As the university was initially short on funds, he turned to fundraising worldwide and received support from the estate of Charles Martin Hall, an American executive of Alcoa Aluminum.

Theology, Law, and Medical were the main schools of the university, together with Arts and Science studies.

Under Hung, the university's reputation for Chinese studies rose steadily, especially with the publication of the Harvard-Yenching Sinological Index Series.

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, the area was occupied by Japan and the university was moved to Chengdu, Sichuan.