iPedia Free Information Center

Information about Peking University

Peking University
Established 1898
Type Public
President Xu Zhihong (许智宏)
Faculty 4,206
Undergraduates 15,128
Postgraduates 15,039
Location Beijing, China
Campus Urban, 273 ha
Affiliations IARU, APRU, BESETOHA
Website www.pku.edu.cn
Peking University (Traditional Chinese: 北京大學; Simplified Chinese: 北京大学; Pinyin: Běijīng Dàxué), colloquially known in Chinese as Beida (北大, Běidà), was established in 1898. It is regarded as one of the best and the most selective universities in China. Peking University is the first formally established university, and the first national university of China. The university policy has mandated the use of Peking University in English rather than Beijing University due to tradition and the desire to avoid confusion with Beijing Normal University and other similarly named institutions.

History

Peking University was established in Beijing in December 1898 during the Hundred Days Reform and was originally known as the Imperial University of Capital (Traditional Chinese: 京師大學堂; Simplified Chinese: 京师大学堂; Pinyin: Jīngshī Dàxuétáng). In 1912, following the Xinhai Revolution, the Imperial University was renamed the National Peking University (國立北京大學). The famous scholar Cai Yuanpei was appointed president on January 4 1917 and helped transform the university into the country's largest institution of higher learning, with 14 departments and an enrollment of more than 2,000 students. Cai, inspired by the German model of academic freedom, recruited an intellectually diverse faculty that included Hu Shi, Chen Duxiu, and Lu Xun. In 1919 students of Peking University formed the bulk of the protesters of the May Fourth Movement. Efforts by the Beiyang government to end to protests by sealing off the Peking University campus led to Cai's resignation. In 1920 Peking University became the second Chinese university to accept female students, after Nanjing University.

After the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 (and the resulting expansion of Japanese territorial control in east China), Peking University moved to Changsha and formed the Changsha Temporary University along with Tsinghua University and Nankai University. In 1938, the three schools moved again, this time to Kunming, and formed the National Southwestern United University. In 1946, after World War II, Peking University moved back to Beijing. At that time, the university comprised six schools (Arts, Science, Law, Medicine, Engineering, and Agriculture), and a research institute for humanities. The total student enrollment grew up to 3,000.

After the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, Yenching University was merged into Peking University and Peking University lost its "national" appellation to reflect the fact that all universities under the new socialist state would be public. In 1952 Peking University moved from downtown Beijing to the former Yenching campus.

In 2000, Beijing Medical University was merged into Peking University and became the Peking University Health Science Campus.

Present

The Times World University Rankings in 2006 rated Peking University as the best university in Asia, and ranked 14th in the world. The THES - QS World University Rankings[1] also ranked the university 14th in the world. The 2007 ranking produced by Shanghai Jiaotong University in China placed Peking University in the top 300 worldwide, and third in China, excluding Hong Kong (behind Tsinghua University and Nanjing University).[1]

The entrance criterion of Peking University is extremely selective. Every year only the top students of each province across China can be admitted, which makes Peking University one of the most prestigious places for students all over China.

Peking University is a comprehensive and national key university. The University consists of 30 colleges and 12 departments, with 93 specialties for undergraduates, 2 specialties for the second Bachelor's degree, 199 specialties for Master's degree candidates and 173 specialties for Doctoral candidates. While in a leading position of basic sciences research and teaching, the university has gained itself very successful development of applied sciences.

At present, Peking university has 216 research institutions and research centres, including 2 national engineering research centres, 81 key national disciplines, 12 national key laboratories. With eight million holdings, the university library is the largest of its kind in Asia. The university has made an effort to combine the research on fundamental scientific issues with the training of personnel with high level specialized knowledge and professional skill as demanded by the country's modernization. It strives not only for the simultaneous improvements in teaching and research work, but also for the promotion of interaction and mutual promotion among various subjects.

Teaching also has been emphasized. It aims to cultivate the students' practical ability and creative power. As a result, the teaching of core courses is strengthened, the content of courses is enriched and renewed and favourable conditions have been created, for the students to develop themselves in extracurricular activities.

Peking University has been becoming a center for teaching and research, consisting of diverse branches of learning such as pure and applied sciences, social sciences and the humanities, and sciences of management and education. Its aim is to rank among the world's best universities in the next couple of decades, with the school's leadership placing great emphasis on developing bilateral relationships with prominent American universities for student and faculty exchanges.

Campus

The campus of Peking University is located in northwest Beijing, in the Haidian district which was designated for universities.

It is located on the former site of Qing Dynasty royal gardens and retains Chinese-style landscaping as well as many traditional buildings. It is known throughout China, along with its neighbour Tsinghua University, for having one of the most beautiful campuses.

Beyond Peking University's main campus, Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC)'s campus is located in Xue Yuan Rd. where China's most distinguished colleges are located. PKUHSC's campus is less aesthetically appeasing but is nonetheless a fitting site for academics and research.

International students

Peking University has one of the largest pools of international students in China. The dorms for international students are located at "Shao Yuan" (Shao Garden). Every year, Peking University has approximately 2000 international students on campus. Approximately 40% of the international students are Korean and the remaining 60% are made up of students from most countries in the world including most of Western Europe, North America, South America, all parts of Asia, Australia as well as many parts of Africa. The university is a member of Universitas 21, an international association of research-led universities.

Notable alumni, administrators, and faculty

Main article: List of Peking University people
Peking University has produced many notable people.

See also

Notes

1. ^ [2] — A 2006 ranking from THES - QS of the world’s research universities.

External links

 •  • [ e]
Association of East Asian Research Universities
ChinaFudan • Nanjing  • Peking • Tsinghua • USTC
Hong KongHKUST
TaiwanNational Taiwan (NTU) • National Tsing Hua (NTHU)
KoreaKAIST • POSTECH • Seoul National (SNU)
JapanKyoto • Osaka • Tohoku • Tokyo Tech  • Tokyo • Tsukuba
 •  • [ e]
BESETOHA Universities


Peking • Seoul National • Tokyo • VNU-Hanoi
 •  • [ e]
International Alliance of Research Universities


Australian National (ANU) • UC Berkeley • Cambridge • Copenhagen • ETH Zurich • Oxford • Peking • NUS • Tokyo • Yale


Coordinates:
The date of establishment or date of founding of an institution is the date on which that institution chooses to claim as its starting point. Often the criteria that define a date of establishment or founding are ill-defined—or more specifically, are ill-defined in
..... Click the link for more information.
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities.

In some regions of the world prominent public institutions are highly influential centres of research; many of
..... Click the link for more information.
University president is the title of the highest ranking officer within a university, within university systems that prefer that appellation over other variations such as chancellor or rector.

The relative seniority varies between institutions.
..... Click the link for more information.
Xu Zhihong (许智宏, born 1942) is a botanist and the President of Peking University. He is a former Vice-President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
..... Click the link for more information.
In some educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree. In the United States, students of higher degrees are known as graduates.
..... Click the link for more information.
Postgraduate education (often known in North America as graduate education, and sometimes described as quaternary education) involves studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree is required, and is normally considered to be part
..... Click the link for more information.
Běijīng
北京
The Temple of Heaven, a symbol of Beijing
Location within China
Coordinates:
Country People's Republic of China
..... Click the link for more information.
This page contains Chinese text.
Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.
China (Traditional Chinese:
..... Click the link for more information.
An urban area is an area with an increased density of human-created structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. This term is at one end of the spectrum of suburban and rural areas. An urban area is more frequently called a city or town.
..... Click the link for more information.
A hectare (symbol ha, pronounced /ˌhɛkˈtɛə(ɹ)/) is a unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, or one square hectometre, and commonly used for measuring land area.
..... Click the link for more information.
The International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) was launched in January 2006 as a leading co-operative network of 10 international research-intensive universities.
..... Click the link for more information.
BESETOHA is a forum in which four representative East Asian Universities— Peking University, Seoul National University, Vietnam National University Hanoi and the University of Tokyo—meet to discuss the present state and future directions of university education, basic
..... Click the link for more information.
A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN.
..... Click the link for more information.
Traditional Chinese
Child systems Simplified Chinese
Chữ Nôm
Sister systems Hanja, Kanji

ISO 15924 Hant

Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.
..... Click the link for more information.
Simplified Chinese

Sister systems Kanji, Chữ Nôm

ISO 15924 Hans

Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.
..... Click the link for more information.
  • **
Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音
..... Click the link for more information.
Beijing Normal University (Simplified Chinese: 北京师范大学; Traditional Chinese: 北京師範大學
..... Click the link for more information.
Běijīng
北京
The Temple of Heaven, a symbol of Beijing
Location within China
Coordinates:
Country People's Republic of China
..... Click the link for more information.
This page contains Chinese text.
Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.


The Hundred Days' Reform (Simplified Chinese:
..... Click the link for more information.
Traditional Chinese
Child systems Simplified Chinese
Chữ Nôm
Sister systems Hanja, Kanji

ISO 15924 Hant

Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.
..... Click the link for more information.
Simplified Chinese

Sister systems Kanji, Chữ Nôm

ISO 15924 Hans

Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.
..... Click the link for more information.
  • **
Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音
..... Click the link for more information.
This page contains Chinese text.
Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.


The Xinhai Revolution or Shinhai Revolution (Chinese:
..... Click the link for more information.
This page contains Chinese text.
Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.


Cài Yuánpéi
..... Click the link for more information.
January 4 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 46 BC - Titus Labienus defeats Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina.

..... Click the link for more information.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1880s  1890s  1900s  - 1910s -  1920s  1930s  1940s
1914 1915 1916 - 1917 - 1918 1919 1920

Year 1917 (MCMXVII
..... Click the link for more information.
This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article.
..... Click the link for more information.
Chen Duxiu (October 8, 1879 – May 27, 1942) played many different roles in Chinese history. Along with Li Dazhao, Chen was a co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921. He was its first Chairman, first General Secretary and an educator, philosopher, and politician.
..... Click the link for more information.
Zhou Shuren

Pseudonym: Lu Xun
Born: September 25 1881(1881--)
Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China
Died: September 19 1936 (aged 55), aged 55

Occupation: Novelist, Essayist
Nationality: Chinese
..... Click the link for more information.
May Fourth Movement (Traditional Chinese: 五四運動; Simplified Chinese: 五四运动; Pinyin:
..... Click the link for more information.


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus


page counter