Yan Fuqing

Yan Fuqing (; 1882–1970), also known as Fu Ching (F.C.) Yen, was a Chinese medical practitioner, public health pioneer, civil servant, and educator.

Born in Shanghai in 1882, Yen came from a renowned family with a history of serving the Chinese government and society. Notable relatives include cousin Chinese Premier Yan Huiqing, in-law Liu Hongsheng, and the Soong sisters.

A graduate of St. John's College and Yale Medical School, Yen later returned to China and pioneered several public health initiatives, including the establishment of a local Red Cross, overseeing the Hunan-Yale Agreement, the foundation of the National Medical Association of China as well as the National Shanghai Medical College, now the Medical College at Fudan University.

Yen actively treated patients during the Japanese occupation of China in World War II, and subsequently during the Cultural Revolution. Due to his historical, social status, practice of Christianity, and Western ties, he was barred from joining the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). By 1966, his home, property, and social standing had been destroyed for political reasons. Yen died under house arrest in 1970. After his death, he has been celebrated as a patriot and hero by the Chinese government.

Early life and education The second of five children, Yen Fuqing was born in July 1882. His father, Yen Rusong, was a pastor Both his father and his uncle, Yen Yongjing, had volunteered to fight for the Union North in the American Civil War while attending college at Kenyon in Ohio.

During his childhood, Yen Fuqing's father died, leaving his uncle, Yen Yongjing, to take care of him at the age of seven. After graduating from St. John's University's School of Medicine in 1903, Yen briefly went to work at St. Luke's Hospital before traveling to South Africa to treat Chinese miners working in the then-British colony. Between the years of 1904-1910, over 60,000 Chinese contracted miners were sent to work in the mines.

In recruiting a labor force, the Chinese government contacted Chinese doctors to accompany the miners. Yen was recruited for meeting the unusual requirements of both the English language and Western medical education. He enrolled after passing an examination by a medical panel in Tianjin.

Upon arrival in South Africa, Yen was appalled by the dangerous and unsanitary conditions to which the laborers were subjected. He found his own clinical skills to be inadequate, and after practicing in South Africa for one year, Yen went on to the United States to further his medical studies. The anti-imperialist, anti-western, and nationalist student-driven movements and the Northern Expedition led by the Kuomintang had a strong impact on the environment in which foreign-educated professionals like Yen could operate. This affected Yen's relationships with foreign colleagues and friends and ultimately the stability of his practices. During this time, Yen was appointed Chairman of a medical response coalition to treat wounded soldiers.

During their assault on the city, the Japanese attacked civilians and medical personnel alike. On August 23, Japanese soldiers attacked one of several medical auxiliary groups and shot five doctors and nurses on their knees at point blank range. and by 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the foundation of the People's Republic of China. Against this backdrop of political uncertainty and change, Yen decided to remain in Shanghai, China, continuing his work at Shanghai Medical College and serving as a consultant to the CCP. Eighty-nine years later, Dr. Yen's great-granddaughter would go on to graduate from Smith College. Ninety-three years after Hilda's admission to Smith College, another great-granddaughter would also graduate from Smith College. Dr. Yen's great-grandson Ronald Chen, Hilda Yen's grandson through her first marriage to P.T. Chen, is dean of Rutgers Law School.