History of Nankai University
[1] Zhang Boling and Yan Xiu once visited Li Chun, the Jiangsu governor who had donated to Nankai many times, and asked for help in raising funds.
In October 1920, before his death, Li Chun left a will, donating a quarter of his estate, equivalent to 500,000 silver yuan, to Nankai University as a permanent fund.
On September 12, 1921, Liang Qichao was invited to lecture on "Chinese Historical Research Methods" at Nankai University, attracting teachers and students from various schools in Tianjin to attend.
[8] Subsequently, Liang Qichao proposed establishing an Institute of Oriental Culture at Nankai University to primarily study Confucian and Mencian thought and Song Dynasty Neo-Confucianism.
[7] In 1922, the Rockefeller Foundation inspected Nankai University and, after attending Mr. Qiu Zongyue's qualitative analysis class, decided to donate a science building.
[7] Additionally, Zhu Kezhen, Tang Yongtong, Xiao Shuyu, Fan Wenlan, Luo Longji, and Wu Dayou also taught at Nankai for short periods.
[21] On July 7, 1937, following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in full scale, with Japanese forces swiftly invading northern China.
[22] On July 30, Japanese troops entered the Nankai University campus, looting and setting fire to buildings that had survived the air raid.
The attack on Nankai University drew significant attention, with prominent figures such as Cai Yuanpei, Hu Shih, Mao Dun, and Guo Moruo sending letters of sympathy.
"[25] On August 1, Cai Yuanpei, Jiang Menglin, Hu Shih, Mei Yiqi, and four others sent a telegram to the League of Nations' Intellectual Cooperation Committee to inform them of the Japanese invasion of Nankai and other educational institutions, urging the international community to sanction Japan.
At Oxford University and 17 other institutions in the UK, 170 professors jointly expressed their support and urged the British government to stop Japanese atrocities.
In February, after the first semester ended, equipment and books were gradually shipped to Kunming, and the entire faculty and student body moved to Yunnan by sea and land routes.
The third group traveled from Changsha by land, took a boat from Yiyang, Hunan, walked through Changde to Yuanling, and then took trucks through Zhijiang, arriving in Kunming after a journey of over 3,000 miles, on April 28.
[34] Since Zhang Boling and Jiang Menglin held positions in the wartime capital Chongqing, Mei Yiqi resided in Kunming to manage the university.
[7] In 1940, with the Japanese invasion of Vietnam, the National Southwestern Associated University prepared to move to Sichuan, temporarily setting up a branch in Xuyong to accommodate new and preparatory students.
On January 1, 1944, the National Government awarded Zhang Boling, the founder of Nankai University, the First Class Order of the Brilliant Star to commend his lifelong dedication to education.
On December 1, led by the KMT party affairs director Li Zonghuang, Yunnan garrison commander Guan Linzheng, and the 55th Army commander Qiu Qingquan, over a hundred soldiers of the Second Officer Regiment of the Ministry of Military Affairs attacked the campuses of the Associated University, Yunnan University, and other schools, killing four and severely injuring 25 in what became known as the December 1st Incident.
Scholars such as Wu Daren, Bian Zhilin, Xiao Caiyu, Fu Zhufu, Gao Zhenheng, Li Guangtian, Luo Da'gang, Wang Dexi, Xie Guozhen, and Zhang Qingchang joined Nankai to teach.
On January 4, students from Nankai and Peiyang Universities jointly issued a strike declaration, launching a campaign for the withdrawal of American troops from China.
[55] The History Department also hosted rare live exhibitions during the Cultural Revolution, where victims were forced to confess their alleged crimes to the audience.
[56] In December, the textbook "Political Economy (Socialist Section)," edited by Professor Gu Shutang of Nankai University, was officially published.
[57] This book broke away from the framework of Soviet textbooks, incorporated the latest research findings, and went through multiple revisions, having a significant influence in the field of economics education in China.
Additionally, a series of interdisciplinary, emerging, and high-tech programs were established, such as Applied Chemistry, Electronics, Computer Applications, Biomedicine, and Bioengineering.
However, both universities, with their long histories and unique educational characteristics, faced strong opposition from alumni, and the merger plan ultimately failed.
In 2002, Nankai University Shenzhen Financial Engineering Institute was founded,[68] with Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences Robert Mundell and the first chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission Liu Hongru serving as honorary deans.
[73] In the same year, Nankai University renovated the student dormitory designed by Liang Sicheng, changing its function to the Liberal Arts Innovation Building.
[75] The plan for a new campus in Jinghai County was changed to the Haihe Education Park due to the proposal of then-Tianjin Municipal Party Secretary Zhang Gaoli.
[88] On January 3, 2018, Cao Xuetao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and immunologist, succeeded Gong Ke as the tenth president of Nankai University.
[17] Scholars such as Jin Guo and Hu Jinping have researched the "government-university relationship" in the process of Nankai University's transition from a private to a national institution.
They argue that the process was essentially a way for the National Government to gradually control and undermine the autonomy of private universities through the distribution of educational resources.
