George Clement Shen, renaissance man of Chinese culture, dies in San Francisco at 90
- Shen was one of the last literati in an old Chinese tradition, enjoying a glittering career as author, newspaper man, broadcaster and economist
With the passing of George Clement Shen, one of the last literati in the grand old Chinese tradition has been lost.
Shen – newspaper editor, economist, author, film producer, broadcaster, music critic, actor – died peacefully in a San Francisco hospital on March 20 after fighting lung cancer for years. He was 90 and is survived by his wife Jane, a son and a daughter, and grandchildren.
“He was cured and relapsed a few times, but he and Jane had a great attitude towards life. Once he got over the relapse, they would call and arrange dinner gatherings,” said family friend and cultural scholar Sonia Ng, calling Shen “a legendary man of letters for the ages”.
Born in Shanghai in 1929, Shen was the only child in an intellectual family who learned Peking Opera from his father, a University of Chicago alumnus, and piano and calligraphy through his mother, a guqin grandmaster.
As the war with Japan escalated, the family left for Hong Kong in 1938 but were forced to move back to Shanghai after the city fell in 1941. When they arrived in Hong Kong for a second time in 1949, Shen was among the last graduates of the now-defunct St John University.
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As a new mainland immigrant in Hong Kong, Shen got himself a job as a producer at the radio station Rediffusion, and studied piano and cello after work. He also started writing reviews of films and concerts he attended, and so impressed the impresario Harry Odell that he got free tickets for shows by writing the house programme in both Chinese and English.
“His reviews in the Chinese media played an important role in arts education among the Chinese community, which was virtually zero at the time,” said Darwin Chen, a senior manager of the City Hall at its opening in 1962.
“He took his reviews very seriously in music, ballet, and film, and many people followed his articles, including myself,” he added.
Chen recalled the 1967 riots had a big impact on Shen, who decided to relocate to Japan in 1968 as an economist and a founding member of the new Hong Kong Productivity Council.
“During his tenure there, he continued to help the HKPC service Hong Kong businesses, laying down a firm foundation for the long-term development of the HKPC while contributing to the growth of Hong Kong industry. The HKPC pays its utmost respect to Dr Shen,” the council said in a press release on Friday.
Shen returned to Hong Kong in 1986, becoming chief editor of the Hong Kong Economic Journal, where he remained for the next 10 years. Personalities he interviewed included Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman and Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. He also volunteered his service at the Central Policy Unit and the Hong Kong Arts Festival, to name but two organisations.
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Shen’s contribution to Hong Kong continued after his retirement in San Francisco in 1996. He was an examiner for the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, and held public talks on music and arts. His six lectures on Peking Opera at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in 2010 attracted so much interest that the series was published in book form.
“He didn’t just talk, but demonstrated with exquisite moves, even singing in different Peking operatic styles to make his point. All this could only come from someone with cultivated taste, steeped in cultural tradition,” said Anne Lee, publisher of Shen’s last three books, including his autobiography.
“His life was one of a true gentleman, which is a rarity these days. May he rest in peace,” she added.
