Chen Hsueh-ping

Chen Hsueh-ping (November 1, 1901 – April 12, 1999) was a Chinese educator, psychologist, and politician in the Republic of China. He was a member of the Tsotanhui Clique within the Kuomintang.

Chen was born into a banking family; his father, Chen Shuliu, served as the head of the Bank of Communications in Liaoning under Zhang Zuolin's rule in Northeast China.^[1]

After earning his master's degree in psychology from Columbia University, Chen returned to China and taught at Northeastern University, Beijing Normal University, and Peking University. Following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, he joined the National Southwestern Associated University. His efforts to defuse student protests drew the attention of Kang Tse, a close associate of Chiang Kai-shek, which led to his appointment as Minister of Youth in the Three Principles of the People Youth Corps.^[1][2]

Following the war, Chen returned to Peking University. During the 1946 Shen Chong case, which involved the rape of a female student by U.S. military personnel, Chen not only questioned whether Shen was enrolled at the university but also publicly criticized her for walking alone at night. These remarks, combined with the later revelation that Shen Chong was both a student and a relative of Chen, sparked nationwide anti-American student demonstrations and widespread public outrage.^[3]

During the Chinese Civil War, Chen worked alongside Zhu Jiahua, Fu Sinian, Hang Liwu, and Chiang Ching-kuo to lead efforts to relocate academics from mainland China to Taiwan—a campaign to as the “rescue of intellectuals.”^[4]

From 1950 to 1952, Chen served as Director of the First Department under the KMT's Party Reform Program, where he was responsible for overseeing and guiding local party branches across Taiwan.^[5] In 1953, he joined the Department of Psychology at National Taiwan University as a professor and helped lay the groundwork for the university’s graduate research programs.^[2]

By the 1960s, Chen's political fortunes began to decline. He grew increasingly distrusted by Chiang Kai-shek due to his close ties with liberal intellectuals such as Hu Shih and Wang Shijie. Chiang reportedly described Chen in his diary as “surrounded by reactionaries” and accused him of “leveraging Hu Shih to constrain the party.” Although Chiang claimed to exercise restraint, Chen was effectively sidelined from political life and shifted his focus mainly to psychology and academia.^[6] His remaining influence in government circles dissipated entirely following the death of his key political patron, Chen Cheng, in 1965.^[7]

Chen died in 1999 at the age of 97.

The Taiwanese writer Huang Chun-ming once mentioned in an interview that when he was studying at the National Taipei University of Education, Professor Chen Hsueh-ping once came to give a speech. Huang recalled:

What is the essence of education at a teachers’ college? It’s love! And what is the essence of love in education? It’s patience! If a student doesn’t understand something after being taught once, then teach it again. If the student still doesn’t get it, of course you have to teach it once more—but this time, you must first reflect and ask yourself: ‘If I’ve taught it twice and the student still doesn’t understand, what’s wrong with my method?’ So, the third time, you must improve and try a different approach. Keep revising your teaching until the student truly understands—just imagine how much patience that takes!

Huang said he remembered Chen because of this speech. Later, after Huang was expelled from school for assaulting a campus security guard, he managed to rush into Chen’s office to pour out his troubles. Chen not only listened but also recognized Huang’s sincerity and gave him a letter of recommendation, which allowed him to transfer to the Tainan Normal School.^[8]