Click thumbnail to visit website

Beijing, China

Beijing Normal University, a key university under the administration of the Ministry of Education, is a renowned institution of higher education known for teacher education, education science and basic learning in both the arts and the sciences. The university’s predecessor, the Normal College of the Imperial University of Peking, was founded in 1902. In 1908, the school name was changed to Advanced Normal College of the Imperial University and the school became independent. In 1912, the name changed again, to Beijing Advanced Normal School, and then, in 1923, the name changed yet again to Beijing Normal University, the first Normal University in Chinese history. In 1931 and 1952, respectively, Peking Women’s Normal University and Fu Jen Catholic University merged to create Beijing Normal University.

For over a century, Beijing Normal University has from the beginning shared a fate as regards the Chinese people’s struggle to gain independence, freedom, democracy and prosperity, and the university has played a significant role in patriotic movements that have included the May 4th Movement (1919) and the December 9th Movement (1935). Over the years, the school has been home to a large group of renowned intellectuals and scholars, who have promoted culture and stimulated education, to name a few: Li Dazhao, Lu Xun, Liang Qichao, Qian Xuantong, Wu Chengshi, Li Jinxi, Chen Yuan, Fan Wenlan, Hou Wailu, Bai Shouyi, Zhong Jingwen, Qi Gong, Hu Xiansu, Wang Kunren and Zhou Tingru. Adhering to a fine tradition of “Patriotism, Progress, Honesty, Sincerity, Truth-Seeking, Innovation and being a paragon of virtue and learning” while embodying the spirit of “Learn, so as to instruct others and Act, to serve as example to all,” for over a hundred years Beijing Normal University has lived by the philosophy of “Pursuing knowledge, Cultivating personality, and Helping the whole world.”

More from the BNU website...