Former Site of the Private Shangren Junior Commercial Vocational School

Former Site of the Private Shangren Junior Commercial Vocational School

The former site of the Private Shangren Junior Commercial Vocational School is a protected cultural heritage site of Jiangsu Province.

The former site of the Private Shangren Junior Commercial Vocational School consists of a group of buildings made up of six single-story houses and one two-story building, generally divided into eastern and western sections scattered across the campus. The three school buildings on the east side include, at the southernmost end, a two-story building with ten bays, facing south and built with a brick-and-wood structure. It features a southern veranda, a hip-and-gable roof, and an open space in front that serves as a small garden, likely serving as offices for faculty and staff. About 50 meters to the north is a six-bay single-story house, also facing south with a hip-and-gable roof and a veranda, functioning as a classroom. This creates a relatively large open area between it and the first building. To the east, there is another row of more than ten single-story houses facing west. The three buildings on the west side are all single-story houses with hip-and-gable roofs. The northernmost of these faces south and is nine bays wide. The next two buildings to the south share the same design, each with six bays, positioned to face east-west and west-east respectively, standing opposite each other. These three buildings are arranged in a triangular pattern, forming their own enclosed courtyard.

The former site of the Private Shangren Junior Commercial Vocational School features relatively traditional Chinese brick-and-wood architecture while incorporating advantages of Western design. It uses large-span king post trusses to maximize classroom depth and floor space, meeting teaching needs. Another feature of the architecture is the presence of large double windows on the sun-facing side to enhance indoor lighting, with window lintels designed to bear the load resulting from the wide span of the windows.

Although some of the school buildings have been renovated, the remaining six structures still represent the main body of the former school. They are of considerable size and are well preserved. The Private Shangren Junior Commercial Vocational School was one of the earliest vocational schools in China’s rural areas and holds significant importance in the development of vocational education in Jiangyin, making it of high historical value. Moreover, Wang Shaozeng, a renowned modern Chinese paleographer from Huangtang, Jiangyin, once served as the school’s principal, making this site also a memorial to a notable figure.

On December 19, 2011, the People's Government of Jiangsu Province designated it as part of the seventh batch of provincial-level cultural heritage protection units.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units