Late teacher dubbed 'Shanghai grandma' remembered on Teachers' Day
Students read poems in memory of Shen Cuiying.
A retired teacher who was affectionately called "Shanghai grandma" has been remembered by people in both Shanghai and Dujiangyan, southwest China's Sichuan Province, for her heartfelt commitment to philanthropy and great love.
Shen Cuiying died in Shanghai last October at the age of 76.
Shen had been a teacher at the Shanghai Fourth School for the Deaf, but was more well-known for he philanthropy.
To support earthquake relief following the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, Shen sold a property in Shanghai, raising 4.5 million yuan (US$632,715) to build a new school in Dujiangyan City. From then, she was affectionately called "Shanghai Grandma," becoming a symbol of public welfare and charity.
Over 15 years, Shen continued to help the poor and support education in Dujiangyan, engaging in public welfare and helping local farmers sell their kiwifruit, and practising her philanthropic philosophy of helping the local area to achieve rural revitalization.
The simple, yet fascinating life of Shen is remembered at the event.
The good deeds and small lights of ordinary people can become torches.
On Tuesday which marked Teachers' Day, a memorial monument to Shen was unveiled at the Shanghai Fushouyuan Cemetery. Representatives from the Shanghai Charity Foundation, civil affairs bureaus in Shanghai and Dujiangyan, and students and teachers from universities commemorated her life.
The monument is shaped like framework, implying the rebuilding of a home after a disaster. A hand shape was chosen for Shen's vocation as a teacher at a school for the deaf, symbolizing her care and protection of the children of Dujiangyan.
A kiwifruit tree next to the monument shows that the love nurtured by the "Shanghai grandma" bore fruit.
Shen's charitable spirit has been passed on, with her grandson, Zhu Jifan, succeeding her to head the Shen Cuiyin Special Fund. Zhu introduced the second phase of the "Pujiang · Minjiang Love" project during the event, which links educational resources, strengthens cultural exchanges, and conducts two-way public welfare visits between teachers and students from Shanghai and Dujiangyan.
A boy reads a poem in memory of Shen.
Between September 7 and 9, the first batch of four families and teacher representatives from Dujiangyan completed a three-day stay in Shanghai, visiting landmarks and cultural buildings and experiencing a "one-day class" at the Shanghai Experimental Primary School. Subsequent activities will also take Shanghai children to Sichuan on cultural exchanges, where they can experience the unique "giant panda" culture.
Shen once said: "As long as everyone does good deeds and passes on the power of love, the whole of society will become better."
The term "Shanghai grandma" is praise from her society for Shen, and shows the great power in the charitable giving of ordinary people.
During the ceremony, an AI digital person of "Grandma Shen" appeared on the big screen, greeting everyone with a familiar tone, instantly touching hearts.
As an important part of Shen's spiritual legacy, her beloved piano, everyday clothes, glasses, and the carefully compiled news briefing collection gathered over her 15-year journey of charity, were donated by her family to the Shanghai Humanism Memorial Museum inside the cemetery.
Woman lay flowers before the monument.
