Beijing Normal University
Encyclopedia
Beijing Normal University , colloqiually known as 北师大 or Beishida, is a public research university located in Beijing
with strong emphasis on basic disciplines of humanities and sciences. It is a national key university and one of the oldest universities in China.
A normal school
referred to an institution that aimed to train school teachers in early twentieth century, and this terminology is preserved in the official names of such institutions in China.
after the Hundred Days Reform in 1898. In 1908 the Faculty of Education was named as the Imperial Capital School of Supreme Teacher Training, and was separated from the Imperial Capital University which then developed to Peking University
, also a prominent university in China.
After Republic of China
was established, the Imperial Capital School of Supreme Teacher Training was named as Peking Normal College in 1912. The college had its first graduate programs in 1920 and began to recruit female students in 1921. In the year 1923 it was named as Peking Normal University, and became the first normal university in Chinese modern history. The Peking Women’s College of Education merged into Peking Normal University in 1931.
When the communists established People's Republic of China
in 1949, the capital of Peking was renamed Beijing and the university was therefore renamed as Beijing Normal University. During a national initiative of university rearrangement in 1952, Fu Jen Catholic University
merged with Beijing Normal University. In 1954, it moved from He Ping Men to the newly established campus at Bei Tai Ping Zhuang and remains there since.
Historically, students in Beijing Normal University played a significant role in patriotic and democratic movements, particularly in the May Fourth Movement
in 1919 and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
. In a New York Times article, it was described as "one of the most progressive institutions" in China.
institution in 1996. In 2002 it signed an agreement with Ministry of Education and Beijing Municipal Government, and became the 10th university on the list of Project 985
to get special support from the Chinese Government, aiming to be a world prestigious university.
During its centennial celebration in 2002, an asteroid discovered in 1996 was named after the university as 8050 Beishida
.
After a special visit of Premier Wen Jiabao
on May 4 of 2006 to Beijing Normal University, the Chinese government implemented the Fee-Waiver Policy for teacher training programs in six normal universities that are supervised by the Ministry of Education, including Beijing Normal University.
The university also lays distinct emphasis on educational equality. The 2009 demographic composition data shows that 40% of its enrolled students are from western China, almost one third are from rural areas, a quarter are from low-income families, and ethnic minorities comprise for more than 10%.
There are 74 research laboratories, including 4 National Key Labs (see below), 7 Key Labs of Ministry of Education, and 5 Key Labs of Beijing Municipality. Key research centers and bases include 7 key research bases in humanities and social sciences of Ministry of Education, 2 research centers of Engineering & Technology of Beijing Municipality, 3 research centers jointly-established with Beijing Municipality, and more than 40 other research centers of all kinds. Furthermore, the university has an institute for Proteomics which is the only one established in universities by Ministry of Education. Besides, the university has established a Science Park which covers an area of 6 hectares.
The university has an annual research funding in sciences of over RMB 100 Million. In 2010, 150 projects were funded by the National Natural Science Foundation, with a record high amount of RMB 62 millions (compared with 44.7 millions in 2009 and 37 millions in 2007). The research funding in humanities and social sciences has increased rapidly in the recent five years with RMB 150 Million in total, which tops the third place nationally. Since 2002 the annual increase has been over RMB 30 Million and equals to RMB 40,000 per capita. As a university strong in basic theory and research, it is fairly fruitful in fund raising for humanities and social sciences.
Beijing Normal University is also among the earliest institutions to recruit international students, and is particularly popular for its Mandarin Chinese study programs. A most prestigious program is Princeton in Beijing.
.
The campus hosted U.S. Olympic Team during 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In 2002，Zhuhai campus was built in Zhuhai city，Guangdong province.
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
with strong emphasis on basic disciplines of humanities and sciences. It is a national key university and one of the oldest universities in China.
A normal school
Normal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
referred to an institution that aimed to train school teachers in early twentieth century, and this terminology is preserved in the official names of such institutions in China.
History
The University grew out of the Faculty of Education, Imperial Capital University that was established in 1902 on the initiative of the emperor of Qing DynastyQing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
after the Hundred Days Reform in 1898. In 1908 the Faculty of Education was named as the Imperial Capital School of Supreme Teacher Training, and was separated from the Imperial Capital University which then developed to Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
, also a prominent university in China.
After Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
was established, the Imperial Capital School of Supreme Teacher Training was named as Peking Normal College in 1912. The college had its first graduate programs in 1920 and began to recruit female students in 1921. In the year 1923 it was named as Peking Normal University, and became the first normal university in Chinese modern history. The Peking Women’s College of Education merged into Peking Normal University in 1931.
When the communists established People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1949, the capital of Peking was renamed Beijing and the university was therefore renamed as Beijing Normal University. During a national initiative of university rearrangement in 1952, Fu Jen Catholic University
Fu Jen Catholic University
Fu Jen Catholic University is a co-educational Catholic university located in Xinzhuang District, New Taipei City, Republic of China...
merged with Beijing Normal University. In 1954, it moved from He Ping Men to the newly established campus at Bei Tai Ping Zhuang and remains there since.
Historically, students in Beijing Normal University played a significant role in patriotic and democratic movements, particularly in the May Fourth Movement
May Fourth Movement
The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, especially the Shandong Problem...
in 1919 and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
. In a New York Times article, it was described as "one of the most progressive institutions" in China.
Present
The university was chosen as a Project 211Project 211
Project 211 is a project of National Key Universities and colleges initiated in 1995 by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, with the intent of raising the research standards of high-level universities and cultivating strategies for socio-economic development...
institution in 1996. In 2002 it signed an agreement with Ministry of Education and Beijing Municipal Government, and became the 10th university on the list of Project 985
Project 985
Project 985 is a project first announced by CPC General secretary and Chinese President Jiang Zemin at the 100th anniversary of Peking University on May 4, 1998 to promote the development and reputation of the Chinese higher education system...
to get special support from the Chinese Government, aiming to be a world prestigious university.
During its centennial celebration in 2002, an asteroid discovered in 1996 was named after the university as 8050 Beishida
8050 Beishida
8050 Beishida is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 18, 1996 by the Beijing Schmidt CCD Asteroid Program at Xinglong.- External links :*...
.
After a special visit of Premier Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao is the sixth and current Premier and Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, serving as China's head of government and leading its cabinet. In his capacity as Premier, Wen is regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy...
on May 4 of 2006 to Beijing Normal University, the Chinese government implemented the Fee-Waiver Policy for teacher training programs in six normal universities that are supervised by the Ministry of Education, including Beijing Normal University.
The university also lays distinct emphasis on educational equality. The 2009 demographic composition data shows that 40% of its enrolled students are from western China, almost one third are from rural areas, a quarter are from low-income families, and ethnic minorities comprise for more than 10%.
Academics
So far the university has altogether 55 undergraduate degree programs, 162 master programs, and 100 doctoral programs. 16 of them are honored as national key disciplines, including 5 general disciplines and 11 specialized disciplines, and are recognized as among the top ranked in China:| Education | Psychology |
| Chinese | Mathematics |
| Geography | Cell Biology |
| Marxist Philosophy | Physical Chemistry |
| Ancient Chinese History | System Science |
| Theory of History | Theoretical Physics |
| Folklore/Anthropology | Environmental Science |
| Ecology | Educational Economics and Management |
There are 74 research laboratories, including 4 National Key Labs (see below), 7 Key Labs of Ministry of Education, and 5 Key Labs of Beijing Municipality. Key research centers and bases include 7 key research bases in humanities and social sciences of Ministry of Education, 2 research centers of Engineering & Technology of Beijing Municipality, 3 research centers jointly-established with Beijing Municipality, and more than 40 other research centers of all kinds. Furthermore, the university has an institute for Proteomics which is the only one established in universities by Ministry of Education. Besides, the university has established a Science Park which covers an area of 6 hectares.
The university has an annual research funding in sciences of over RMB 100 Million. In 2010, 150 projects were funded by the National Natural Science Foundation, with a record high amount of RMB 62 millions (compared with 44.7 millions in 2009 and 37 millions in 2007). The research funding in humanities and social sciences has increased rapidly in the recent five years with RMB 150 Million in total, which tops the third place nationally. Since 2002 the annual increase has been over RMB 30 Million and equals to RMB 40,000 per capita. As a university strong in basic theory and research, it is fairly fruitful in fund raising for humanities and social sciences.
Beijing Normal University is also among the earliest institutions to recruit international students, and is particularly popular for its Mandarin Chinese study programs. A most prestigious program is Princeton in Beijing.
Campus
The current campus was built in 1954. It is located in northwest downtown Beijing in Haidian district, between the second and third ring roads, and is the closest among all Haidian universities to Tiananmen SquareTiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world...
.
The campus hosted U.S. Olympic Team during 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In 2002，Zhuhai campus was built in Zhuhai city，Guangdong province.
Notable alumni
- Liu XiaoboLiu XiaoboLiu Xiaobo is a Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and human rights activist who called for political reforms and the end of communist single-party rule in China...
, writer and a leading dissident, winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace PrizeNobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
. - Chai LingChai LingChai Ling was one of the student leaders in the Tian'anmen Square protests of 1989. Today she is Founder of All Girls Allowed, a humanitarian organization working to restore value to girls in China.-Education and protest:Chai Ling's parents were members of the Communist Party...
, dissident, student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen protests. - Wu'er Kaixi, dissident, student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen protests.
- Yuan GuirenYuan GuirenYuan Guiren is a Chinese academic and the current Minister of Education in the People's Republic of China.Yuan is a native of Guzhen County in Anhui. He is a Beijing Normal University alumni and a former president of the same institution. He is also currently a member of the 17th CPC Central...
, professor of philosophy, the current Minister of Education in the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. - Xu JialuXu JialuXu Jialu is vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and head of the College of Chinese Language and Culture at Beijing Normal University-Life:Xu was born in Beijing, though his ancestral home is in Huai'an, Jiangsu....
, professor of Chinese, politician, former vice chairman of National People's CongressNational People's CongressThe National People's Congress , abbreviated NPC , is the highest state body and the only legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The National People's Congress is held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China; with 2,987 members, it is the...
. - Yu DanYu DanYu Dan is an associate professor at China's Beijing Normal University. She is also assistant to the Dean, Faculty of Arts & Media, as well as Head, Department of Film & Television Media. She receives a master degree in ancient Chinese literature and a doctoral degree in film & TV studies from...
, professor, well-known for her popular yet controversial lectures about Analects broadcasted on China Central TelevisionChina Central TelevisionChina Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China. CCTV has a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers...
. - Su TongSu TongSu Tong is the pen name of a Chinese writer born in Suzhou who is now based in Nanjing. His real name is Tong Zhonggui .He entered into the Department of Chinese of Beijing Normal University in 1980 and started to publish novels in 1983. He is now the vice president of Jiangsu Writers Association...
, novelist. - Xie JunXie JunXie Jun is a chess grandmaster from China. She had two reigns as Women's World Chess Champion, from 1991 to 1996 and again from 1999 to 2001. Xie is only the second woman to have two reigns, the other being Elisabeth Bykova....
, chess grandmaster. - Lang PingLang PingMedalGold MedalGold MedalGold (1982 World Championship 1982 Perú"Jenny" Lang Ping , is a former Chinese volleyball player and the former head coach of the U.S. women's national volleyball team. Her nickname is the "Iron Hammer"....
, gold medalist in 1984 Summer Olympics1984 Summer OlympicsThe 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
women's volleyball, former head coach of the U.S. women's national volleyball team. - Chen YibingChen YibingChen Yibing is a Chinese gymnast, a four-times world champion on still rings. Chen was part of the Chinese team that won the gold medal in the team event at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011 and the Asian Games in 2006 and 2010...
, gymnast, 2008 Summer Olympics2008 Summer OlympicsThe 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
gold medalist in men's ring. - Wang XiaodongWang XiaodongXiaodong Wang is an American biochemist best known for his work with cytochrome c. His laboratory developed an in-vitro assay for the activation of the apoptosis related proteinase Caspase-3. This allowed the biochemical purification a complex of Cytochrome c, Caspase-9 and the Apoptotic Protease...
, biochemist at University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterThe University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is one of the biomedical research institutions of the University of Texas System, incorporating three degree-granting institutions, four affiliated hospitals, including Parkland Memorial, the teaching hospital, and biomedical research...
, member of United States National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
. - Timothy Geithner, the 75th and current United States Secretary of the TreasuryUnited States Secretary of the TreasuryThe Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
. He was a language student studying Mandarin in 1982 as an undergraduate at Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth CollegeDartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
.
Rankings
- QS World University Ranking: 300th (8th in China)
- China Top 50 University Ranking (Renda): 9th
- China University Ranking (Netbig): 10th
- Humanities and Social Sciences overall ranking in China: 3rd
Affiliated High Schools
- Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University
- High School Attached to Beijing Normal University
- The Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal UniversityThe Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal UniversityThe Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University is the official English name of a secondary school in the north Beijing neighbourhood of Xicheng...