Beijing Normal University, a key university under
the administration of the Ministry of Education, is a renowned
institution of higher education known for teacher education, education
science and basic learning in both the arts and the sciences. The
university’s predecessor, the Normal College of the Imperial University
of Peking, was founded in 1902. In 1908, the school name was changed to
Advanced Normal College of the Imperial University and the school became
independent. In 1912, the name changed again, to Beijing Advanced
Normal School, and then, in 1923, the name changed yet again to Beijing
Normal University, the first Normal University in Chinese history. In
1931 and 1952, respectively, Peking Women’s Normal University and Fu Jen
Catholic University merged to create Beijing Normal University.
For over a century, Beijing Normal University has from the beginning
shared a fate as regards the Chinese people’s struggle to gain
independence, freedom, democracy and prosperity, and the university has
played a significant role in patriotic movements that have included the
May 4th Movement (1919) and the December 9th Movement (1935). Over the
years, the school has been home to a large group of renowned
intellectuals and scholars, who have promoted culture and stimulated
education, to name a few: Li Dazhao, Lu Xun, Liang Qichao, Qian
Xuantong, Wu Chengshi, Li Jinxi, Chen Yuan, Fan Wenlan, Hou Wailu, Bai
Shouyi, Zhong Jingwen, Qi Gong, Hu Xiansu, Wang Kunren and Zhou Tingru.
Adhering to a fine tradition of "Patriotism, Progress, Honesty,
Sincerity, Truth-Seeking, Innovation and being a paragon of virtue and
learning” while embodying the spirit of "Learn, so as to instruct others
and Act, to serve as example to all,” for over a hundred years Beijing
Normal University has lived by the philosophy of "Pursuing knowledge,
Cultivating personality, and Helping the whole world.”
