Cheng Shewo (; 28 August 1898 - 1 January 1991) was a journalist, publisher, and educator 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 northea ...

. He was the founder of

Shih Hsin University Shih Hsin University (SHU; ) is a private university known for its mass communication departments in Taiwan, founded in Muzha, Taipei in 1956. SHU ranked 22nd overall among top 30 liberal arts Universities in Taiwan in 2020 and secured the top ...

Taiwan 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 northe ...

Biography

Cheng was born in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

in 1898, with his

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

Xiangxiang Xiangxiang () is a county-level city under the administration of Xiangtan, Hunan province, China. Located on Central Hunan and the west of Xiangtan, Xiangxiang is bordered by Ningxiang County and Shaoshan City to the north, Xiangtan County to the ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...

. His father, Cheng Bi (), was an officer. In 1912, Cheng went out into the world when he was 14 years old. At age 17, Cheng worked as an editor in ''Jianbao'' (). In 1913, Cheng started to publish articles. In 1915, Cheng went to

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 flowin ...

to found the Maiwen Company (). In 1917, Cheng moved to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, he graduated from

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...

in 1921, where he majored in Chinese Literature. After graduation, Cheng founded ''World Evening News'' (), ''World Daily'' (), and ''World Illustrated'' (). In 1927, Cheng returned to Nanjing to found '' Min Sheng Bao'' (). From 1930 to 1931, Cheng visited

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, Switzerland,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In this trip Cheng observed modern European societies and cultures for the first time. In 1933, Cheng founded Beijing News College (). In 1935, Cheng founded ''Lihpao Daily'' (). Cheng was elected a member of the in 1946 and to the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel ...

, representing Beijing, in 1948. When the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

occupied Beijing, Cheng escaped 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 Delta i ...

. Cheng settled in

in 1952. In the late 1950s, Cheng Shewo and

Yeh Ming-hsun Yeh Ming-hsun (25September 191321November 2009), was a Chinese journalist and newspaper editor. A native of Fujian Province on the Chinese mainland, he became president of ''Chunghwa Daily'', a newspaper belonging to the ruling Kuomintang, in 195 ...

co-founded the Shih Hsin School of Journalism (now

) in Taiwan. In 1991, Cheng died of illness in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Personal life

Cheng was married three times. He had two children (two daughters) with Yang Fan, three children with Xiao Zongrang () and no children with Han Jingliang (). With Yang Fan: *

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 newspape ...

() (born 1924), a Chinese diplomat and poet. *

Cheng Zhifan Cheng Zhifan (; born 1928) is a Chinese diaspora in France, Chinese-French musician, painter, collector, and political activist. She has run for the President of France three times. She has held a number of personal exhibitions in Paris. Her work ...

() (born 1928), a

Chinese-French The Chinese diaspora in France consists of people of Chinese ancestry who were born in or immigrated to France. The ethnic Chinese population in France is estimated to be about 600,000-700,000, making it the largest overseas Chinese community in ...

musician With Xiao Zongrang: *

Cheng Siwei Cheng Siwei (June 1935 – 12 July 2015) was a Chinese economist, chemical engineer and politician. He was the Chairman of China Soft Science Research Association; President of the Chinese Society for Management Modernization; Director of the ...

() (1935–2015), a Chinese politician * (), (born 1937), a Taiwanese educator * Lucie Cheng (), (1939–2010) a professor in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Shewo 1898 births People from Xiangxiang Writers from Nanjing National University of Peking alumni 1991 deaths Educators from Nanjing Chinese newspaper editors Academic staff of Shih Hsin University Taiwanese people from Jiangsu Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Republic of China politicians from Beijing School founders Founders of universities Chinese Civil War refugees 20th-century newspaper founders 20th-century Taiwanese educators