John's Medical School, Shanghai, 1880–1952''. Chen, Kaiyi; Imprint Publications, Chicago, 2001.


External links


St John's University Alumni Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John's University Shanghai Educational institutions established in 1879 1952 disestablishments in China Defunct universities and colleges in Shanghai Anglican universities and colleges Christian colleges in China 1879 establishments in China