Background
Cheng Sheng was born in Icheng, Northern Kiangsu, China (Jiangsu, China) in 1899.
成 成
Cheng Sheng was born in Icheng, Northern Kiangsu, China (Jiangsu, China) in 1899.
He received his early education at the University of Nanking and Aurora University of Shanghai. Then he went to France as a labor student and there studied agricultural science at the National Agricultural School of Montpellier and University of Montpellier, graduating with degrees of "Licence" and "High Licence" .
Mr. Sheng also studied sericulture at the Royal Sericulture Institute of Padua, Italy and was graduated at the head of his class with a degree in sericulture in 1922.
Sheng Cheng appointed assistant to Prof. Lambert in the National Agriculture School. He attached to the Zoological Station of Sete (Faculty of Sciences of University of MontpeHier). Mr. Sheng was also an instructor and later professor of comparative sericulture at the Faculty of Science at the Sorbonne, Paris. He studied sociology and literature at the Sorbonne and after many years of intensive research in these two fields, became a noted writer author of the well-known work ''Ma Mere," prefaced by the famous French Academician, Paul Valery (the book is a study of Chinese sociology and has been translated into many languages including German, Spanish, Dutch, Polish and English - the English Edition being entitled "A Son of China" published by W. W. Norton & Company, New York), "La Muse Endolorie" (a poem), "My Odyssey in Europe" (in Chinese published by the Chung Hua Book Co., of Shanghai) and "Conte" (a short story).
He stayed in Europe for eleven years and after completion of his studies, toured England, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and also Western Asia (Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Iraq and India), returning to China in October 1930. After his return, he first joined the Chung Hwa Book Company as an editor. Then he became a secretary to Chang Chi, member of the Central Supervisory Committee. Later he taught sociology at the Central University in Nanking. Then he became professor of French at the National Peking University and visited Europe again on a government mission in 1934.