Chinese Culture University, situated in Huakang, is a university established as a symbol and a base for maintaining traditional Chinese culture, as well as the pursuit of academic research. No one embodies this spirit more than its founder, Dr. Chang Ch'i-yun.

Chang Ch'i-yun was born into a poor but literate family. Upon completion of junior high school, he applied to the publicly supported Nanking Normal College. Admission was based on three tests: a written exam, an oral one, and a physical check-up. He scored high on the written test, gave an excellent oral performance, but failed the physical due to his frail physique. At this point he had already been disqualified, although he was unaware of the fact. A history professor, Liu Yi-cheng, was very impressed with Chang Ch'i-yun's written score and speaking performance. When he discovered that Chang's name was not on the list of accepted students, he checked into the records and found out that Chang had failed the physical exam. Liu Yi-cheng used his seniority as a tenured professor to bring up Chang's case at a student enrollment meeting. Due mostly to his efforts, Chang was finally accepted. It wasn't until after he graduated that he found out about Liu's efforts on his behalf. The selflessness that Liu displayed was to have a lasting impression on Chang's outlook towards life. Henceforth, Chang resolved to promote traditional Chinese culture through education.

In 1961, at the second Yangmingshan Conference, a group of professors who had just returned from abroad decided that the Republic of China was the bastion of Chinese culture and that a research organization should be established as a center for the spreading of Chinese culture. As Chang had once been the Minister of Education and was an active promoter of education, the idea of a Chinese cultural college gradually began to take form.

Chang publicly declared his intention to prepare for the establishment of a university. However, finding a location for the university turned out to be a difficult matter. The people of Sanhsia were the first to offer several hectares of hillside property for the construction of the school; but after a thorough investigation it was decided that the site was too far from Taipei. The location was then changed to Yangmingshan's P'ing-teng-li section. But this plan too was ultimately scratched when it was concluded that the site was too close to the satellite transmitting station. Finally, the present site, on top of Yangmingshan mountain, was chosen.

Chuang Wan-li, an Overseas Chinese leader from the Philippines, was the other major figure instrumental in the establishment of Chinese Culture University (CCU). Many years earlier, while he was in Manila, he had headed a group of Overseas Chinese who were preparing to found a junior teacher's college in the Republic of China. They applied to the Ministry of Education for accreditation. At the time, the Minister of Education was Chang Ch'i-yun. Chang knew that applying from overseas would require a great deal of time and effort, so he used his influence to help the group complete the procedure within a week. Chuang Wan-li was very moved by the enthusiasm and sincerity displayed by Minister Chang, so when he heard that Chang was planning to establish a university, he donated NT$ two million (US$50,000) and travelled extensively to collect funds for the development of CCU.

During the early stages of its development, CCU found itself in financial straits due to low enrollments and scarcity of funds. CCU began by establishing a Chinese Culture Research Center with only twelve classes and eighty students. The second year, undergraduate and night schools were instituted. A board was established to manage school administration and direct policy-making.

Today, CCU's total enrollment is more than 18,500 students, most of whom are concentrated in the fields of literature, law, business, the sciences, engineering, agriculture, sociology, the arts, and foreign languages. CCU is now the second largest university in Taiwan.

The president of the university, Cheng Chia-wu, feels that faculty student communication is essential to the overall improvement of the college. Each Wednesday afternoon between two and four p.m., he chairs a meeting with a particular department. The participants include both students and teachers from the department. If students or faculty from other colleges have opinions which they want to voice, they need only register one day before the meeting at the office of the Dean of Students. The main purpose of the meeting is to foster communication between the school and the student body. The students have made several suggestions, most of which have turned out to be very useful.

Cheng also changed the structure of the Office of the Dean of Students, from an organization originally designed to discipline to a service-oriented center. The most important function is that of assisting students with their problems.

In terms of academic excellence, CCU's Journalism Department Chairman Fang Lan-sheng feels that the popularity of the department is due to the challenge-oriented nature of the field. The department emphasizes teaching students the practical as well as the theoretical. For example, rudimentary knowledge is required in editing, interviewing, and writing. Additionally, the department puts out newsletters addressing contemporary social problems, enabling the students to work in a real-world situation in which to develop their skills. The clock on the wall in the journalism building reminds the students of the need to meet their deadlines, as well as the high standards that writers or reporters must set for themselves.

CCU is well represented in the arts; the dance production, drama, and Peking Opera departments are all dedicated to a continuous refining of their skills, as an expression of art and the glory of traditional Chinese culture. CCU is the only university to have its own museum and its publishing section is second to none. Choir and fencing are representative of the various extra-curricular organizations affiliated with CCU.

Dr. Chang Ch'i-yun, the founder of the university, guides the development of CCU, while Dr. Cheng, the current president of the university, is responsible for the administration. Cheng feels that "true" education is not just the acquisition of specialized knowledge but, more importantly, spiritual development. He maintains the school can only supply the environment and the opportunity for self-improvement; the rest depends on the student. When the student, after finishing his four years at CCU, leaves the campus, he takes with him the enthusiasm and determination that characterize the development of the university, an awareness of the "unique" nature of Chinese culture, and a well-balanced education geared to coping with life in a modern society.

(Craig Scott Galper)

[Picture Caption]

1. Pictured are students braving the winter rains to get to class. 2. The opening of bus lines to the campus makes commuting more convenient for the students. Numerous students ride bicycles to get around campus. 3. Palatial-style architecture is one of CCU's special sights. The buildings are connected by bridges.

1. The Chinese Department's office is done in traditional-style decoration. 2. Chinese department's students and faculty jointly compiling a Chinese dictionary. 3. Students walking along narrow, stoned paths. 4. A student studying under a warm winter sun. 5. CCU's museum is the Republic of China's only university established museum. 6. Some of this year's graduating students, taking a group picture as a souvenir, in front of the Tacheng Building.

1. An architecture student in the midst of drafting. 2. Students in the Foreign Language Center listening to language tapes. 3. Students in the library looking up data. 4. A student at the computer center operating a terminal. 5. Civil Engineering students conducting a land survey. 6. A group of students conversing on a lawn.

1. An outside view of the journalism department building. 2. Journalism students hard at work editing CCU's weekly newsletter called the Culture Weekly. 3. The Children's Observation and Development Center was established by the Youth Welfare Department. Pictured is one of its students doing research with the children. 4. A warmly decorated office. 5. Two students leisurely chatting. 6. Fine Arts Department students drawing outdoors. 7. The Drama Department's Peking Opera troupe giving a public performance. 8. Dance students practicing floor exercises.

1. Students cheering at a basketball game. 2. A dance club practicing in front of a building. 3. Frisbee is the most recent fad sweeping the colleges. Pictured is a student trying to master the technique of throwing the frisbee. 4. The Boy Scouts are preparing to put a raft in the Water.

1,2. CCU has many on campus restaurants which are creatively decorated. 3. CCU at dusk, still bathed in the brilliant colors of a fading sunset, set against the university's night-lighting.

2. The opening of bus lines to the campus makes commuting more convenient for the students. Numerous students ride bicycles to get around campus.

3. Palatial-style architecture is one of CCU's special sights. The buildings are connected by bridges.

1. The Chinese Department's office is done in traditional-style decoration.

2. Chinese department's students and faculty jointly compiling a Chinese dictionary.

4. A student studying under a warm winter sun.

3. Students walking along narrow, stoned paths.

5. CCU's museum is the Republic of China's only university established museum.

6. Some of this year's graduating students, taking a group picture as a souvenir, in front of the Tacheng Building.

1. An architecture student in the midst of drafting.

2. Students in the Foreign Language Center listening to language tapes.

3. Students in the library looking up data.

5. Civil Engineering students conducting a land survey.

6. A group of students conversing on a lawn.

4. A student at the computer center operating a terminal.

1. An outside view of the journalism department building.

2. Journalism students hard at work editing CCU's weekly newsletter called the Culture Weekly.

3. The Children's Observation and Development Center was established by the Youth Welfare Department. Pictured is one of its students doing research with the children.

4. A warmly decorated office.

5. Two students leisurely chatting.

6. Fine Arts Department students drawing outdoors.

7. The Drama Department's Peking Opera troupe giving a public performance.

8. Dance students practicing floor exercises.

1. Students cheering at a basketball game.

2. A dance club practicing in front of a building.

3. Frisbee is the most recent fad sweeping the colleges. Pictured is a student trying to master the technique of throwing the frisbee.

4. The Boy Scouts are preparing to put a raft in the Water.

1,2. CCU has many on campus restaurants which are creatively decorated.

1,2. CCU has many on campus restaurants which are creatively decorated.

3. CCU at dusk, still bathed in the brilliant colors of a fading sunset, set against the university's night-lighting.