Tianjin University (TJU; 天津大学), previously Peiyang University (北洋大學), is a national public research university in Tianjin, China. Established in 1895 by a royal charter from the Guangxu Emperor, Tianjin University is the oldest university in China, leading the country's significant shift towards modernization and development.[3][4][5] The university is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. It is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction.[6]

Originally established as Imperial Tientsin University and later known as Peiyang University, the institution was founded to provide modern education in engineering and mining, later expanding to include programs in science, business, law, humanities, and other disciplines. The establishment of Tianjin University marked a turning point in Chinese history, as it represented a significant shift towards modernization and the adoption of Western educational models.[3]

In 1951 after the establishment of the People's Republic of China, by an order of the Chinese Communist government, the university was renamed Tianjin University. It serves as one of the largest multidisciplinary engineering universities in China and one of the first 16 national key universities accredited by the central government in 1959

History

In 1895, Sheng Xuanhuai submitted his memorial to the Guangxu Emperor to request for approval to set up a modern higher education institution in Tianjin. After approval on October 2, 1895, Peiyang Western Study College was founded by him and American educator Charles Daniel Tenney and later developed to Peiyang University. It was the first university providing four year degree modern higher education in China.[8] The university modeled itself on the famous American Universities and aimed to rejuvenate China by training qualified personnel with new scientific and technological knowledge. After the PR China's foundation and university restructures, Peiyang University was renamed Tianjin University in 1951.[9]

Peiyang University logo

Peiyang University, 1900

Peiyang University, and later Tianjin University, contributed greatly to Chinese society. In its early days, undergraduates had the permission to directly pursue graduate study at Harvard and Yale without any entrance exams. Its law school, which was the first and, at the time, best law school in China, was merged into Peking University and gave Peking University a fresh new start. Peiyang's Department of Aeronautics was separated and developed into Beihang University.