Shen Junru ( zh , c = 沈钧儒 , p = Shěn Jūnrú , w = Shen Chünju ; January 2, 1875 – June 11, 1963) was a Chinese lawyer and politician who was the president of the

Supreme People's Court The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (SPC) is the highest court of the People's Republic of China. It hears appeals of cases from the high people's courts and is the trial court for cases about matters of national ...

of the

Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

. He was also the chairman of the

China Democratic League The China Democratic League (CDL) is one of the eight minor democratic parties in the People's Republic of China under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party. The CDL was originally founded in 1941 as a pro-democracy umbrella coalition g ...

Biography

Shen was born in

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

, with family ancestry in Jiaxing City. He received the Jinshi or "presented scholar" degree, the highest under the

imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

system. Shen completed a preparation course () at Hosei University, in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 1905. Shen Junru and other six intellectuals in Shanghai were arrested in 1936 by Chiang Kai-shek's government, which is known as the Seven Gentlemen Incident. This incident caused a national crisis and the seven individuals were released only after Japan launched an invasion in the summer of 1937.Patrick Fuliang Shan, “Demythologizing Politicized Myths: A New Interpretation of the Seven Gentlemen Incident,” ''Frontiers of History in China'', (Vol. 8, No. 1, 2013), 51-77. Shen attended the first

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

(CPPCC) in 1949 and was appointed to be the first

president of the Supreme People's Court The president of the Supreme People's Court is the head of the Supreme People's Court and is the highest-ranking official in the Chinese judiciary. Under the current constitution, the president of the SPC is appointed by and serves at the pleasu ...

from 1949 to 1954. Shen had also served as a member of the committee of the Central People's Government, and was vice-chairman of the CPPCC National Committee from 1949 to 1963. Additionally, Shen was vice-chairman of the

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in s ...

from 1954 to 1963, and chairman of the

from 1956 to 1963. He was also vice-chairman of the Chinese Political and Law Studies Association ().

Death

Shen died during his sleep in early morning on June 11, 1963, from a long illness at the age of 88 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shen, Junru 1875 births 1963 deaths 20th-century Chinese lawyers 20th-century Chinese judges Chairpersons of the China Democratic League People's Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu Politicians from Suzhou Presidents of the Supreme People's Court Vice chairpersons of the National People's Congress Vice chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference