Fu Jen Catholic University (FJU, FJCU or Fu Jen; or ) is a private Catholic university in New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1925 in Beijing at the request of Pope Pius XI and re-established in Taiwan in 1961 at the request of Pope John XXIII.
Fu Jen consists of twelve colleges and schools, among which are several of Taiwan's first or only academic units in Italian language, info-management, museology, religious studies, philosophy. The campus is served by Fu Jen University Station, Taiwan's first metro station named after a university.
Fu Jen is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit-affiliated institution of higher education in the Sinophone world, under the direct authority of the Congregation for Catholic Education of the Holy See.Ho, Szu–Shen, "The Latest China-Holy See Relations: Prospects and Impacts", PROSPECT & EXPLORATION, Vol.16 Iss.3, p.31. It is also a non-state actor of Track II diplomacy in the Holy See–Taiwan relations. Therefore, Fu Jen has special importance internationally and is known for its strong ties with the Roman Curia. In the past nearly one hundred years of history, the Benedictine, the Verbites, and the Jesuits from all over the world have participated in the management of the university.
The university has the nation's first business school there with AACSB accreditation and also the medical college was the earliest to promote PBL as pedagogy for medical education. Fu Jen alumni include Premier Lin Chuan, former First Lady of China Wang Guangmei, and politicians in the Legislative Yuan.List of Fu Jen Catholic University alumni.
History Early history
The institution was originally established in Beijing in 1925 by the Benedictines of St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, at the request of the Holy See, with Archabbot Aurelius Stehle serving as chancellor. Fu Jen, then commonly known as the Catholic University of Peking, was itself a successor to the Fu Jen Academy (), which was created through the efforts of Catholic scholars Ma Xiangbo and Ying Lianzhi. The university's first president (1925–1927) was the American missionary George Barry O'Toole, OSB. He was succeeded by Chen Yuan, a Chinese Protestant and renowned historian, who remained university president until the school's forced closure by the Chinese Communist government in 1952.
In 1933 the Benedictines in the United States, in the midst of the Great Depression, were no longer able to sustain Fu Jen's mission. Administration of the university passed to the Society of the Divine Word in Germany. Its affiliation with Germany, an ally of Imperial Japan, helped protect university personnel from extreme brutality inflicted elsewhere by occupying Imperial Japanese soldiers during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945).
After World War II
Since the university's operation had not been interrupted by the war, it quickly became one of China's top science programs. Well-known scientists such as Chien Shih-Liang taught at Fu Jen, and graduates such as Lee C. Teng and Wang Guangmei became famous alumni. On December 24, 1945, Thomas Tien Ken-sin, the university chairman, was made a cardinal. The following year, the School of Agriculture was added and preparations for the School of Medicine began. Also in the same year, the first Taiwan Alumni Association of Fu Jen was established in Dadu, Taichung, Taiwan.王紹禎, 〈輔仁大學校史〉, 收入陳明章發行, 《學府紀聞──私立輔仁大學》(臺北: 南京出版有限公司, 1982年8月), 頁9.
After the Communists assumed power in China in 1949, religious organisations, including the Catholic Church, began to be systematically repressed. In 1952 this intensified and the government merged Fu Jen with the Beijing Normal University, Peking University, Renmin University, China University of Political Science and Law, and Central University of Finance and Economics. Under Mao Zedong's arrangement, Chen Yuan, the former president of Fu Jen, was transferred to the Normal University as the new president.
Cold War era Although the Taiwan Provincial Government promised to donate land near Yuanshan Area in Taipei in 1948 to serve as the school site for Fu Jen to move to Taiwan, the Roman headquarters of the Society of the Divine Word soon ordered the suspension of all activities.王紹禎, 〈輔仁大學校史〉, 收入陳明章發行, 《學府紀聞──私立輔仁大學》(臺北: 南京出版有限公司, 1982年8月), 頁10. The following year, the university's American representative Rev. Ralph Thyken, S.V.D. came to Tokyo, Japan, to prepare for the establishment of a new Nagoya Catholic University, which is now Nanzan University. Until the Holy See formally ordered the university's re-establishment in Taiwan, the history of Fu Jen was interrupted for about ten years.
Fu Jen Catholic University was re-established in 1961 in Taiwan, and Paul Yu Pin, the former Ordinary of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nanjing, was appointed as the new president by Pope John XXIII. The new school opened under the auspices of the Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference, the Society of Jesus, and the Society of the Divine Word.
The new Fu Jen's academics sprouted from Western history, medieval philosophy, Christian thought, and European languages. It is the only comprehensive university in Taiwan that fully integrates Western thought, history, language, religion, and art. Since the 1960s, the university's philosophical tradition has been Scholasticism and Paul Yu Pin's "Three Kinds of Knowing" (三知論), focusing on the development of a Catholic philosophy that incorporates Confucianism and opposing the "relativism hegemony".
During the thirty years of the Cold War, many Western priests and nuns were sent to teach at the university and imported advanced scholarship into Taiwan. Many professors have been commended for this in recent years, such as Daniel Ross from the United States, Leopoldo Vicente from Spain, Marcina Stawasz from Poland, etc.
Modern era In 1997, the 14th Dalai Lama came to Fu Jen to hold a Dharma promotion conference (lecture) and held talks with Taiwan Governor James Soong (Taiwan's second most powerful person) in the university president's office.1997年尊者達賴喇嘛在台灣輔仁大学 - YouTube
Fu Jen has expanded rapidly since the 1990s. The number of students and social influence has long maintained the top five in the country, and the number of colleges has been closely following the National Taiwan University. So far in the 21st century, the university has since grown to comprise twelve colleges and schools and a hospital. In 2001, Fu Jen has been the first college in Taiwan that actively reduces tuition and fees.
Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital was opened in September 2017. The College of Medicine can be used as a conduit for cooperation between different academic disciplines, and assume a leading role in bringing together the colleges of biotechnology, chemistry, physics, engineering, management, and foreign languages. The establishment of a completely new curriculum and unique program will include training in hospital management and medical translation, research in laser technology and biotechnology, integration of Western and Chinese medicine, and robotic surgery.
Ideal and governance The university motto, 真、善、美、聖 (Veritas, Bonitas, Pulchritudo, Sanctitas in Latin), expresses four ideals: truth, goodness, beauty and sanctity.
The laurel wreath symbolizes honor and peace while the twelve stars signify the Virgin Mary. The cross represents the Christian faith. The two colors on the shield suggest Christ's dual nature as the rounded shape of the shield recalls the Sacred Heart. The Latin words on the banner beneath the emblem, the university motto, express the four ideals of the university while the three folds of the banner suggest the Trinity.
Based on the Christian faith, the university president clearly supports the abolition of the death penalty, opposes abortion, and opposes the utilitarianization of higher education.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees 1929–1947 Chang Ki 1960–1967 Thomas Tien Ken-sin 1967–1992 Soong Mei-ling 1992–1993 Paul Shan Kuo-hsi 1993–1999 Joseph Ti-kang 1999–2008 Paul Shan Kuo-hsi 2008–2009 Joseph Wang Yu-jung 2009–present: Peter Liu Cheng-chungPresidents 1925–1929 George Barry O'Toole 1929–1952 Chen Yuan 1959–1978 Paul Yu Pin 1978–1992 Stanislaus Lo Kuang 1992–1996 Gabriel Chen-Ying Ly 1996–2000 Peter Tuen-Ho Yang 2000–2004 John Ning-Yuean Lee, KHS 2004–2012 Bernard Li, KSG, KHS 2012–2024: Vincent Han-Sun Chiang 2024–present: Francis Yi-Chen Lan
Impact
Relying on the authority of the Vatican and the Society of the Divine Word, Fu Jen, then known as the Catholic University of Peking, was the only university in Beijing that was not taken over and controlled by Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In the white terror period of the cold war, Fu Jen was able to prevent the Kuomintang regime from interfering in school affairs and protect the students' freedom of speech under the serious concern of the Secretariat of State (Holy See).駐教廷大使陳之邁至外交部致外交部電文, 1970年8月28日發電, 外交部檔案-輔大易長.
Fu Jen Catholic University belongs to the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU) under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). After the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 came into effect in 1971, Fu Jen is the only university in Taiwan that has continuously participated in UNESCO for a long time. In the official Holy See–Taiwan relations, the university has repeatedly promoted substantial exchanges between the two countries. All the traditional Taiwanese ambassadors to the Holy See will be awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Fu Jen after leaving office. All the papal nuncio in Taiwan will also participate in the annual university opening ceremony.
The appointment and removal of the post of Fu Jen university president is a matter of inquiry by the secretary of state of the Holy See, and has been compared with the membership of the United Nations of the Republic of China (Taiwan).陳方中, 《中梵外交關係史》, 臺灣商務印書館, 頁314-315. The issue of the internal reorganization of Fu Jen has also widely affected the intervention of the Ministry of Education of the two countries and the papal nuncio to Taiwan.羅光, 《牧盧文集》(台北市: 先知出版社, 1972年12月), 頁148-166.
The chairman or the president of the university has always accompanied the president of Taiwan to visit the Holy See. In 2005, under the intervention of Fu Jen, the seat of the Taiwanese president was placed in the first row of heads of state, ahead of the US vice president Dick Cheney and German chancellor Angela Merkel. In 2013, the university further designated the products of the Fu Jen alumni's enterprise Franz-porcelains as the official national gift, which were presented to Pope Francis and the retired Pope Benedict XVI respectively.
Academics College/school Founded College of Liberal Arts College of Education College of Science and Engineering College of Human Ecology College of Foreign Languages School of Law College of Management College of Fine Arts College of Medicine College of Social Science College of Communication College of Fashion & Textiles The university at present comprises 12 colleges with more than 25,000 students.
College of Liberal Arts Department of Chinese Literature Department of History Department of Philosophy College of Fine Arts Department of Music Department of Applied Arts Department of Landscape Architecture (CH) Bachelor's degree program of Art and Cultural Creation (CH) College of Communication Department of Communication Arts Department of Journalism & Communication Studies Department of Advertising & Public Relations Graduate Institute of Mass Communication College of Education Department of Physical Education Department of Library and Information Science Graduate of Educational Leadership and Development Program of Sport Recreation Management College of Fashion and Textiles Department of Textiles and Clothing Graduate Institute of Museum Studies