Yenching University was a university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 in Beijing

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...

, China. It integrated three Christian colleges in the city in 1919. Yenching is an alternative name of Beijing (Peking) - derived from its status as capital of Yan state

Yan (state)

Yān was a state during the Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of Chinese history. Its capital was Ji...

, one of the seven Warring States from 5th century BC to 3rd century BC.

The university was originally founded under the name of Peking University. In its early years, it was in a chaotic situation, due to its financing by several different churches.

• Huiwen University (滙文大學) was founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church
  Methodist Episcopal Church
  The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
  
   (美以美會) in 1889. Its precursor was (崇內懷理書院) founded in 1870. Hiram Harrison Lowry
  Hiram Harrison Lowry
  Rev. Dr. Hiram Harrison Lowry was an educator, Methodist clergyman and college president of China.Dr. Hiram Harrison Lowry was born on May 29, 1843 in Zanesville, Ohio. He graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan University, and received the degrees of A.B., A.M. and D.D.. In 1862-63 Lowry served during...
  
   was its principal.
• North China Harmony Women's University (華北協和女子大學). Its precursor (貝滿女塾) was founded in 1864
• Tongzhou Harmony University (通州協和大學). Its precursor (公理會潞河書院) was founded by the Congregational church
  Congregational church
  Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
  
  . Devello Z. Sheffield was the school's principal.

John Leighton Stuart

John Leighton Stuart

John Leighton Stuart was the first President of Yenching University and later United States ambassador to China; he was the last person to hold that position before the transfer of the embassy to Taipei.- Early life :...

 was appointed as the principal of the university in January 1919 when he taught Greek language

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 in Nanking Theological Seminary (金陵神學院), a seminary

Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

 in Nanjing

Nanjing

' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

, China. Being short of capital at the beginning, he turned to fundraising worldwide and received support from the estate of Charles Martin Hall

Charles Martin Hall

Charles Martin Hall was an American inventor, music enthusiast, and chemist. He is best known for his invention in 1886 of an inexpensive method for producing aluminium, which became the first metal to attain widespread use since the prehistoric discovery of iron.-Early years:Charles Martin Hall...

, an American executive of Alcoa Aluminum. He bought the royal gardens of Qing to build a scenic campus and employed gardeners from the Imperial gardens. In 1926 the campus was completed. Theology, Law and Medical were the main schools in the university, with Arts and Science studies.

Stuart attracted major Chinese and Western scholars to teach. Religion was not a qualification, although Stuart gave major support to the School of Theology. In 1928 the Harvard-Yenching Institute

Harvard-Yenching Institute

Harvard-Yenching Institute is an independent foundation dedicated to advancing higher education in Asia in the humanities and social sciences, with special attention to the study of Asian culture...

, was jointly founded by Yenching University and Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 for the teaching of the humanities and social sciences in East Asia

East Asia

East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

 and Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

. This independent institute continues to exist on the Harvard campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

. Also in 1928, American journalist and educator Walter Williams

Walter Williams (journalist)

Walter Williams was the founder of the Missouri School of Journalism and a former president of the University of Missouri. An internationalist, he promoted the value of journalism globally.-Biography:...

 established a department of journalism. By 1930, the school was among the top universities in China, its teaching distinguished itself by a considerable academic freedom.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

 in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Peking was occupied by Japan and the university was moved to Chengdu

Chengdu

Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...

 in Sichuan

Sichuan

' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

. After the 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...

 was established in 1949, Yenching University with its Christian background was closed. Its arts

ARts

aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....

 and science

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

 faculties of Yenching were merged into 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...

, and its engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

 section was merged with Tsinghua University

Tsinghua University

Tsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...

, and Peking University obtained the Yenching campus. In 1952 Peking University moved from central downtown Beijing to the previous Yenching campus in the city's Haidian district.

External links

• Internet Mission Photography Archive (enter "Yenching University in Search Box)
• Photos at the International Mission Photography Archive