Pelking University History and Academics
2 min readPeking University was established on July 3，1898 in the Hundred Days’Reform and was originally known as the Metropolitan University of Peking to replace the ancient Guozijian.In 1902，the Faculty of Education was spun off to become today’s Beijing Normal University，the best teachers college in China.In 1912，following the XinhaiRevolution，the Imperial University was renamed“National Peking University”.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 education，with 14 departments and an enrollment of more than 2，000 students.Inspired by the German model of academic freedom，Cai，recruited an intellectually diverse faculty that included Hu Shih，Chen Duxiu and Lu Xun.In 1919，students of Peking University formed the bulk of the protesters of the May Fourth Movement.Beiyang government tried to end the protests by sealing off the Peking University campus and this led to Cai’s resignation.In 1920，Peking University became the second Chinese university to accept female students after Nanjing University.
Peking University is a key national 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 specialtiesfor Doctoral candidates.As a leader in basic sciences research and teaching，the university has successfully developed applied sciences research and teaching as well.At present，Peking university has 216research institutions and centres，including 2 national engineering research centres，81 key national disciplines and 12 national key laboratories.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.
Over the past century，more than 400 Peking University alumni had become presidents of other major Chinese universities，including former Tsinghua President Luo Jialun，Renmin University President Yuan Baohua，Zhejiang University President Qian Sanqiang，Fudan University President Zhang Zhirang，Nankai University President Teng Weizao，Chinese University of Science and Technology President Guan Weiyan and many others.
Many domestic rankings place Peking University amongst the top universities in China.In 2010，the Chinese University Alumni Association in partner ship with China Education Center ranked Peking University first among national universities in the country，while the China University Ranking placed Peking University 2nd behind Tsinghua among universities in mainland China.
Internationally，the Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed Peking University 46th in the world in their 2012-2013 rankings，while the QS Worild-University Rankings placed the University 44th worldwide in 2012.Further，ARWU（2012）considered it to be among 151st-200th in the world and 1st-4th in mainland China.
