Master Hui Gen was the founder of the Jade Buddha Monastery and the first Abbot. According to Biograghy of Master Ke Cheng written by Zhuang Lu and Records of Jade Buddha Monastery by Ye Erkai, Master Hui Gen, from a temple on Mount Putuo in Zhejiang Province, went on a pilgrim to the Wutai, Emei mountains and other famous places. He arrived in Burma via Tibet and brought back five jade statues of Sakyamuni. When he passed Shanghai, he left two jade statues, one in sitting posture and the other reclining, while the other three were carried to Mount Putuo. The two jade statues were settled in a thatched house at Zhanghuabang in Shanghai supported by the Sheng Family in the 8th year of Guangxu in the Qing dynasty (1882), which was the earliest temple before the Jade Buddha Monastery. A new temple, the earliest one, was built near the Jiangwan Station to enshrine the jade Buddha statues in 1900. Master Hui Gen passed away soon after completion of the temple.