Fourteen years ago, the Shanghai Daily interviewed Ye Wenhan at his small private museum on Pushan Road. I recently returned for a visit and discovered that the museum had closed. I was told that the elderly collector died two years ago.
His 53-year-old daughter Ye Feiyan keeps the collection at home. She explained that the original site of the museum will be demolished due to urban redevelopment.
The school’s logo once hung on the wall of a private museum, showing visitors the history and motto of schools throughout China.
They come in different shapes from primary school to university: triangles, rectangles, squares, circles and diamonds. They are made from silver, gold, copper, enamel, plastic, fabric or paper.
Badges can be classified depending on how they are worn. Some are clip-on, some are pinned, some are secured with buttons, and some are hung on clothing or hats.
Ye Wenhan once stated that he had collected the badges of all the provinces of China except Qinghai and the Tibet Autonomous Region.
“School is my favorite place in life,” Ye said in an interview before his death. “Collecting school badges is a way to get closer to the school.”
Born in Shanghai in 1931. Before he was born, his father moved to Shanghai from Guangdong Province in southern China to lead the construction of the Yong’an Department Store. Ye Wenhan received the best education as a child.
When he was just 5 years old, Ye accompanied his father to antique markets in search of hidden jewelry. Influenced by this experience, he developed a passion for collecting antiques. But unlike his father, who loves old stamps and coins, Mr Yeh’s collection focuses on school badges.
His first subjects came from Xunguang Primary School, where he studied. After graduating from high school, Ye continued to study English, accounting, statistics, and photography at several vocational schools.
Ye later began practicing law and qualified as a professional legal adviser. He opened an office to provide free legal advice to those in need.
“My father is a persistent, passionate and responsible person,” said his daughter Ye Feiyan. “When I was a child, I had a calcium deficiency. My father smoked two packs of cigarettes a day and gave up the habit so he could afford to buy me calcium tablets.”
In March 1980, Ye Wenhan spent 10 yuan (1.5 US dollars) to buy a silver Tongji University school badge, which can be considered the beginning of his serious collection.
The inverted triangle icon is a typical style of the Republic of China period (1912–1949). When viewed counterclockwise from the top right corner, the three corners symbolize benevolence, wisdom and courage respectively.
The 1924 Peking University emblem is also an early collection. It was written by Lu Xun, a leading figure in modern Chinese literature, and is numbered “105″.
The copper badge, over 18 centimeters in diameter, came from the National Institute of Education and was made in 1949. This is the largest icon in his collection. The smallest comes from Japan and has a diameter of 1 cm.
“Look at this school badge,” Ye Feiyan told me excitedly. “It’s set with a diamond.”
This faux gem is set in the center of the aviation school’s flat emblem.
In this sea of badges, the octagonal silver badge stands out. The large badge belongs to a girls’ school in Liaoning province in northeast China. The school badge is engraved with Confucius’s sixteen-character motto, The Analects of Confucius, which warns students not to look, listen, say or do anything that violates morality.
Ye said her father considered one of his most treasured badges to be the ring badge his son-in-law received when he graduated from St. John’s University in Shanghai. Founded in 1879 by American missionaries, it was one of China’s most prestigious universities until its closure in 1952.
Badges in the form of rings engraved with the motto of the English school “Light and Truth” are issued only for two academic years and are therefore extremely rare. Ye’s brother-in-law wore the ring every day and gave it to Ye before he died.
“Honestly, I couldn’t understand my dad’s obsession with the school badge,” his daughter said. “After his death, I took responsibility for the collection and began to appreciate his efforts when I realized that every school badge had a story.”
She added to his collection by searching for badges from foreign schools and asking relatives living abroad to keep an eye out for interesting items. Whenever she travels abroad, she visits local flea markets and famous universities in an effort to expand her collection.
“My greatest wish is to one day again find a place to display my father’s collection.”
Post time: Oct-25-2023