Soochow University (Suzhou)
Encyclopedia
Soochow University colloquially known in Chinese as Suda (苏大, Sūdà) is a university
in Suzhou
, Jiangsu
, China
. The school is part of the Chinese Ministry of Education
's Project 211
, and a Jiangsu provincial key comprehensive university.
, and merged with the Southern Jiangsu College of Culture and Education and the Department of Mathematics and Physics at Jiangnan University to form the Jiangsu Teacher's College in 1952. The English name Soochow University was revived in 1982; however, the original Chinese name Dongwu 東吳 was not adopted, and the institution was given the name Suzhou 苏州. The Suzhou College of Sericulture, Suzhou Institute of Silk Textile Technology and Suzhou Medical College were each merged into the University in 1995, 1997 and 2000 successively.
After fleeing to Taiwan
in 1949, members of the Soochow Alumni Association established Soochow University
in Taipei
, starting with its College of Law in 1951 and becoming a full-fledged university with five schools in 1971, and continued to use the name Dongwu 東吳 as part of claiming historical continuity with the university that operated in Suzhou prior to 1949.
The campus grounds have been described as among China's most beautiful, in part based on the incorporation of "typical features of the classical gardens in Suzhou".
.
The following people attended Soochow University in Suzhou after 1900, or one of the institutions that later merged with the university:
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
in Suzhou
Suzhou
Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part...
, Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. The school is part of the Chinese Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China
The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China , formerly Ministry of Education, Central People's Government from 1949 to 1954, State Education Commission from 1985 to 1998, is headquartered in Beijing. It is the agency of the State Council which regulates all aspects of the...
's Project 211
Project 211
Project 211 is a project of National Key Universities and colleges initiated in 1995 by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, with the intent of raising the research standards of high-level universities and cultivating strategies for socio-economic development...
, and a Jiangsu provincial key comprehensive university.
History
The original Soochow University was founded by Methodists in Suzhou in 1900 as a merger of three existing institutions: the Po-hsi Academy, the Kung-hsiang Academy, and the Chung-hsi Academy. The university was split in 1949 as a result of the Chinese Civil WarChinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
, and merged with the Southern Jiangsu College of Culture and Education and the Department of Mathematics and Physics at Jiangnan University to form the Jiangsu Teacher's College in 1952. The English name Soochow University was revived in 1982; however, the original Chinese name Dongwu 東吳 was not adopted, and the institution was given the name Suzhou 苏州. The Suzhou College of Sericulture, Suzhou Institute of Silk Textile Technology and Suzhou Medical College were each merged into the University in 1995, 1997 and 2000 successively.
After fleeing to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
in 1949, members of the Soochow Alumni Association established Soochow University
Soochow University (Taiwan)
Soochow University is a private university located in Taipei, Taiwan. Although the Soochow University in Taiwan maintains a church and a Methodist minister in residence, it may be considered a secular institution...
in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, starting with its College of Law in 1951 and becoming a full-fledged university with five schools in 1971, and continued to use the name Dongwu 東吳 as part of claiming historical continuity with the university that operated in Suzhou prior to 1949.
Campus
The university consists of 6 campuses covering an area of 135 hectares and with 940,000 square meters of building area. The total enrollment is more than 39,000 students, including more than 28,000 graduates/undergraduates and more than 11,000 adult students of formal education.The campus grounds have been described as among China's most beautiful, in part based on the incorporation of "typical features of the classical gardens in Suzhou".
Schools and Departments
- School of Humanities
- Phoenix Communication College - financial support provided by Phoenix TelevisionPhoenix TelevisionPhoenix Satellite Television Holdings Ltd or Phoenix Television is a Hong Kong-based Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese television broadcaster that serves the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong along with other markets with substantial Chinese viewers...
, Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. - School of Social Science
- School of Politics and Public Administration
- School of Education
- School of Business
- Kenneth Wang School of Law
- School of Foreign Languages
- Gold Mantis School of Architecture and Urban Environment
- Applied Technology College
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- School of Physical Science and Technology & School of Energy
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
- School of Computer Science and Technology
- School of Electronic Information
- School of Mechanic and Electronic Engineering
- School of Textile and Clothing Engineering
- School of Arts
- School of Sports Science
- School of Medicine - merged with the previously-independent Suzhou Medical CollegeSuzhou Medical CollegeSuzhou Medical College was a university located in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.It has become a college of Soochow University since April, 2004. For a brief history in Chinese, see http://alumni.suda.edu.cn/qikan/list.asp?id=67- External links :*...
in 2000. - School of Urban Rail Transportation
- School of Applied Technology
- Wenzheng College
- School of Overseas Education
International collaboration
The university has established several joint programs with foreign universities:- Soochow University and Athabasca UniversityAthabasca UniversityAthabasca University is a Canadian university in Athabasca, Alberta. It is an accredited research institution which also offers distance education courses and programs. Courses are offered primarily in English with some French offerings. Each year, 32,000 students attend the university. It offers...
in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
offer a joint degree program for Chinese undergraduate students, who study in Suzhou and are awarded a Bachelor of Management degree (from Athabasca) and a Bachelor of Administration degree (from Soochom) upon completing four years of coursework. All courses are delivered in English. - Daejin UniversityDaejin UniversityDaejin University is a private university in Pocheon City, Gyeonggi province of South Korea. About 200 instructors are employed. The current president is Chung, Tae Soo, who has served since the university's founding....
, a South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n private university, operates one of its two China campuses on the Soochow University grounds, with the other campus located at Harbin Normal UniversityHarbin Normal UniversityHarbin Normal University is a university located in Harbin, Heilongjiang, P.R. China.HNU has 16 colleges and offers 46 academic majors. It offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degrees...
. Daejin maintains its own building with accommodation and classrooms. - Cornell Law SchoolCornell Law SchoolCornell Law School, located in Ithaca, New York, is a graduate school of Cornell University and one of the five Ivy League law schools. The school confers three law degrees...
(United States) and Bucerius Law SchoolBucerius Law SchoolBucerius Law School is a small, non-state university affiliated private law school located in Hamburg, Germany. The school is the first private law school in Germany and is often ranked as the best law school in the country. It admits 100 bachelor students per year, who achieve very high results in...
(Germany) operate a Summer Law Institute in partnership with Soochow's Kenneth Wang School of Law.
Notable alumni
Listed in alphabetical order of family nameChinese surname
Chinese family names have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames, family names and clan names , existed.The colloquial expressions laobaixing...
.
The following people attended Soochow University in Suzhou after 1900, or one of the institutions that later merged with the university:
- Louis Cha - novelist
- Chen YanqingChen YanqingChen Yanqing is a Chinese weightlifter who competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics. She won the gold medal in the 58 kg class in both competitions, making her the first woman to win gold medals in weightlifting in two consecutive Olympics.Chen won her first gold...
- weightlifter - Chiang Wei-kuoChiang Wei-kuoChiang Wei-kuo was an adopted son of President Chiang Kai-shek, adoptive brother of President Chiang Ching-kuo, and an important figure in the Kuomintang . His courtesy names were Jianhao and Niantang .- Early life :...
- military leader and adoptive son of Chiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
. - Thomas DaoThomas DaoLing Yuan "Thomas" Dao was a Chinese American physician and specialist in breast cancer, its causes and treatment, who was one of the earliest proponents of minimalist alternatives to radical mastectomy as a treatment option for breast cancer, in addition to advocacy of breast self-examination and...
- physician - Lynn HungLynn HungLynn Hung , sometimes credited as her birth name Xiong Dailin, is a Chinese model and actress.-Early life:Hung was born in Nanjing, China with family roots in Guizhou, China...
- model and actress - Nora LamNora LamNora Lam , was a Chinese Protestant Christian minister to China, and founder of Nora Lam Ministries International . Lam was born in China and lived there until her escape to Hong Kong at age 26....
- Christian religious leader - Li HaopeiLi HaopeiLi Haopei was a Chinese jurist, diplomat and academic. He was a leading authority on international law.Li attended Soochow University and received his Bachelor and Master's of laws in 1928 and 1930 respectively...
- international law academic and jurist - Lu ZhiweiLu ZhiweiLu Zhiwei was a famous Chinese psychologist and linguist from Wuxing, Zhejiang.Lu went abroad to the United States to study during 1915. In 1920, he graduated from the Columbia University Psychology with the doctoral paper "Forgotten Condition". Lu returned to China that year and was hired in...
- linguist - Ma Ke - fashion designer
- Ni Zhengyu - Judge of the International Court of JusticeJudges of the International Court of JusticeThis is a list of all the permanent judges of the International Court of Justice, the main judicial organ of the United Nations. It does not include judges who have been appointed as judge ad hoc by a party to a proceeding before the Court pursuant to Article 31 of the Statute of the International...
(1985–1994) - Tan Jiazhen - geneticist
- Yang Ti-liangYang Ti-liangDato Seri Paduka Sir Ti-liang Yang, GBM, SPMB, JP , also known as Sir TL, is a retired senior judge in Hong Kong...
- Chief Justice of Hong KongChief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong KongChief Justice of Hong Kong or erroneously Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong was the most senior judge in the court system in Hong Kong until 1997....
(1988–1996) - Zhao PuchuZhao PuchuZhao Puchu was a religious and public leader who promoted cultural progress and religious tolerance in China...
- religious and political leader, calligrapher