[8] Nanjing University's motto is "Sincerity with Aspiration, Perseverance with Integrity".

(simplified Chinese: 诚朴雄伟 励学敦行; traditional Chinese: 誠樸雄偉 勵學敦行; pinyin: chéng pǔ xióng wěi lì xué dūn xíng)[9][10] The first part of the motto, "Sincerity with Aspiration," originated during the university's period as the historical National Central University, while "Perseverance with Integrity" draws inspiration from classical Chinese aphorisms.

[11] Historically, Li Ruiqing, president of Liangjiang Higher Normal School, the precursor to Nanjing University, inscribed the motto "One who chews on the roots of vegetables can accomplish great things" (Chinese: 嚼得菜根 做得大事; pinyin: jiáo dé cài gēn zuò dé dà shì).

[11] The current motto, "Sincerity with Aspiration, Perseverance with Integrity", was adopted during the university's centennial celebration in 2002 under the leadership of then-President Jiang Shusheng, following extensive consultation with faculty and students.

[32] The joint THE-QS World University Rankings 2007 ranked Nanjing University 4th in China (after Peking, Tsinghua and Fudan), 17th in Asia and 125th in the world.