Nanjing University

Nanjing University (南京大学, 南京大學, Pinyin: Nánjīng Dàxué; colloquially 南大, Pinyin Nándà) is one of the oldest higher learning institutions in the world and became the first modern Chinese university in the early 1920s. It is the cradle of modern science in China and is a prestigious university with strong traditions.

Contents

1 History

1.1 Historic Path

2 Faculties and fields

2.1 Schools and departments

3 Campus

4 International exchanges

5 Famous alumni

6 External links

History

North Great Building, Nanjing University

Nanjing University began its modern history in 1902 with the name Sanjiang Normal College, at the site of the former Nanjing Imperial Central College (南京太學, Nanjing Taixue). The ancient Nanjing University originated in 258 as Nanjing Imperial Central College, and became the first modern Chinese university in the early 1920s. It was renamed Liangjiang Normal College in 1906. In 1915 it became Nanjing Higher Normal Institute(南京高等師範學校) and renamed National Southeast University(國立東南大學) in 1921. It became National Central University (國立中央大學) in August 1928. Finally, in October 1949, the central government of the R.O.C. moved from Nanjing, mainland China, to Taipei, Taiwan, and the National Central University changed its name to National Nanjing University (国立南京大學). National Central University was reestablished in Taiwan in 1962. In 1952, another famous Christian university, University of Nanking (金陵大學), founded in 1888, was merged with Nanjing University (南京大學).

Historic Path

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RenZi House, Nanjing University

Nanjing University was originally founded as the Imperial Central College at Nanjing in 258 under the Kingdom of Wu by the emperor Sun Xiu. The first president was Wei Zhao. In the 15th century during the Ming Dynasty, the Nanjing Imperial Central College was the world's largest higher education institution, with about 10 thousand students, many of whom came from a number of other countries. Wu Cheng'en, Zheng He and Zheng Chenggong studied there around the time. Nanjing Imperial Central College was changed to Nanjing College in 1650 during the Qing Dynasty, and the modern Sanjiang Normal College was established to replace the traditional Chinese academy Nanjing College in 1902. It became National Central University in 1928 and renamed Nanjing University in 1949.

The university established the first faculty of art in China in 1906 and the first faculty of physical education in 1915. The faculty of business was established in 1917 and was moved to Shanghai to establish as the first business school in China in 1921. "China Economic Society" was founded in 1923 mainly by the faculty members of the university. The university has also been the pioneer of many other fields.

The "Chinese Science Society"(中國科學社), the earliest and main science organization in China, settled in the university in 1918. Numerous Chinese modern science pioneers converged there to found many sciences in China. It became the Chinese cradle of modern science. Hereafter, many graudates achieved pioneering works in a lot of fields for Chinese scientific enterprise. For instance, among 81 academicians of "Academia Sinica"(中央研究院) elected for the first time in 1948, 5 entered or graduated from the university in the year 1920. More than half of the leading Chinese scientists whose works were published on such leading journals as Science and Nature in the early period of Chinese modern science were graduates or faculties of Nanjing University.
Guo Bingwen was formally appointed as the president in 1919, and two years later in 1921, higher normal institute was changed to university. Guo Bingwen insisted university’s independency and academic freedom. Liu Boming advocated liberty education, scholar spirit and pure learning ethos. Tao Xingzhi changed the traditional Instruction Approach to the Approach of Unity of Teaching and Learning, and adopted Discipline-elective and Cause-credit-elective system. The earliest Chinese modern academic research originated, and the earliest modern scientific research laboratories in China were established at the university. Nanjing University became the earliest modern Chinese university around the time in the early 1920s.

The monthly "Xueheng" started publication in January, 1922. It was the focus of the "Xueheng School"(學衡), which included the scholars Liu Boming, Liu Yizheng, Mei Guangdi, Wu Mi and Hu Xianxiao They tried to reinvigorate traditional Chinese culture by integrating it with modern humanism. During this period, Nanjing University was recognized as an academic and cultural exchange centre for east and west. Many famous scholars visited and instructed there, including the educationist Paul Monroe, W. H. Kilpatrick, E. L. Thorndike, philosopher John Dewey, writer Pearl Buck, British ideologist Bertrand Russell, German philosopher Hans Driesch and the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Nanjing University was accepted as the "Oriental Education Centre".

The "Chinese Association of Natural Science" (中華自然科學社) was founded in the university in 1927. During the Anti-Japanese War between 1937 and 1945, the university moved to Chongqing. The "Natural Science Forum" was founded by the faculties of the university in 1939 and it founded the "China Association of Scientific Workers" (中國科學工作者協會) in 1944. In 1958 the associations were merged to be the "China Association for Science and Technology (http://english.cast.org.cn/)" (中国科学技术协会) in Beijing. The "Natural Science Forum" was renamed "Sept. 3rd Forum" and later again renamed "Sept. 3rd Society" in 1945. The "Sept. 3rd Society", or called "Jiusan Society", is a China organization for intellectual workers.

In 1976, the faculties and students of the university launched the "Nanjing 3.29 Movement" to oppose the Cultural Revolution, spreading countrywide. In 1978, Hu Fuming, a faculty member of the Philosophy Department of Nanjing University, wrote and published the historic article entitled "Practice is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth". It led to the nationwide "Debate on Standards for Judging the Truth" and directly promoted the end of the Cultural Revolution and the start of the era of becoming a free and rich society .

Faculties and fields

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Old Great Hall, Nanjing University

Nanjing University has been at the forefront of developments in teaching and research in China. It was the first institution in the country to adopt student-centred teaching methods. It was the first co-educational Chinese university. It has been a pioneer in many fields in China, such as Astronomy,literature, art, history, philosophy, religion, sociology, biology, physics, geoscience, computer science and business studies.

Schools and departments

School of Humanities
- Chinese, History, Philosophy, Religion
School of Foreign Studies
- English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, International Business
School of Science
- Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy
School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering
- Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Polymer material
School of Geoscience
- Earth Science, Atmosphere Science, Urban & Resources Science
School of Technology
- Computer Science & Technology, Electronics Science & Engineering, Material Science & Technology
School of Business
- Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Accounting, International Trading, Electronic Commerce
School of Law,lsss
- Law, Economic Law, International Economic Law
School of Public Administration
- Politics, Government Administration, Sociology, Information Management,
School of Journalism & Communication
- Journalism, Broadcasting, TV & Internet, Communication & Advertising
School of Medicine
School of Environment
Software Institute
Education
Physical Education
Art
Architecture
Department of Intensive Instruction
Other research and education institutes in areas such as African Studies, Judaic Studies, International Affairs, Anthropology, Agriculture, Space Science, Engineering Management, etc.

Campus

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Nanjing University campus in snow

Nanjing University consists of two campuses. The main campus is located in Gulou District, the central area of Nanjing City, south to the Yangtze River. The main campus is divided into two parts, North Garden for learning and research and South garden for life facilities of accommodation, dining, medical care, entertainment and recreation, etc. The new affiliated campus constructed in 1993 lies in the suburb of Pukou District, north to Yangtze, about 18 Kilometres to the main campus.

International exchanges

Several honorary doctors of Nanjing University:
- François Mitterrand, President of France
- George Herbert Walker Bush, President of United States (also contributed to the establishment of Center for Chinese and American Studies/Hopkins Nanjing Center (http://www.sais-jhu.edu/Nanjing/) - jointly administered by Johns Hopkins University and Nanjing University)
- Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia
- Boutros Boutros Ghali, United Nations Secretary General
- Johannes Rau, President of Germany (also contributed to the development of German-Chinese Institute for Legal Studies - jointly operated by University of Göttingen and Nanjing University)
- Charles W. Woodworth, Professor Emeritus and founder of the Entomology Division UCB (1891-1930) was a lecturer in Entomology during his sabbatical there in 1918 and then again between 1921-4. See the C. W. Woodworth Award.

Famous alumni

Graduates

Chang Cheh, film director. The "Father of New Gongfu Film".
Chang Chi-yun, historian, geographer, educationist, politician.
Chiang Yee, poet, author, painter, calligrapher. The "Silent Traveller".
Chien-Shiung Wu, scientist. Regarded as the "Greatest Experimental Physicist in 20th Century".
Chung-Yao Chao, physical scientist. The first scientist that captured positron through electron-positron annihilation and tested the existence of antimatter.

Calligraphy by Li RuiQing, former President of Nanjing University
Feng Duan, physicist.
Feng Kang, mathematician. The founder of finite element algorithm.
Gang Tian, mathematician.
Hu Bangji, journalist. China's war correspondent in European battlefield in World War II. She interviewed many men of the time, including Winston Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, De Gaulle, Truman, Chamberlain and Tito. Her husband, Bi Jilong, former vice secretary general of United Nations, was her schoolmate at Nanjing University.
Kenneth J. Hsu, scientist. He received many prestigious awards including Twenhofel Medal, Wollaston Medal and Penrose Medal. His most famous popular science works may be The Great Dying and The Mediterranean Was a Desert.
Kim Jun-Yop, historian, educationlist, social activist.
Kwoh-Ting Li, economic expert, statesmen. The "Father of Taiwan's Economic Miracle".
Liu Dongsheng, geologist. Tyler Environmental Prize winner.
Mochtar Riady, financial magnate in southeast Asia. Founder and CEO of Lippo Group (http://www.lippo.co.id/). Chairman of the Asian Bankers Association. The founder of several banks.
Nieh Hua-Ling, writer. Contributed a lot to world literature exchange.
Sha Zukang, diplomat. President of the Board of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Tang I-Fang, industry magnate. The founder and Chairman of Board of WBL Corporation (http://www.wbl.com.sg/). The Pioneer of Singapore Industry.
Tang Junyi, philosopher.
Wang Gungwu, historian, educator.
Vikram Seth, poet, novelist.
Y. H. Woo, physical scientist. After Woo YH verified Compton effect (X-ray diffraction), Nobel Prize was given to Arthur H. Compton.
Yuan-Cheng Fung, scientist. The "Father of Bioengineering", the "Founder of Biomechanics".
Yu Chi-chung, Taiwan's media gurus; the founder of the China Times (http://www.chinatimes.com) Group.
Jeff Xia, mathematician.

Faculties and others

Chang Dai-chien, great Chinese artist.
Chiang Kai-shek, President of the Republic of China. He was also the president of the university in 1943 and 1944.
Jiang Zemin, President of the People's Republic of China. He studied at Nanjing Central University from 1943 to 1945.

Alumni of University of Nanking (merged with Nanjing University in 1952)

Choh Hao Li, biologist, biochemist. World's foremost authority on the pituitary gland with achievements including isolating and synthesizing the human pituitary growth hormone. He received many honors including Lasker Award.
Choh-Ming Li, educationist, economist.
Francois Cheng, writer, poet. A "Bridge Between Eastern and Western Culture".
T.C. Tso, agriculturalist, tobacco scientist.
Te-Tzu Chang, agriculturalist. Member of Pontifical Academy of Sciences (Vatican City). He receives Tyler World Prize for Environmental Achievement 1999.
Thome H. Fang, philosopher.
Wu Teh Yao, educationist, politics scholar.

Alumni of attached/affiliated schools/institutions

Gao Xingjian, novelist, dramatist and critic. Nobel Prize Winner in Literature in 2000. He entered Middle School Attached to University of Nanking (Now Nanjing University Experiment School -- Jinling High School (http://www.jlhs.net)) in 1952.
Yuan Longping, agriculturalist. "China's Most Famous 'Farmer'", "Father of Hybrid Rice", Wolf Award winner. He graduated from Middle School Attached to National Nanjing University (Now NSFZ (http://www.nsfz.net)) in 1949.