Peking ( Beijing ) University Peking ( Beijing ) University, commonly called Beida, was founded in 1898 under the edict of Emperor Guangxu ( 1875-1908 ) as one of the majoe attempts to restore the declining Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 ). Its history is closely related to that of the development of modern China ＇ s politics, ideology, culture and sciences. Yan Fu and Cai Yuanpei who were China ＇ s famous educationists and ideologists, Mao Zedong, Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu who were founders of the Chinese Communist Party, and Lu Xun who was China＇s great writer and chief commander of the Chinese New Culture Moverment, either taught or held offices here. Ding Wenjiang studied geology at Beida before becoming a modern Chinese pioneer, using new techniques to survey the entire territory of China Zhu Guangqian was the introduce Western aesthetics to China. Ma Yinchu ( 1882-1982 ), who worked as a professor and dean of the economics department in 1915 and once served as president of Beijing University in the period 1951 to 1960,devised in detail the family planning scheme, which is now an important policy in Chinese scoiety. During the Chinese Democratic Revolution,Beijing Unversity played a very important role in opposing old culture, in advocating science and democracy, and in disseminatiog Marxism. The University was also the cradle of the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal and May 4th Moment which took place in 1919.     Since the founding of the People＇s Republic of China, the University has implemented the Party＇s policy and carried out a systematic transformation of the educational system, of the teaching contents and teaching methods,and achieved great progress and development in all respects.     The task of Beijing University is too train research workers and college teachers in liberal arts, natural sciences and social sciences. to carry out scientific research projects and to make contributions to the development of national economy, science and civilization of China.     In the years from 1949 to 2001, nearly 120,000 undergraduates and graduate students have graduated from this university. They are now scattered throughout the country, the bulk of whom have become the backbone in the industrial, agricultural, sientific, educational and cultural fields.     During this period, sientific research activities were in full swing and numerous results achieved were reaching advanced standards in the country.     Total synthesis of bovine insulin with biological activity was first achieved by our research workers in collaboration with those of the Institute of Biochemistry and the Institute of Organic Chemistry under the Academia Sinica. In accordance with the policy of "Letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend," extensive academic studies and discussions were carried out, resulting in a number of important achievements and publications, such as An Outline of Chinese History and History of Chinese Literature.  University Relics     In 2001, the State Council issued the fifth national cultural relices protection list. Among the 40-plus important historical sites, four are on University campuses, This is the first time that universities have entered the cultural relices protection list. The four sites are the Yanyuan architecture around Weiming Lake at Peking University, the early buildings of Tsinghua University in Beijing, the old site of Dongbei University in Shenyang of Northeast China's Liaoning Province, and the early buildings of Wuhan University in central China's Hubei province. The candidate sites' representation of the best of the architecture and culture of their time was a chief criterion for making the list. The buildings of Peking University were typical of the architecture of the early 1900's; the other universities on the list had been influenced by Western styles while keeping the Chinese traditions. Over 1,300 universities and institutions of higher learing across China applied for the list. But the four winners secured recognition with their fame and historic significance. In addition their buildings offer material to some architecture researchers. The State Council has declared 1,286 cultural relic sites under State protection. The number is quite small compared to China's long history. In Egypt and India, there are tens of thousands of cultural relic sites protected by the governments.    In 1981, China instituted the system of bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, in the 10 fields of philosophy, law, literature, history, economics, education, science, engineering, agriculture and medicine. The Academic Degree Committee of the State Council which directs the awarding of degrees nationwide,has empowered institutions of higher learning and the relevant research institutes to establish degree evaluation committees, and to implement the actual work of conferring degrees.  More Foreign Students    Since receiving its first group of 33 foreign students from Eastern Europe in 1950, China has accepted 350,000 students from 160 countries over the past 50 years. Among those 350,000 students, more than 80,000 enjoy chinese Government scholarships, while the remaining 270,000 are self-supported. Subjects chosen by foreign students range from the Chinese culture to medicine, engineering, the science and agriculture.     Foreign students studying or intending to study in China can hope to enjoy a better campus environment, as the country has pledged to further improve teaching and living conditions. The 356 colleges and universities that have been approved to take overseas students will be given more freedom to recruit foreign students. Colleges and universities with adequate teaching conditions may teach students in both Chinese and the students' mother tongues. They can also co-operate with overseas education institutions to develop learning programs for foreign students. Colleges and universities have been called on to improve their accommodations and other services for foreign students.