Talk:Peking University

There's no such thing as "Peking University". of 1.29 billion chinese, if you are one, you'd be the first to refer to Beijing as Peking. The pronunciation is still the same, take into account the vo wel shift which happened half a millenia prior

Peking University has decided that its English name will remain "Peking University", regardless of the correct name in Chinese (which is indeed Beijing Daxue). The university's website uses Peking. -- Vardion 05:58, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC)

And their official seal still uses "Peking University." Folks refer to it also as Beijing University, but I believe Vardion is correct. Fuzheado | Talk 07:43, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC)

According to the joint meeting held by the University Commissions and Beijing Sangxia Advertising Co. Ltd. on Aug. 25th 2006, the university will begin to use University of Beijing as the formal English name instead of Peking University.Endeneon 05:35, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

I don't think that Peking University is adequately described as "private". Babelfisch, November 3rd, 2004

Shouldn't 京師大學堂 be translated as "Capital University" rather than "Metropolitan University"?

Private vs. Public

Technically, there were no "private" schools in the People's Republic of China between 1949 and 1990s. They were fully supported by the government, and they were totally free to students, which meant students did not need to pay any tuition and lodging, as dormitory rooms were provided to all students free of charge. All the costs the students had to pay were board (meals), textbooks and other supplies for school work. And a certain percent of the students could get need-based financial support which was sometimes enough to cover the board. The university dining rooms in early 1980s provided great quality meals with minimal cost which was much lower than that of restaurants. So, all the schools during this period were "public".

As the 20th century approached its fin de siecle, China also advanced further in capitalization along its "socialist road with Chinese characteristics". And private schools emerged during this period. These private schools are completely independent of the government in finance and derive their revenue entirely from tuitions of the students, and they usually do not have adequate faculty and facilities, but they charge a fortune to get into, and it is, therefore, the last choice for prospective students to go to these private schools. And their students are usually those who failed in the annual National College Entrance Examination. In China, one must pass this examination to go to a public school. Those who have the privilege to be admitted by Peking University, the Harvard of China, and Tsinghua University, the MIT of China, are those who score the highest in the national examination.

Meanwhile, the previously free public schools, including Peking University and Tsinghua University, started to charge tuitions and various fees on their students, first moderately, and then exorbitantly. Now, the size of a tuition is positively proportional to the reputation of a school.

If the GDP per capita of China is still not comparable to that of Europe and North America, its tuitions relative to its GDP per capita has certainly far surpassed their Western counterparts. As a consequence, many intellectually qualified prospective students have to give up their chances to go to the top universities and opt for a lesser one or even give up the idea of going to a college.

This is not too much of a concern, however, of top universities such as Peking University and Tsinghua University. Because of the immense population of China, there is a vast base of prospective students to choose from, and the top universities can usually find enough students that are both intelligent and rich without too much discount on the quality of students.

Peking University vs. Beijing University

This debate is similar to the one conerning Tsinghua University vs. Qinghua University.

Although the university authority is the ultimate arbitor over what spelling to use, it is technically an anachronism to insist on the old Peking in its name. As long as the university uses this outdated spelling, confusions will continue to arise. As of now, 28% percent of the googled entries of Peking/Beijing University used Beijing instead of Peking.

If the city of Beijing has successfully shifted to the new spelling from Peking in a short period of time, so can the two universities. --Roland 00:42, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

You are presuming that they want to. It seems that you are trying to dictate to them what they should call themselves. Bathrobe 07:19, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

A friend of mine is a faculty member at the university. According to her the official name in English is Peking University and not Beijing University. This was a conscious decision so as to respect the school's old tradition and (more importantly) to avoid confusion with Beijing Normal University and other institutions. Unfortunately, many hyper-correct persons writing in English improperly change the English to Beijing University, but this is an error. —Klompje7 21:40, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

Maybe an error technically, but it is not more erroneous than the "conscious decision" which is destined to cause errors and confusions in the future. Unless a historical note, such as the one at the beginning of the article, is attached to each occurance of "Peking University", people will invariably get confused with the question: "Is this an outdated spelling due to the oversight of the writer?" --Roland 20:02, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

that is beside the point. To call it "Beijing University" in English is wrong and against the wishes of the univeristy. Need evidence, look at their logo. Klompje7 08:54, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

I attended Peking University. Everyone knows the school as Beida or PKU.

It's called "tradition". Other "anachronisms" exist all over the world. What about the 1st Cavalry Division of the US Army? The Grenadier Guards? --Sumple (Talk) 02:41, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

This debate will be finally solved. According to the joint meeting held by the University Commissions and Beijing Sangxia Advertising Co. Ltd. on Aug. 20th 2006, the university will begin to use The University of Beijing as the formal English name instead of Peking University.Endeneon 05:36, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Is there any information concerning when this change will take effect (or if it already has taken effect)? I assume we would want to move this page to University of Beijing whenever that happens and note the name change in the article. Does anyone have any information on this? Heimstern Läufer 06:08, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

User:Endeneon has made a total of four edits, three of them on the talk page and the other changing Peking Univeristy to University of Beijing on the article page. With no citations or reputable sources to back it up, (and who on earth is Beijing Sangxia Advertising Co. Ltd.)... I don't think it should go on the page yet --Sumple (Ta.lk) 06:51, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

I see (and read) the 163.com article. However, that article seems very ambiguous - it says that PKU will introduce a "new University logo" carrying the words "University of Beijing", but at the same time it says that "Peking University" and "PKU" are "recognised English names and abbreviations for the university" and that there was no reason to change these.

It would appear that the university would still be Peking University, but also marketed under the brand name of "University of Beijing". --Sumple (Talk) 09:50, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

In my opinion, it is wordy to call it University of Beijing, and it will continue to cause confusions: "Is it Beijing University or Peking University?" People would ask. Why not just Beijing Univesity, logical, clear and resounding? --198.119.145.102 20:56, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Because the university itself does not call itself this in English, nor does it plan to do so. They have said that the name they will use in English soon is "University of Beijing". Therefore, if and when this becomes official, I believe we should use this name. Until then, it should remain "Peking University". Also, I don't think "University of Beijing" is wordy; it only adds one two-letter word when compared to "Beijing University". Heimstern Läufer 21:43, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

If not wordy, why do they also need the shortened, or colloquial, form Beijing University as their announcement says?