Established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 by a royal charter from the Guangxu Emperor, it is the second oldest university in China after Tianjin University (established in 1895). In May 1912, the government of the Republic of China ordered the Imperial University of Peking to be renamed Peking University. Peking University merged with Yenching University after the nationwide restructuring of schools and departments in 1952. In April 2000, the former Beijing Medical University merged into the Peking University.
Peking University has six faculties, namely Humanities, Social Sciences, Economics and Management, Science, Information Technology and Engineering, as well as Health Science. It consists of 55 schools and departments, 60 research entities, and ten affiliated hospitals. By 2017, Peking University's staff include 76 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and 25 members of the World Academy of Sciences.
Following China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War, intellectuals - including Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, and Yan Fu - called for reforms to the country's education system. In June 1896, Minister Li Duanfen proposed to create a university in the capital. On 11 June 1898, the Guangxu Emperor, as part of the Hundred Days' Reform, authorised the creation of the Imperial University of Peking (Chinese: 京師大學堂; pinyin: Jīngshī Dàxuétáng; lit. 'Capital Grand Study Hall'). The Imperial University was formally established on 3 July 1898 when the emperor approved the royal charter written by Liang. Minister Sun Jianai was charged with the implementation. IUP served as the country's foremost institute for higher learning, but also as its highest educational authority. William Alexander Parsons Martin was appointed as the first president. Most of the reforms were abolished when the conservative Empress Dowager Cixi seized power on 21 September. The university survived with altered objectives and reduced scope. It opened on 31 December with 160 students, instead of the planned 500.
Following the Xinhai Revolution, the Imperial University of Peking was renamed "Government University of Peking" in 1912 and then "National University of Peking" in 1919 (simplified Chinese: 国立北京大学; traditional Chinese: 國立北京大學; pinyin: Guólì Běijīng Dàxué).
Early Republic of China period (1916–1927)
The noted scholar Cai Yuanpei was appointed president on January 4, 1917, and helped transform Peking University into the country's largest institution of higher learning, with 14 departments and an enrollment of more than 2,000 students. President Cai, inspired by the German model of academic freedom, introduced faculty governance and democratic management to the university. Cai recruited an intellectually diverse faculty that included some of the most prominent figures in the progressive New Culture Movement, including Hu Shih, Liu Bannong, Ma Yinchu, Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu, Lu Xun and Liang Shuming. Meanwhile, leading conservatives Gu Hongming and Huang Kan also taught at the university. A firm supporter for freedom of thought, Cai advocated for educational independence and resigned several times protesting the government's policy and interference.
The faculty of Peking University Institute for Chinese Classics in 1924Peking University students protesting the Treaty of Versailles in the May Fourth Movement.
On May 1, 1919, some students of Peking University learned that the Treaty of Versailles would allow Japan to receive Germany's colonising rights in Shandong province. An assembly at Peking University that included these students and representatives from other universities in Beijing was quickly organised. On May 4, students from thirteen universities marched to Tiananmen to protest the terms of Treaty of Versailles, demanded the Beiyang government to refuse to sign the treaty. Demonstrators also demanded the immediate resignation of three officials: Cao Rulin, Minister of the Ministry of Transportation, Zhang Zongxiang, China's Ambassador to Japan and Lu Zongyu, Minister of Currency, who they believed were in cooperation with Japanese. The protest ended up with some protesters being beaten and arrested, and Cao Rulin's house burned by protesters. Following the protest on May 4, students, workers and merchants from nearly all China's major cities went on strike and boycotted Japanese goods in China. The Beiyang government eventually agreed to release the arrested students and fired the three officials under intense public pressure, China's representatives in Paris refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles.
Peking University's West Gate, one of the symbols of the university campus
During the Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius campaign of 1973 to 1976, critique groups formed at Peking University and Tsinghua University disseminated commentaries under the pseudonym of "Liang Xiao." The pseudonym sounds like a person's name but is a homophone for "two schools."
21st century (2000–present)
In October 2015, Peking University alumni Professor Tu Youyou was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of artemisinin. Having saved millions of lives, artemisinin has made significant contributions to global health in regard to the fight against malaria.
On February 20, 2017, the university officially signed a contract with the British Open University to establish the Oxford Campus of Peking University HSBC Business School, Peking University Oxford Center and Shenzhen Oxford Innovation Center.
On June 29, 2020, the Sino-Russian Mathematics Center was established. The Sino-Russian Mathematics Center is led by Peking University and Moscow State University, and jointly constructed by relevant domestic units and other Russian universities and research institutes such as St. Petersburg University, relying on the "Double First-class" construction alliance in mathematics.
On April 2, 2021, Peking University Nanchang Innovation Research Institute was inaugurated.
On July 15, 2021, Peking University School of Integrated Circuits was inaugurated.
On September 6, 2021, the new Changping campus of Peking University was officially opened, welcoming the first batch of teachers and students. On September 30, Peking University Lanyuan Centre was officially launched. The first dean of Lanyuan Centre is Ke Yang, Professor of Peking University School of Clinical Oncology and a foreign academician of the American Academy of Medical Sciences. In October, Peking University officially announced the establishment of Peking University School of Computer Science, which means the computer major of Peking University was officially upgraded from a department to a school. Yang Fuqing, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, served as the honorary president.
In 2022, Peking University and Lancet established a commission on healthy aging in China. The Commission's purpose is to re-focus the debate on aging not just on the risks of China's aging population but on opportunities by "unleashing the intellectual and vocational capacities of the older population and the whole of Chinese society."
In June 2022, the International University Sports Federation (FISU) released the first series of "Healthy Campus" list. Peking University, as the only Chinese university that has obtained platinum certification from the International University Sports Federation, participated in 4 projects and became the only representative from China among 130 projects worldwide.
Campus
View of the central campus
American architect and art historian Talbot Hamlin designed some of the university's buildings constructed during the 1919 to 1922 period. There are several gates that lead into campus — East, West and South gates, with the West Gate being the most well known for the painted murals on its ceiling. Weiming Lake is in the north of the campus and is surrounded by walking paths and small gardens. The university hosts many museums, such as the Museum of University History and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology. Notable items in these museums include funerary objects that were excavated in Beijing and date back thousands of years from the graves of royals of the Warring States period. There are ritual pottery vessels as well as elaborate pieces of jewelry on display. There are also human bones set up in the traditional burial style of that period.
Beyond its main campus, Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC) is on Xueyuan Road where the country's most distinguished colleges are, and is a fitting site for academics and research.
During the Third Front construction, Peking University opened a branch in Hanzhong, Shaanxi.
In 2001, Peking University's Shenzhen campus, the Shenzhen Graduate School, opened its doors. The campus is located in the northwest part of Shenzhen City.
Peking University during winter. The campus is situated on a former imperial garden.
Weiming Lake occupies the central part of the campus of Peking University
The old site of the Ciji Temple at the Weiming Lake
Peking University's Science Teaching Building
School of International Studies
College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering
Peking University during the spring. Flowers are blooming everywhere.
School of Archaeology and Museology
Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Arts and Archaeology
Department of History
School of Life Sciences
Beijing International Center for Mathematical Research
Department of Chinese Language and Literature
Academics
One of the administrative buildings with the huabiao
Peking University consists of 30 schools and 12 departments, with 125 majors for undergraduates, 2 majors for the second bachelor's degree, 282 programs for Master's degree candidates and 258 programs for doctoral candidates. In addition to basic research, the university also conducts applied research.
At present, Peking University has 216 research institutions and research centres, including 2 national engineering research centers, 81 key national disciplines, and 12 national key laboratories. With 8 million holdings, the university library is the largest of its kind in Asia.
Several rankings have placed Peking University among the top universities in mainland China. In 2015, the Chinese University Alumni Association in partnership with China Education Center considered it first among all Chinese universities.
The 2023 QS Rankings ranked Peking University 12th in the world and first in Asia. As of 2024, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked Peking University 13th in the world, with its teaching and research environment indicators placed at 9th and 7th in the world respectively. Peking University was also ranked 15th in the world and 1st in the Asia-Pacific in The Three University Missions Ranking. The Academic Ranking of World Universities, also known as the "Shanghai Ranking", placed Peking University 24th in the world and 2nd in the Asia-Pacific & China. The U.S. News & World Report ranked Peking University 31st in the world, 4th in Asia and 2nd in China.
Peking was ranked 2nd in the Asia-Pacific and the 19th worldwide in 2023 in terms of aggregate performance (THE+ARWU+QS) as reported by the Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities.
In the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017, an annual ranking of university graduates' employability, Peking University was ranked 11th in the world and 2nd in Asia. In 2019, the QS World University Rankings ranked the university as one of the world's top 20 universities for academic reputation where, it ranked 16 globally, and top 10 in the world and first in the Asia-Pacific for employer reputation. Since 2017, Peking has been placed among the world's top 20 most reputable universities by the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, where it ranked 11 globally in 2023.
Research Performance
The 2020 CWTS Leiden Ranking ranked Peking University at 8th in the world based on their publications for the time period 2015–2018. For the high quality of research in natural science and health science, Peking University ranked 6th among the leading institutions, and 4th among the leading universities globally in the Nature Index 2024 Research Leaders by Nature Research. In 2023, it ranked 8th among the universities around the world by SCImago Institutions Rankings.
On October 24, 2018, Peking University Library, the largest library among Asian universities, held the opening ceremony of the 120th anniversary at the Yingjie Overseas Exchange Center.
National School of Development
The National School of Development (formerly China Center for Economic Research) is ranked amongst the top five most influential think tanks in China.
Peking University HSBC Business School at its Shenzhen campus.
Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School is a satellite campus of Peking University located in Shenzhen, Guangdong. It was founded in September, 2001 in collaboration with the Shenzhen Municipal Government and is located in University Town of Shenzhen along with satellite campuses of Tsinghua University and Harbin Institute of Technology. Dr. Wen Hai, a renowned economist in China and the vice-president of Peking University is the present chancellor of PKU Shenzhen. The school houses seven research departments as well as the Peking University HSBC Business School and Peking University School of Transnational Law.
On August 29, 2016, Peking University signed a strategic agreement with the Shenzhen Municipal Government to further develop its Shenzhen Graduate School, the university plans build a brand new campus near the existed graduate school and open undergraduate programs.
Every year, there are approximately 7,000 international students studying at Peking University.
Peking University offers dual degree programs at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels with the renowned Waseda University (早稲田大学) in Northeast Asia. It is one of the most engaged partners with Waseda, having established a strong cooperative relationship of the highest level. This partnership began with an academic agreement in 1982, enhancing dual degree programs and joint research initiatives since 2003. Under the PKU-Waseda project, each year, the university selects undergraduates to spend their third year studying at Waseda University in Japan, and then they return to Peking University for their fourth year. Simultaneously, Waseda University sends numerous students to Peking University as exchange students. Upon graduation, students receive two bachelor's degrees, one from each university. Additionally, joint master's student training programs and dual doctoral degree programs with Waseda University are also in operation. The comprehensive collaboration of offering dual degrees at all bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels, as seen in the Peking-Waseda partnership, is rare on a global scale.
The dormitories for international students at the main campus are located at Shaoyuan Garden (勺园) and Zhongguanyuan Global Village (中关新园). Its international students are made up of students from most countries in the world including most of Western Europe, North America, and South America, Asia, Australia and many countries in Africa. In 2005, Peking University and Cornell University signed an agreement formally establishing the China and Asia-Pacific Studies major at Cornell, which requires students to spend a semester studying at Peking University while working at internships. In 2006, PKU launched a joint undergraduate program with Yale University in which students will spend a semester overseas, living and studying together with the host institute's students. PKU's School of International Studies also launched joint degree programs with London School of Economics, Paris School of International Affairs, Seoul National University, and the University of Tokyo. PKU also has a longstanding relationship with Stanford University which operates a joint research center and base for Stanford students and scholars at the Stanford Center at Peking University, located in the Lee Jung Sen Building. The Peking University HSBC Business School has joint degree programs with University of Hong Kong and Chinese University of Hong Kong. The university has maintained a partnership with the Freie Universität Berlin since 1981 and the Higher School of Economics since 2015, and in 2019, became a partner of Washington University in St. Louis through the McDonnell International Scholars Academy.
Global excellence strategy
On the 121st founding anniversary, Peking University unveiled the "Global Excellence Strategy", an international blueprint aiming to enhance Peking University's global presence during the "Fourth Industrial Revolution". The "Global Excellence Strategy" aims to strengthen international cooperation, overcome development barriers, gather global resources, and stimulate collegial relationships. The Global Excellence Strategy is based upon the English word "CLOUDS", representing the "cloud era" of the "Fourth Industrial Revolution". Each letter stands for a corresponding word, namely creativity, leadership, openness, uniqueness, diversity and shaping.
Peking University has participated in many joint art-research projects, such as the Center for the Art of East Asia (CAEA) with the University of Chicago, and Department of Digital Art and Design with UNESCO.
Co-founder and CEO of Baidu, billionaire Robin Li (BSc, Information Management, 1991)
Four-time Women's World Chess Champion, Hou Yifan (BA, International Relations, 2018)
World Chess Champion and highest-rated Chinese chess player in history, Ding Liren (BA, Law)
Mathematician and MacArthur Fellow Yitang Zhang (BA 1982, MA 1984)
Philosopher, national debate champion, co-founder and CEO of Kippa, Kennedy Ekezie (MA, Economics and Management)
Notable academics and staff
Peking University has benefited from the services of notable academics and staff. These include founder of the People's Republic of China Mao Zedong (who worked as a library staff at the university), educator, politician, and revolutionary Cai Yuanpei (served as Chancellor of Peking University), and others.
^A companion to Asian art and architecture. Brown, Rebecca M., Hutton, Deborah S. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. 2011. ISBN9781444396355. OCLC767516261.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^ Xu, Youwei; Wang, Y. Yvon (2022). Everyday Lives in China's Cold War Military Industrial Complex: Voices from the Shanghai Small Third Front, 1964-1988. Palgrave MacMillan. p. 238. ISBN9783030996871.
^Studies (CWTS), Centre for Science and Technology. "CWTS Leiden Ranking". CWTS Leiden Ranking. Archived from the original on 2011-02-02. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
^Frederik Balfour; Bruce Einhorn; Moon Ihlwan; Mehul Srivastava & Hiroko Tashiro. "Asia's Top Business Schools". Businessweek.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
Lin, Xiaoqing Diana (2005). Peking University: Chinese Scholarship and Intellectuals, 1898-1937. State University of New York Press. ISBN978-0-7914-8391-6.
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