Hangzhou University (), colloquially called Hangda () and formerly romanised as Hangchow University, was a public university in
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...
,
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...
, China. The university was founded as Zhejiang Teachers College () in 1952 by merging the departments of humanities, sciences and education at
Hangchow University
Hangchow University (), also spelled as Zhijiang University and formerly known as Hangchow Christian College, Hangchow College and Hangchow Presbyterian College, is a defunct Protestant missionary university in China, which is one of the pre ...
and
Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a National university, national public university, public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigiou ...
. The name of the university in
postal romanisation
Postal romanization was a system of transliterating Chinese place names developed by postal authorities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For many cities, the corresponding postal romanization was the most common English-language form ...
is the same as Hangchow University run by American missionaries, yet the Chinese names are different.
In September 1996, the university was selected into
Project 211
Project 211 () was an abolished project of developing comprehensive universities and colleges initiated in 1995 by the Ministry of Education of China, with the intent of raising the research standards of comprehensive universities and cultiva ...
. In September 1998, the university was merged into
Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a National university, national public university, public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigiou ...
, with its campus taken over by Zhejiang University as its Xixi Campus.
History
The idea of establishing a Hangzhou University was initially proposed in the Congress of Zhejiang Province in 1920, which was widely echoed by Zhejiang born people including
Cai Yuanpei
Cai Yuanpei (; 1868–1940) was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was an influential figure in the history of Chinese modern education. He made contributions to education reform with his own education ideology. He was the president of Pek ...
and
Jiang Menglin
Jiang Menglin (; 20 January 1886 – 1964), also known as Chiang Monlin, was a Chinese educator, writer, and politician. Between 1919 and 1927, he also served as the President of Peking University. He later became the president of National Che ...
. When Cai Yuanpei visited Hangchow University in March 1927, he said to Hangchow University students and faculty, "I am coming to find a proper site for Hangzhou University but the site has been picked up by you." With the establishment of National Third Chungshan University in 1927, which later was renamed as
Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a National university, national public university, public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigiou ...
, the call for establishing Hangzhou University faded away.
During the
1952 reorganisation of Chinese higher education
The 1952 reorganisation of Chinese higher education (Chinese: 1952年中国高等院校院系调整) was a national policy under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which came into power in 1949, to adopt Soviet-styled higher education, which focu ...
, part of School of Liberal Arts and School of Sciences at Zhejiang University, the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Hangchow University and Zhejiang Education College merged to form Zhejiang Teachers College. In September 1958, Zhejiang Teachers College, located in a newly constructed Xixi campus, merged with the Zhejiang Party School, located in the former Hangchow University campus, now known as the Zhijiang Campus, and formed Hangzhou University as a university specialised in social sciences. Thus, its mathematics, physics, chemistry departments was proposed to go into the Zhejiang College of Engineering and its biology to be incorporated into Zhejiang Agricultural University in July 1960, which didn't come true due to objection from the universities.
In 1960, Hangzhou University became wholly based at Xixi, as the Zhijiang campus became taken by Zhejiang University, where Zhejiang set up three new departments. From 1966 to 1976, the Cultural Revolution impacted the university, with at least ten killed due to political prosecution. Upon request of Hangzhou University professors Song Yunbin, Wang Jiawu and president
Chen Jiangong
Chen Jiangong (; 1893–1971), or Jian-gong Chen, was a Chinese mathematician. He was a pioneer of modern Chinese mathematics.Wenlan Pavilion, where the Siku Quanshu was protected from being destroyed by the Red Guards. As the national examination for college entrance was resumed in 1977, the university welcomed a new cohort of Class of 1981. Among around 70 graduates of the department of history class of 1981, there were at least 10 real estate tycoons including
Song Weiping
Song Weiping (), is a Chinese real estate tycoon and billionaire. He is the co-founder and president of Greentown China.
Career
Song was born in Sheng County, Shaoxing, Zhejiang province in 1958. 1982, he graduated from the Department of His ...
Mao Dun Literature Prize
Mao Dun Literature Prize () is a prize for novels, established in the will of prominent Chinese writer Mao Dun (for which he personally donated 250,000 RMB) and sponsored by the China Writers Association. Awarded every four years, it is one of ...
laureate Wang Xufeng. In 1989, the students at Hangzhou University held demonstrations with Zhejiang University at
Wulin Square
Wulin Square () is a square in the Xiacheng District of Hangzhou. It is served by the Wulin Square Station of the Hangzhou Metro
The Hangzhou Metro () is a rapid transit system that serves Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, China. The system ope ...
, Hangzhou, to support the
democracy movement
The Democracy Movement (DM) is a crossparty Eurosceptic pressure group in the UK with over 320,000 registered supporters and 160 local branches.
History
The Democracy Movement was founded in 1998 through a merger of the Referendum Movement, a cro ...
in Beijing.
As of 1998, Hangzhou University had become a comprehensive public university ranked among top 30 universities in China, with a reputation in its sciences and humanities programs. It was under the administration of Zhejiang Provincial Government. With a student body of 8500, the university was largely a regional teaching university, with one seventh of its students being postgraduate students. In September 1998, the university was merged into
Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a National university, national public university, public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigiou ...
, with its campus taken over by Zhejiang University as its Xixi Campus.
Campuses
The university was initially located at the former site of Hangchow University, which is a protected historic site since 2006. In late 1950s, the university moved to the newly built Xixi Campus until the merger with Zhejiang University in 1998, after which the campus became Xixi Campus of Zhejiang University. The road south to the campus was named after the university's name as Hangda Road. Hangda New Village, the residential area for Hangzhou University faculty, was located at 56 Xixi Road, which has been protected as a Historical and Cultural Street of Hangzhou since September 2021.
Publications
Before the merger, the university has its own publisher, Hangzhou University Press, which was merged into
Zhejiang University Press
Zhejiang University Press (traditional Chinese: 浙江大學出版社; simplified Chinese: 浙江大学出版社) is the official press of Zhejiang University ( People's Republic of China).
Established in 1984, Zhejiang University Press publishes ...
in 1999. The Chinese-language academic journals ''Journal of Hangzhou University'' was merged into ''Journal of Zhejiang University''. To be specific, ''Journal of Hangzhou University: Philosophy And Social Sciences Edition'' merged with ''Journal of Zhejiang University: Philosophy And Social Sciences Edition'' to become ''Journal of Zhejiang University: Humanities and Social Sciences Edition''. ''Journal of Hangzhou University: Natural Sciences Edition'' was renamed as ''Journal of Zhejiang University: Science Edition'' after the merger.
Affiliated high school
Xuejun High School was the high school Affiliated to Hangzhou University before 1998, which gained independence after the merger. The high school was founded as Hangzhou No. 14 Junior High School in 1956. After the establishment of Hangzhou University in 1958, a new Zhejiang Teachers College was formed, with the school renamed as the High School Affiliated to Zhejiang Teachers College in 1958. With the Zhejiang Teachers College from Hangzhou to Jinhua in 1965, Hangzhou University took the campus of Zhejiang Teachers College, with the high school becoming the High School Affiliated to Hangzhou University in 1965. It was renamed as Xuejun High School in 1970. In 1995, Xuejun High School established the private high school Wenlan High School as its private junior high school. From 1999 to 2002, the junior high school part of Xuejun High School was separated and merged into Wenlan.
Proposed re-establishment
As the 1998 merger reduced top universities in Zhejiang, re-establishment of Hangzhou University has been frequently proposed. In March 2010,
Sun Zhonghuan
Sun Zhonghuan (), is a Chinese politician. He is the former mayor of Hangzhou, Zhejiang. He is the current Chairman of the Hangzhou Political Consultative Conference, a largely ceremonial role.
Career
Sun was born in July 1948 in Yuyao, Ningbo ...
, a Hangzhou University alumnus and major politician proposed that
Hangzhou Normal University
Hangzhou Normal University (), or Hangzhou Teachers College, is a public university in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, China.
Having merged with Hangzhou Education College and Hangzhou Medical Junior College, HNU comprises nine c ...
should be renamed as Hangzhou University. During 2017 Lianghui, Zhao Guangyu, a major Hangzhou politician, proposed a new Hangzhou University that specialises in liberal arts should be established to complement Zhejiang University that specialises in sciences and engineering. In September 2021, a netizen proposes to
Zhejiang Gongshang University
Zhejiang Gongshang University (; abbreviated as ZJGSU or ZJSU) is a public higher educational institution that focuses on the fields of social science.
The university is administrated by Zhejiang Province. "Zhejiang" is the province where the un ...
that Zhejiang Gongshang University should merge with
Zhejiang University of Technology
The Zhejiang University of Technology () is a public research university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is considered one of the top industrial universities in mainland China and the second largest university in Zhejiang Province after the mo ...