Chen Zhanxiang (1916-2001), also known as Charles Chen was an architect and planner. He began his studies at Liverpool School of Architecture in 1938 for his BA and gained the Masters in Civic Design in 1944. During his time in Liverpool, he was the first foreign student to chair the Student Union. Built on this experience, Chen also contributed to the Chinese community in Liverpool, once the largest in Europe. His Master's dissertation, completed under the supervision of Lord William Graham Holford, was a proposal to regenerate Liverpool’s China Town. He established the Chinese Seamen Union in Liverpool and organised a series of events for the members. Through Holford, Chen met the pre-eminent architectural historian Sir Nicholas Pevsner and published several papers on the traditions and practices of Chinese architecture.[1] After Liverpool, Chen followed Sir Patrick Abercrombie (1879-1957, staff and later Professor of Civic Design at Liverpool, 1907-1935) to pursue a PhD at University College London. According to Chen’s daughter Chen Yuqing, Chen met historian of science Joseph Needham (1900-1995) in Cambridge and was encouraged to research Chinese architecture. Chen Zhanxiang did not complete his PhD since he was invited by architect and historian Liang Sicheng (1901-1972) to return to China and contribute to the planning of Beijing. They completed a proposal for a new administrative zone for the central government on the Western edge of Beijing and championed the protection of the historic core and architectural heritage of the ancient capital. The proposal is highly influential in the existing historiography of Chinese architecture and town planning, and is often referred to as the Liang-Chen Proposal. In 1957, Chen was dismissed from his duty until 1963 due to political conflicts and was fully reinstated as a town planner in 1979. Chen was often seen in photographs wearing a black coat, it belonged to Holford and was given to Chen as a parting gift. Chen died in Beijing on 12 March 2001.
A sketch of the general deployment of each unit in the administrative area from the Liang-Chen Proposal, 1950
Source: National Library of China
By Courtesy of Professor Li Hao, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture
[1] C.Z. Chen "Some Ancient Chinese Concepts of Town and Country" Town Planning Review 19, no.34 (1947): 160-163.