During the mid-Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), Shen Wansan's father, Shen You, moved his whole family to the vicinity of Zhouzhuang. After Shen Wansan became rich, he established Suzhou as his principal commercial base. He added his support to the civilian political power established by Zhang Shicheng in Suzhou. In return, Zhang built a monument to Shen as one of his most loyal supporters.

In the early days of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, the dynasty's founder, established his capital in Nanjing. Shen Wansan subsequently paid for one third of the capital city to be built. As a reward, Zhu Yuanzhang promoted Shen's two sons to the ranks of high officials. Shen then spent a considerable sum on building luxurious houses in Nanjing. Later Shen Wansan boasted that he would reward the army with bounties for the emperor and thus offended Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu then sent him into exile to the border province of Yun'nan, where he spent the remainder of his life.

Shen Wansan left a considerable impact on Zhouzhuang, Suzhou, Nanjing and several other places, but Zhouzhuang was where he built his business. Although he had mansions in Nanjing and was frequently rewarded by Zhang Shicheng and Zhu Yuanzhang, he never wanted to leave the prosperous city of Zhouzhuang. He even asked his children to live there and set about educating them in an expensive fashion. In this way, he hoped that the Shen family's fortune and fame would last forever.

Many experts have pondered on the question of just how Shen Wansan made so much money, and three theories are currently popular.

1. Developing agriculture

Agriculture was the main way to make money in ancient China. Shen Wansan's fortune was mostly gained from agricultural products and by renting out farmland. According to historical records, there is a huge barn built by him in Zhouzhuang, an apt symbol of Shen's prosperity.

2. Inheriting money

It is said that Shen Wansan became rich because he inherited a considerable fortune from the Lu family, who were among the richest nobles of the Yuan dynasty.

3. Overseas commerce

According to local documents and the historian Wu Han, Shen Wansan earned his wealth through overseas commerce.

In all likelihood, it was a combination of the above three factors that ultimately made Shen Wansan extraordinarily rich. He was allegedly so rich that even the emperor Zhu Yuanzhang envied him.

However, his fortunes began to decline when three factors counted against him.

The first blow fell in 1373 when he supposedly dreamt of awarding the army on the emperor's behalf. This offended the emperor and, although he was not killed, he was sent into exile to the border. After that, his second son-in-law was also sent into exile. After this set-back, Shen lost not only his family but also almost half of his fortune. Even the ordinary Zhouzhuang people were involved in his downfall. There used to be a commonly held belief that all the Zhouzhuang residents were sentenced to death, but a brave townsman, Xu Minwang, begged for their lives. Ultimately, the people of the town were spared.

Shen's problems escalated in the spring of 1386. His two grandsons were jailed after failing to pay taxes and due tribute. One of them subsequently died in the prison, undermining the very foundation of Shen's family.

The final blow came in 1839. Shen's eldest son, his son-in-law and his great grandson were variously sent into exile, had their crop fields confiscated or were executed by dismemberment. In total, some 80 members of Shen's family were killed.

Shen's family never recovered from these three blows.

Shen Wansan, who started with nothing, became the very embodiment of southern rich people during the time of the Yuan and Ming dynasty. His story — and Shen's House itself — not only still excite the interest of experts and researchers, but also increasingly attract travelers from China and abroad.