Old Chen

Biodata

Background / History

Earlier Life and Lost Fiancée

Old Chen has worked as a West District patrolman for twenty years. His earlier service included work in the French Concession, where he fell in love with a woman employed at a silk shop. They intended to marry after saving enough money, and she made shoes for him to wear at their wedding 8.

During the January 28 Incident, Japanese bombing destroyed the silk shop and flattened the surrounding street. Her body was never recovered. Old Chen kept the unworn wedding shoes at the bottom of his cabinet and remained alone until Shen Yan entered his life 8.

His career brought him into contact with neighborhood residents, gangsters, Japanese personnel, and Green Gang elders. He says he chose a steady livelihood rather than pursuing greater influence in the underworld 6 8.

Taking Shen Yan Under His Wing

When Shen Yan joins him on patrol, Old Chen teaches him to look after honest residents and exercise discretion about whom to arrest. Local shopkeepers greet Old Chen warmly and offer him food and drinks, showing his established place in the neighborhood 4.

At a teahouse, he deliberately waits while three thugs harass a performer, testing whether Shen Yan is genuinely cowardly or concealing his abilities. Shen Yan's violent intervention surprises him. Afterward, Old Chen demands compensation from the thugs and asks Shen Yan whether he wears the uniform merely to survive or to do what is right. Shen Yan promises not to betray China or bully ordinary people, earning Old Chen's protection 4 5.

When Scarface Liu retaliates, Old Chen outwardly leaves the fight to Shen Yan but remains ready to intervene if necessary. After Shen Yan wins, he takes responsibility for handling the Green Gang's response and invites him home to learn the streets' unwritten rules 6.

Becoming a Father and Grandfather

Over drinks, Old Chen initially intends to take Shen Yan as an apprentice. Shen Yan instead asks to become his godson. Though surprised, Old Chen accepts, and Shen Yan seals their new relationship with three kowtows 8.

Old Chen later helps rescue six-year-old Wang Zhaodi from her father, Wang Erlai, who intends to sell her for a ghost marriage. He stops Shen Yan from killing Wang, challenges Wang's claim of paternity, and orders patrolmen to interrogate him and send him to a coal mine. With ordinary adoption prospects poor and children's homes no longer accepting children, Old Chen carries the exhausted girl home 20.

He insists on taking responsibility for her himself, establishing that she will call him Grandpa and Shen Yan Dad. At the family recognition banquet, he gives her a gold longevity lock and names her Shen Nian'an 21 30.

After Shen Yan returns from special training, Old Chen rebukes him for risking his life without considering the family. Shen Yan entrusts him with five hundred fabi and ten small gold bars toward a safer home. Old Chen accepts responsibility for the money, household, and child, but insists that Shen Yan must protect his own life 29.

Special Operations Squad Service

Shen Yan appoints Old Chen to train fifteen new recruits, trusting both his practical policing knowledge and his reluctance to waste lives. During the subsequent raid on a Military Statistics Bureau hideout, Old Chen assigns the newcomers to blockade escape routes 30 31.

While Shen Yan recuperates, Lu Tinghui places Old Chen temporarily in charge of the Special Operations Squad. After returning to office work, Shen Yan continues to entrust field assignments to him 32 36.

Later Support for Shen Yan

Old Chen warns that the Japanese may make Shen Yan a scapegoat for the destruction of more than two hundred troops at Xihengjing. His suggestion that the investigation must become undesirable to the Japanese inspires Shen Yan's plan involving corrupt supply officers and a forged letter 39.

When Sun Baoshan informs him of a secret bounty on Shen Yan, Old Chen immediately brings the warning to his godson. His relationship with the Green Gang's Great Master helps open the way for Shen Yan's alliance against the bounty hunter Ma Yao 44.

He initially opposes Shen Yan's proposed Japanese bathhouse, suspecting disreputable business. Once Shen Yan explains its purpose as a Hongkou cover and intelligence-gathering operation, Old Chen agrees to support it. He also sets aside five gold bars for Nian'an's future dowry 45.

After Shen Yan's Harbin trip, Old Chen recognizes his growing anger and offers to take Nian'an into hiding if Shen Yan needs freedom to act. Shen Yan explains that the Japanese regard the family as leverage over him, making their departure something that must be carefully timed 48.

Appearance

• Build and posture: Skinny, with a slightly hunched back in later domestic scenes 30 47.
• Face and eyes: Deeply lined face and clouded eyes that can become sharply observant 5 8.
• Hair: Increasing white at his temples, noticed by Shen Yan after a prolonged absence 29.
• Distinguishing feature: Teeth yellowed by smoking 5.
• Usual presentation: Police uniform on duty; frequently carries a teacup or smokes a tobacco pipe at home 29 30 32.

Personality

Old Chen combines neighborhood loyalty with a pragmatic, sometimes ruthless approach to policing. He asks Shen Yan to protect honest residents, but he is willing to manipulate procedure and arrange extrajudicial punishment when dealing with Wang Erlai. His concern is not merely stopping an immediate abuse: he also makes Shen Yan confront the question of how the rescued child will survive afterward 4 20.

He is perceptive and discreet about Shen Yan's secrets. He notices concealed ability, recognizes when Shen Yan needs room to act, and sometimes supplies an excuse without demanding an explanation. His discretion has limits: Shen Yan's unexpected Japanese fluency makes him suspicious until his godson emphatically reassures him of his nationality and loyalties 5 9 15.

Within the family, his grumbling and fiery temper conceal deep affection. He cooks, keeps meals warm, visits Shen Yan in hospital, and cares for Nian'an. Shen Yan's false deathbed performance reduces him to tears; discovering the deception turns that fear into anger and a pursuit with a leather whip 23 32 39 48.

Abilities & Skills

Experienced Policing

Old Chen has two decades of practical police experience 8 30.

• Knows how to train ordinary recruits into qualified policemen 30.
• Organizes blockade duties and leads field assignments 31 36.
• Prepares official documents with a careful understanding of what to state, omit, or phrase ambiguously 42.
• Uses procedural arguments to undermine Wang Erlai's claim over his daughter and arrange his removal from Shanghai 20.

Street Knowledge and Connections

His influence rests on longstanding familiarity with the West District and its competing powers 6 8.

• Explains Green Gang territories, heavily patrolled areas, and untrustworthy police colleagues to Shen Yan 8.
• Intimidates local thugs and offers to handle objections from their superiors 5 6.
• Knows Sun Baoshan, formerly called “Quick Blade Little Sun,” and maintains ties to the Great Master 44.
• His judgment carries enough weight that the Great Master trusts Shen Yan's character because Old Chen accepted him as a godson 44.

Observation and Risk Assessment

Old Chen identifies danger in both street encounters and official investigations 5 39.

• Detects that Shen Yan's nerve and fighting ability exceed those of an ordinary rookie 5 6.
• Creates an apparent stomach complaint to leave Shen Yan free to act alone 15.
• Anticipates the possibility of Shen Yan becoming a Japanese scapegoat 39.
• Recognizes Shen Yan's emotional agitation after Harbin without pressing him to disclose its cause 48.

Equipment / Possessions

• Police baton — Carried on patrol; Shen Yan borrows it to wield two batons against the teahouse thugs 4.
• Holstered firearm — His hand rests on its holster during the confrontation with Scarface Liu; he does not draw it in that encounter 6.
• Leather whip — An aged, three-foot cowhide whip used to punish Shen Yan after his false deathbed act 23.
• Tobacco pipe — Regularly smoked at home 29.
• Wedding shoes — Made by his late fiancée and preserved at the bottom of his cabinet 8.
• Great Master's personal token — Takes custody of the token awarded to Shen Yan. It entitles its holder to one intervention by the Great Master's hall, regardless of cost 44.

Relationships

• Shen Yan — Patrol partner, protégé, and godson. Old Chen provides street guidance, family care, and practical protection while repeatedly warning him against recklessness 5 8 29 48.
• Shen Nian'an / Wang Zhaodi — Adoptive granddaughter. He shelters her after her rescue, helps establish her new family identity, and looks after her while Shen Yan is absent 20 21 30 48.
• Unnamed fiancée — His intended wife, killed when Japanese bombing destroyed her workplace. He retains the shoes she made for their wedding 8.
• Sun Baoshan — Old acquaintance from his earlier life. They reunite after sixteen years, and Sun brings the warning about Shen Yan's bounty 44.
• The Great Master / First Master — Respected Green Gang elder and longstanding connection. Sends gold bracelets for Old Chen's granddaughter and offers assistance against the bounty on Shen Yan 44.
• Lu Tinghui — Police superior who appoints him temporary leader of the Special Operations Squad during Shen Yan's recovery 32.

Notable Quotes

“They're all honest folk. If it isn't too much trouble, look after them.” 4

“Do you wear that uniform to stay alive, or to do some of the things a person ought to do?” 5

“I gave up fighting, not living! If anyone wants to lay a hand on my godson, they'll have to step over me first!” 44

“I'll look after the money for you, keep watch over the house, and raise the girl for you. But that life of yours, you'd better keep it safe for me.” 29