April 27, the 40th anniversary celebration of the founding of the Department of Social Sciences of Tsinghua University was held in the Mengminwei Humanities Building. Peng Gang - the Vice Chancellor of Tsinghua University, Zhang Mujing and Ji Junmin - former university official representatives, and other representatives from former Department of Social Sciences, School of Social Sciences, School of Marxism, School of Humanities and other liberal arts departments attended the event, reviewing the construction process of the Department of Social Sciences together, and looking forward to the bright future of the development of liberal arts in Tsinghua University. The ceremony was presided over by Ouyang Qin, secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Social Sciences.
Peng Gang, on behalf of the university, expressed his heartfelt thanks to all the teachers of the Department of Social Sciences, and sincere greetings to all the alumni. He said that the Department of Social Sciences had played an important role in the development of the restoration and reconstruction of liberal arts in Tsinghua University, making outstanding contributions to the recovery and development of liberal arts in Tsinghua University, hence Tsinghua University can be more comprehensive. In recent years, Tsinghua University's humanities disciplines have continuously improved in quality, with their social impact expanding steadily, with some fields have already reached the forefront nationally and internationally. Meanwhile, there still remains considerable room for further enhancement, necessitating ongoing and relentless efforts.
Standing at a new starting point, Tsinghua's humanities must deeply study and implement the significant statements and spirit of speeches by General Secretary Xi Jinping concerning philosophy and social sciences, as well as enact the spirit of the Party's 20th National Congress and the university's 15th Party Congress resolutions, focus firmly on high-quality development. Throughout its development and construction, the university will always prioritize major national interests, remain steadfastly confident, uphold integrity, foster innovation, and strive to make new and greater contributions to constructing an independent Chinese knowledge system, thereby enhancing the brilliance of socialist culture and contributing Tsinghua's strength to the construction of modern Chinese civilization.
Former Vice Chancellor and inaugural head of the Social Sciences Department, Zhang Mujing, talked about the department’s key initiatives that have promoted the development of humanities at Tsinghua University. He reviewed the launch of courses in basic principles of Marxism and political theory, the training of students at various stages, the founding of the first batch of ideological and political education specialties in China, the development of a high-level faculty team, and the formation of new academic styles and cultural traditions in the humanities. Zhang Mujing pointed out that the founding of the Social Sciences Department has played a pivotal role in inheriting and advancing the development of humanities at Tsinghua University. He emphasized the need to further carry forward Tsinghua's excellent traditions and styles in humanities education and to accelerate the development of high-level disciplines in the social sciences.
Lin Tai, the former head of the Department of Social Sciences, fondly recalled the development of the department. He emphasized that the founding of the Social Sciences Department was a crucial step towards implementing the "integration of arts and sciences" in educational practice, aiming to achieve the goal of building a first-class university. He noted that the solid work and excellent traditions of the Social Sciences Department are worthy of further inheritance and promotion. Wei Hongsen, a veteran teacher in the department, shared the achievements in training graduate students and the successes in teaching the course on dialectics of nature. All veteran teachers expressed their congratulations on the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Social Sciences Department in various ways.
Wang Tianfu, the dean of the School of Social Sciences, Zhu Andong, the dean of the School of Marxism, and Ma Yinqin, the secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Humanities, each reported on the development of their respective schools. They expressed gratitude to their predecessors for laying a solid foundation for the disciplines' growth and pledged to carry on the proud traditions of the Social Sciences Department. They committed to maintaining a deep academic foundation, a rigorous scholarly attitude, and a spirit of innovation. Moving forward, they aim to contribute more to the development of Tsinghua's humanities and the construction of a philosophy and social sciences system with Chinese characteristics.
Cheng Jingmin, an alumnus from the 1991 graduate cohort of the Department of Social Sciences, hosted the "Gratitude, Certainty, and Nurturing" interaction segment between faculty and students of the department. Alumni including Ji Zhiwei from the 1984 cohort, Wang Xiangming from the 1986 cohort, Dun Shixin from the 1987 graduate cohort, Bian Huatuo from the 1987 cohort, Zhao Hong from the 1989 cohort, and Liu Yuan from the 1993 cohort shared their stories of university life at Tsinghua's Department of Social Sciences, as well as their personal and professional growth. They expressed gratitude for Tsinghua's enduring traditions of resilience and pursuit of excellence, which provided them with invaluable spiritual wealth.
The Department of Social Sciences at Tsinghua University was founded in February 1984 as a key initiative to rebuild the humanities and meet the needs of socialist modernization. In the nine years following its establishment, the department actively recruited talent. Faculty and students worked diligently and united in their efforts, achieving remarkable results in education, academic research, social service, and cultural innovation and preservation. In December 1993, the university decided to build on the foundations of the Department of Social Sciences and other departments to establish the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Department of Social Sciences was then divided into the Department of Philosophy and Sociology and the Department of History, both of which were incorporated into the newly formed Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the name Department of Social Sciences was subsequently discontinued.
As a key incubator for the development of the humanities at Tsinghua University of post-economic reform and opening up, the Department of Social Sciences catalyzed the formation of the Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences. This led to the further establishment of various faculties including the School of Law, School of Public Management, School of Journalism and Communication, School of Marxism, Institute of Education, School of Humanities, and School of Social Sciences. A large number of talented individuals in the humanities were nurtured, skilled, and achieved success here. Marking its inception, the Department of Social Sciences has played a pivotal role in the 40-year developmental trajectory of Tsinghua’s humanities disciplines. Throughout this period, Tsinghua explored and formed a development model that aligns with China's national conditions and the university's realities, accumulated valuable experiences, and made indelible contributions to Tsinghua University's pursuit of becoming a world-class university.
