I've grown Nanking Cherries now for 7 years and love them. They've been hammered brutally by rabbits and rebounded, deal with rough winters with no problems (5b for me, last winter was a doozy and they had no problems), and make carpets of seedlings to expand the empire. I recommend them strongly, and they fare well in shade I've found. In fact, the ones in blazing full sun tend to die off on me sooner. I'd consider them a not-incredibly-long-lived shrub that you can get fresh babies from to continue onward. For what its worth, my nursery in central NY state has plenty of beautiful babies available...
http://www.edibleacres.org/purchase/nanking-cherry I can also provide fresh seed in the summer if there is interest.
I think this is a really under appreciated permaculture plant indeed!