Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was first established in Tianjin in 1895 and Robert R. Gailey took over as Director General of Tianjin Youth Association for the military of foreign troops stationed in Tianjin. Gailey then shifted his focus to education and founded the first general middle school in Tianjin.

Zhang Boling, born in Tianjin in 1876, made the decision to establish new school in Tianjin in 1994 after being inspired by Japan's school size and educational methods brought by the Meiji Restoration after he visited the country.

Zhang Boling [Photo/Memory of Tientsin]

The Meiji Restoration, also known as the Meiji Renovation or Renewal, was an event initiated by Emperor Meiji in 1868 in a bid to combine "modern advances" with traditional "eastern" values, which led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure.  

Gailey introduced Zhang to the Christian church to learn the Bible. In 1906, Zhang was baptized to join Christianity.

In recognizing the importance of higher education for national development, Zhang repeatedly visited Europe and America under the help of Gailey through church.

Zhang later went to the United States to study at Columbia University for more than a year where he learnt educational theory, and was gained mental preparation for opening a university. He advocated saving the country through education and cultivated a lot of talents for the country.

In 1911, Zhang was elected as the first Chinese chairman of the Tianjin YMCA. The first patriotic church in North China with self-reliance and self-support by the Chinese was established, and it was named Chinese Christian Church. Zhang worked in the church for 26 years. 

Zhang founded Nankai University with his friend after investigating the organization and educational facilities of private universities in the US. When the university was founded, there were three disciplines: arts, sciences and business, and a total of 96 students. It is worth mentioning that beloved late Premier Zhou Enlai was among the first arts enrollees.

Nankai was a pioneer northern private university that imitated western education. In March 1922, with newly rented more than 400 mu of public land in the area of Balitai, the school built teaching buildings, dormitories and faculty residences and nine other buildings were completed in the following year.

Later, Nankai University experienced growth and improvement in various sections. Its scale was expanded and the facilities were improved. Now, it is one of the key multidisciplinary and research-oriented universities directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education.

Nankai University [Photo/Memory of Tientsin]