National Peiyang University (北洋大学堂), originally Imperial Tientsin University, was established in Tianjin in October 1895 by Sheng Xuanhuai, the official of the Tianjin Customs, with the approval of the Guangxu Emperor of Qing dynasty. It was the first government-run university in modern China where western science & technology was its main focus. The school motto was "Seeking truth from facts" (实事求是). In 1951, by Chinese government's order, the university was renamed as Tianjin University.
In 1912, it was renamed National Peiyang University, and the following year it was renamed National Peiyang University. In 1917, Peiyang University merged into Peking University. By 1920, Peiyang University began to specialize in engineering education. In 1928, the National Government promoted the university district system. During this period, the school was renamed as the Second Institute of Engineering at National Peiping University.
The following year the university district system was abolished. The original Peiyang University was retired from Peking University. Because it was specialized in engineering, it was not in accordance with the university system. Peiyang Institute of Technology. In 1937, due to the Second Sino-Japanese War, the National Peiyang Institute of Technology moved west to Xi'an to form the National Xi'an Ad-hoc University and was renamed the National Northwest Associated University in March of the following year. In July, it was reorganized into the National Northwestern Institute of Technology. In 1943, under the auspices of Peiyang University's alumni reunification, the Ministry of Education independently designated Yingsi University's College of Engineering and established the Taishun Peiyang Institute of Technology. Affected by this, Peiyang University alumni established Xijing Branch of Peiyang Institute of Technology in Xi'an. In 1945, when the Second Sino-Japanese War ended, Peiyang University alumni's call for returning to Tianjin was growing louder. In January 1946, the Ministry of Education ordered Taishun Peiyang Institute of Technology, Peiyang Institute of Technology Xijing Branch and National Northwestern Engineering College to return to Tianjin for re-establishment. National Peiyang University was demobilized at the site of Xigu, Tianjin, and civil engineering, hydraulic engineering, and mining engineering were established. The five engineering research institutes of metallurgical engineering and chemical engineering actively carry out academic exchanges and scientific research and are known as the “science fortress building a nation”. In 1951, the National Peiyang University was merged with the Hebei Institute of Technology and named Tianjin University.
At present, the campus site of Peiyang University is on the campus of Hebei University of Technology. The existing buildings include Tuancheng, Nanlou and North Buildings. In May 2013, the site of Peiyang University was upgraded to a national key cultural relics protection unit. In September 2016, the site of Peiyang University was selected as one of the first Chinese Architectural Heritage Lists in the 20th Century. Since Tianjin University has inherited the academic ties of Peiyang University, Tianjin University is currently holding the annual celebration of Tianjin University (Northern University) on October 2. Tianjin University has successively established Peiyang Square, 100th Anniversary Peiyang Memorial Pavilion, Peiyang Science Building, 120th Anniversary Peiyang Memorial Pavilion, etc. The celebration of Peiyang University Hall was established in October 1895.
School name
Research on the initial school name The name originally used when Peiyang University was founded and the official opening date had a variety of arguments because the files were burned and there was no way to verify. One view is that the name of Peiyang University was "Tianjin Peiyang Chinese and Western School" (天津北洋中西学堂) at the beginning of its establishment. This statement originated from the "Tianjin Chinese and Western School Constitution" (《天津中学学堂章程》) prepared by Sheng Xuanhuai and the "Arrangement of the Constitution of the Tianjin Chinese and Western School" (《拟设天津中西学堂章程禀》) proposed by Sheng Xuanhuai.
Another argument stems from the fact that the Governor of Zhili Province, Wang Wenshao, wrote a memorial to Emperor Guangxu for the purpose of creating a Western School by the head of customs by Sheng Xuanhuai (《津海关道盛宣怀创办西学学堂禀明立案由》). The memorial uses the name of “Tianjin Peiyang Western School” (天津北洋西学学堂). Therefore, Peiyang University (北洋大学堂) is presumed to be under construction. It was originally named "Tianjin Peiyang Western School" (天津北洋西学学堂) and was later renamed "Peiyang University" (北洋大学堂). This is a common saying. This was adopted in the Peiyang University-Tianjin University History published by Tianjin University Press in 1990.
However, scholars who specialize in the history of Peiyang University have verified based on historical data. In fact, when Peiyang University was founded, the initial names of the schools were Peiyang University (北洋大学堂), Peiyang University (北洋大学堂) and its English “Pei-yang-ta-hsiieh-t'ang" appeared in the 1895 Peiking Tientisn Times and Zhili Province Times. Because the school used the "Tianjin Chinese and Western School Constitution" approved by Emperor Guangxu, it caused misinformation.
Evolution of the Institution's Name According to historical research, when Beiyang University was founded in 1895, its official name was Beiyang University Hall. On 19 January 1912, the Ministry of Education issued the Provisional Regulations on General Education, which required that “all xuetang (學堂) be uniformly renamed xuexiao (學校).” Accordingly, Beiyang University Hall was renamed Beiyang University. The following year, it was again renamed National Beiyang University.
In 1928, in response to the National Government's implementation of the university-district system, the institution was renamed the Second College of Engineering, National Peking University. It was restored the next year, but because it specialized solely in engineering and did not conform to the full university structure, it adopted the provisional name National Beiyang Institute of Technology, while a Preparatory Committee for National Beiyang University was established simultaneously.
In 1937, due to the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the National Beiyang Institute of Technology relocated to Xi'an, where it helped form the National Xi'an Temporary University. In March of the following year, the institution was renamed National Northwest Associated University, and underwent another reorganization that July.
After the war ended in 1946, the Taishun Beiyang Institute of Technology, the Xijing Branch of Beiyang Institute of Technology, and the National Northwestern Institute of Technology all returned to Tianjin and were reestablished.
In 1951, National Beiyang University and Hebei Institute of Technology were merged to form Tianjin University.
Although the institution's official name underwent many changes, the most widely recognized and commonly used remains “Beiyang University.”
English Names According to scholarly research, as early as November 1895, the English-language newspaper The Peking and Tientsin Times used the name Beiyang University Hall in its coverage of the opening of the institution, rendering it phonetically as “Pei-yang-ta-hsiieh-t'ang.” Over the years, Beiyang University was translated variously as “Imperial Tientsin University” and “Peiyang University.” During the period of the National Peiyang Institute of Technology, its English name was “National Peiyang Technical Institute.” University History Preparatory Period
In 1892, after Sheng Xuanhuai was appointed Tianjin Customs Circuit Intendant, he began studying plans to establish a modern school. He maintained close contact with Calvin W. Mateer (Ding Jiali)—an American missionary who operated his own Sino-Western school in Tianjin and served as Li Hongzhang's English tutor—and the two worked together to discuss matters related to founding the institution. Acting on the intentions of Li Hongzhang, Viceroy of Zhili and Beiyang Minister, Sheng Xuanhuai and Mateer jointly prepared for the creation of a new-style school, drafting its regulations, guidelines, and implementation plans.
After China's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War and the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the idea of “saving the nation through education” gained momentum, and the push to develop modern industry highlighted a shortage of talent. Sheng Xuanhuai revised the Proposed Regulations for Establishing the Tianjin Sino-Western School and, on 19 September 1895 (the first day of the eighth lunar month of Guangxu 21), submitted it to Wang Wenshao, the succeeding Viceroy of Zhili and Beiyang Minister, requesting imperial approval to establish a modern school.
Influenced by post-war intellectual trends that criticized traditional Chinese learning and advocated Western learning, Wang Wenshao renamed the proposed “Sino-Western School” to “Western School”, though he made no amendments to the original regulations of the Tianjin Sino-Western School. On 30 September, he memorialized the throne with the document Report by Tianjin Customs Circuit Intendant Sheng Xuanhuai Requesting Permission to Establish a Western School. Only a few days later, on 2 October, the Guangxu Emperor approved the memorial with the rescript “Let the relevant ministry be informed,” appointing Sheng Xuanhuai as the first supervisor of the institution.
To expedite the founding process, Sheng Xuanhuai repurchased, with pooled funds, the premises of Bowen Academy, which had been pawned to a bank due to financial difficulties and left unused for several years. He then used Bowen Academy's original facilities to establish Beiyang University Hall.
Early Development
On 18 October 1895, with the involvement of Sheng Xuanhuai and Wang Wenshao, then Viceroy of Zhili, Beiyang University Hall was officially opened on the former site of Bowen Academy. Student recruitment was carried out in Hong Kong and other regions; although more than a thousand applied, only a little over ten were ultimately admitted.
At its founding, Beiyang University Hall consisted of a First Class School and a Second Class School. The First Class School, with a four-year program modeled on American undergraduate education, offered five fields: engineering, electrical studies, mineralogy, mechanics, and calendrical science (i.e., five training tracks). At that time, the school had mineralogy but no metallurgy. The Second Class School served as a university preparatory and upper-secondary division.
In early 1897, Sheng Xuanhuai, then in charge of railways, ordered the soon-to-open Jinyu Railway School (later known as the Beiyang Railway Official School at Shanhaiguan) to be incorporated into Beiyang University Hall. He also instructed the university to admit an additional 20 students to form the Luhan Railway School. In November of the same year, Hu Yufen, appointed superintendent of the Tianjin–Luguo Railway, ordered the railway school to be separated from Beiyang University Hall once again.
In 1900, the first cohort graduated from Beiyang University Hall. Wang Chonghui, who had been admitted from Hong Kong and graduated with the highest distinction, received Imperial Certificate No. 1—the first diploma ever granted by a Chinese university.
That same year, the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Tianjin and Beijing. The university was forced to close temporarily. Some faculty and students fled south to Shanghai, where, under Sheng Xuanhuai's arrangement, they entered a specially established railway class at Nanyang Public School.