Central University of Nationalities (中央民族大学, pinyin: Zhōngyāng Mínzú Dàxúe) is a small national-level university located in Beijing, China designated for minority nationalities. It is colloquially known as Míndà in Putonghua and CUN in English. Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), commonly called Pinyin, is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ...   (Chinese:  ; Pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; IPA: ), a metropolis in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... The Peoples Republic of China officially describes itself as a multinational unitary state and as such officially recognizes 56 nationalities or Mínzú (民族), within China: the Han being the majority (>92%), and the remaining 55 nationalities being the national minorities. ... Standard Mandarin refers to the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China on Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Academic programmes

The university awards undergraduate-level degrees in more than 40 academic subjects, usually after four years' study. Postgraduate programmes are offered for about half of these. Young people from the dominant Han group are the largest single ethnicity amongst the 8,000 or so students. However, the minority nationalities provide the great majority of the students and more than one third of the academic staff. In some educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a Bachelors degree. ... Quaternary education or postgraduate education is the fourth-stage educational level which follows the completion of an undergraduate degree at a college or university. ... Languages Chinese languages, Indian languages, Hebrew Religions Predominantly Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism, traditional Chinese religions, and atheism. ...

By far the strongest research areas are anthropology and ethnology, which are the mainstays of its small publishing house and journal. In 2001, the People's Daily described it as "China's top academy for ethnic studies." [1] Other respected departments are the dance school and the various minority language and literature departments. Other subjects are often studied from the ethnic minorities' perspective, e.g., biology courses may focus on the flora and fauna found in ethnic minority areas of China. Anthropology is the study of the physical and social characteristics of humanity through the examination of historical and present geographical distribution, cultural history, acculturation, and cultural relationships. ... Ethnology (from the Greek ethnos, meaning people) is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyses the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the racial or national divisions of humanity. ... The Peoples Daily (Chinese: 人民日报 Pinyin ) is the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. ... jus like my ass For other uses, see Dance (disambiguation). ...

CUN is the pinnacle of a national network of institutions maintained by the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, although academic standards are also monitored by the State Education Commission, which means some students end up sitting two sets of exams. Its main partners in the English-speaking countries are the University of East London, United Kingdom, and the Oregon University System USA. This article is about education in mainland China. ... The University of East London (UEL) is a university in East London. ... The Oregon University System (OUS) consists of seven public, four-year universities in the State of Oregon administered by the Chancellor of the OUS, who serves at the will and pleasure of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education. ...

History

The Communist Party of China first established a Nationalities Institute in its Civil War stronghold of Yan'an, in central China, in October 1941. In 1950-1952, this was merged with other ethnolinguistic and sociological departments, including elements of Peking University and Tsinghua University. The result was the Central Institute for Nationalities, which officially opened on 11 June 1952. The Institute was assigned a large area of parkland on the outskirts of Beijing (south Haidian) as its campus. The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ... Combatants Nationalist Party of China Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War... Yanan (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Yen-an), is a city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province, China. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Peking University (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng Dàxué), colloquially known in Chinese as Beida (北大, BÄ›idà), was established in 1898, and is one of the oldest universities in China. ... Tsinghua University, (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Qinghuá Dàxué) is a university in Beijing, China. ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...   (Chinese:  ; Pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; IPA: ), a metropolis in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

Both the Yan'an and Central institutes were intended to train cadres (officials) for ethnic minority areas, as well as providing a liberal arts education for promising students from the minorities. Their research was and is intended to support the policies of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission. In its early years, the Institute was caught up in the sensitive issue of classifying China's vast population into official ethnic groups, until the Cultural Revolution made conventional education almost impossible. In the history of education, the seven liberal arts comprise two groups of studies, the trivium and the quadrivium. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

With the advent of Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening up policy (c.1978), the Institute went through considerable changes. On the down side, it lost most of its campus to a variety of development projects and it is now in a heavily built-up area. Financial pressures have led to a rapid rise in student numbers, particularly of Han students (who are usually more qualified and wealthier). A major building programme is currently (2004) underway to facilitate this. A more long-term difficulty is posed by the legacy of so-called Han chauvinism in previous centuries. Deng Xiaoping   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Teng Hsiao-ping; August 22, 1904–February 19, 1997) was a leader in the Communist Party of China (CCP). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

On the other hand, the Institute expanded into science subjects during the 1980s and achieved university status on 30 November 1993. In 1999 it was granted "key university" status as part of the 211 Project, which was supposed to identify one hundred Chinese universities which would play leading roles in the 21st century. Meanwhile, Haidian has continued to develop as Beijing's main university district. CUN is now adjacent to the National Library of China and Zhongguancun, which local media refer to as "China's silicon valley"[2]. There is a cluster of ethnic minority shops and restaurants around the University, although many more disappeared (c.2000) when Beijing's Uyghur community was dispersed. November 30 is the 334th day (335th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...   (Chinese:  ; Pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; IPA: ), a metropolis in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Uyghur (also spelled Uighur; Uyghur: ئۇيغۇر; Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) are an ethnic group of Central Asia. ...

Notable students and faculty

• Erkin Abdulla, Uyghur-language pop singer
• Fei Xiaotong, sociologist and anthropologist
• Zhang Chengzhi, writer, once audited a class in Kazakh^[1]

Erkin Abdulla (Uyghur: ئەركىن ئابدۇلل; Chinese: 艾尔肯·阿布杜拉, pinyin: Àiěrkěn Ābùdùlā) (also, Arken Abdulla), was born in Qarghiliq of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Peoples Republic of China. ... Fei Xiaotong (Chinese: 費孝通) (November 2, 1910 – April 24, 2005) was a pioneering Chinese researcher and professor of sociology and anthropology; he was also noted for his studies in the study of Chinas ethnic groups as well as a social activist. ... Zhang Chengzhi is a contemporary Hui Chinese author. ... Kazakh, also Kazak, Qazaq, Khazakh, Kosach, and Kaisak (Қазақ тілі in Cyrillic, Qazaq tili in the Latin alphabet, and قازاق تءىلءي in the Arabic alphabet) is a Western Turkic language closely related to Kyrgyz, Nogai and Karakalpak. ...

See also

Other universities for ethnic minorities in the People's Republic of China:

• Dalian University for Nationalities
• Guangxi University for Nationalities
• Northwest University for Nationalities
• Qinghai University for Nationalities
• South-Central University for Nationalities
• Southwest University for Nationalities
• Yunnan University for Nationalities
• Inner Mongolia University for Nationalities

Southwest University for Nationalities is a small university located in Chengdu, the capital city of the Sichuan province. ... Inner Mongolia University for Nationalities (内蒙古民族大学) is a university in Inner Mongolia, China under the authority of the Autonomous Region government. ...

References

2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... April 17 is the 107th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (108th in leap years). ...

Reference

The Central University for Nationalities (undated, but c.2000). Beijing: CUN International Relations Office. A prospectus for Chinese and foreign students; the source for almost all of the dates and statistics in this article.

External links

• Official website: English and (Chinese)
• Unofficial website by a former student
• Feature of the "University for Ethnic Communities"