Fujian Hwa Nan Women’s College (Fujian Hwa Nan Women’s Vocational College) was formerly known as Hwa Nan College, built by the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Founded as the preparatory course of Woman’s College of South China in 1908, the college started to construct its buildings in 1912. With the foundation stone laid on December 12, 1911, the project was completed in 1914. Three years later, the school began to establish a four-year undergraduate program, from which the students graduated in 1921, starting with the Department of Education.
Later, with the number of college students increasing, a fund-raising campaign to build a dormitory was launched among students and alumni in 1922, with the completion of the Lydia A. Trimble Hall in 1925. In 1921, the college applied to the State University of New York for the right to grant a bachelor's degree, gaining a provisional certificate of recognition from the Board of Trustees of the university in 1922. After the right to education was withdrawn, it was renamed Hwa Nan College in 1928.
Approved by the Ministry of Education in June 1934, the college opened seven departments of Chinese, foreign languages, education, housekeeping, mathematics, chemistry, and biology. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the college moved to Nanping, Fujian, to continue its education. Because the college was a private school with quite an expensive tuition, the students were mostly daughters of officials, gentry, and wealthy businessmen. With a strong Christian color, more than 80% of the college’s students were believers.
According to "Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive. '" (Acts 20:35), the words "Saved for Service" were the motto of the college. Although known as a kingdom of women, the college attached great importance to the comprehensive development of students' morality, intelligence, physique, art, carrying out social services for women and children.
The Fujian Provincial Archives also kept the cards of graduates of Hwa Nan College from 1921 to 1930, including the scorecard of Ms. Wu Jiahe, who was the eighth graduate of the college. After graduation, she taught at Peiyuan Girls' Middle School in Quanzhou, Fujian, and then went to Singapore to engage in educational work.
After the founding of New China, the school was taken over by the government in 1951. The following year, the college was reorganized and merged with Fukien Christian University to form Fuzhou University, which was renamed Fujian Normal College in 1953 and Fujian Normal University in 1972. The old site was successively used by the School Department, the Department of Chemistry, and the Overseas Education College of the university. Before Liberation, known as the "most beautiful university" in Fuzhou and rated as a cultural heritage protection site in 2007, all the buildings of the college were all in the style of the Republic of China.
In November 1984, with the approval of the State Council, the college was reopened and named Fujian Hwa Nan Women’s College, which was the first privately-run women's higher school with independent qualifications to issue academic diplomas after the founding of the People's Republic of China. It is also a pilot project unit of the reform of the running system of non-profit private colleges and universities sponsored by the Ministry of Education. In 2015, the college passed the second round of higher vocational talents training evaluation; in 2016, the college was awarded as the first "Fujian Province Family Service Vocational Training Demonstration Base".
Consisting of Qishan Campus and Yantai Mountain Campus now, the college has a construction area of 38.54 acres, and a floor area of 20.01acres (81000 square meters), with a total investment of 160 million yuan. With more than 20 majors and 4,000 students, the college started to enroll some male students, and no longer a kingdom of women. Located at the eastern foot of the beautiful Qishan Mountain, it is the only private vocational college stationed in the university town. Since its resumption, it has received strong support from the governments of the Fujian Province and Fuzhou City. President Xi Jinping and other national and provincial leaders have come to the college to inspect and guide the work. President Xi wrote an inscription for the college, "Women are not inferior, and many outstanding women are in Hwa Nan College."
Today, with the spirit of school motto of "self-reliance, exploration, diligence, and dedication", giving play to the advantages of private schools, the college strives to train more high-tech talents for the development of the economic zone on the west side of Taiwan Strait.
(Thanks to the relevant information from Mr. Wu Youli and Fujian Provincial Archives.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
1908年，美国女布道会在福州创办“华英女子学堂”(华南女子大学预科)，1912年美以美会外洋女布道会开始募资修建校舍，工程于1911年12月12日奠基，1914年竣工启用。1917年学校开始创办四年制本科专业，首先办教育系，1921年为第一届本科生毕业。
后因华南女子大学学生人数不断增加，在学生及校友中发起募捐建楼运动，集资捐款筹建学校宿舍楼，1922年开工兴建，1925年宿舍落成（俗称程氏楼）。1921年华南女子文理学院向美国纽约州立大学申请学士学位的授予权，1922年得到纽约州立大学董事会的临时承认证书。被收回教育权后，1928年改称“华南女子文理学院”。
1934年6月经当时教育部批准，承认该校办中文、外语、教育、家政、数理、化学、生物7个科系。抗日战争中，华南女子大学内迁福建南平继续办学。因华南女子文理学院系私立办学，所以学费相当昂贵，学生多为官、绅、富商的千金，学校的基督教色彩浓厚，学生中80％以上是信基督教，学校以《圣经》经文：使徒行传20：35“……又当记念主耶稣的话，说：‘施比受更为有福。’”中的“受当施”话语作为华南女子文理学院校训，意为施比受更有福。华南女子文理学院虽是“女儿国”，但十分注重学生德智体美全面发展，注重针对妇女、儿童开展各项社会服务工作。
1928年吴嘉禾女士就是这个学院教育系第八届毕业的学生，吴从学校毕业后到福建泉州培元女中任教，后赴新加坡从事教育事工。在福建省档案馆还存有《私立华南女子文理学院1921-1930年历届毕业生卡片》记录吴嘉禾的成绩卡。
新中国成立后，1951年学校由政府接管，次年院系调整，与福建协和大学等合并为福州大学，1953年改称福建师范学院，1972年改称福建师范大学。旧址先后为师大化学系、校部、海外教育学院等使用。解放前华南女子文理学院素有福州“最美大学”之称，其建筑全是民国风格，2007年被评为为文物保护单位。
1984年11月华南女子文理学院经国务院同意复办，定名为福建华南女子职业学院，这是建国后第一所具有独立颁发学历文凭资格的民办女子高等学校，是教育部非营利民办高校办学制度改革试点项目单位。2015年，学院通过了第二轮高职高专人才培养工作评估；2016年，学院被评为首批“福建省家庭服务职业培训示范基地。
现在学院分为旗山校区和烟台山校区两个校区，占地234亩，建筑总面积8.1万平方米，建设总投资1.6亿元。有科系专业20多个，学生4000多人，2007年开始招收部分男生，从此学院不再为“女儿国”。坐落于风景优美的旗山东麓的校区，是唯一入驻大学城的民办高职院校。学院复办以来，得到福建省、福州市政府的大力支持。习近平主席等国家和省级领导都曾来院视察、指导工作，习主席为该院亲笔题词“巾帼不逊须眉，华南女杰辈出”。
如今的福建华南女子职业学院正以“自强、开拓、勤朴、奉献”校训精神，发挥民办学校的优势，办好学校，为国家培养适应“海西”经济飞速发展所需要的高技术技能人才作出更大的贡献！
感谢：福建省档案馆、吴友立先生提供相关资讯。
https://www.gospeltimes.cn/article/index/id/58224
基督教会在福建创办的一所女子大学—— 华南女子文理学院
Fujian Hwa Nan Women’s College (Fujian Hwa Nan Women’s Vocational College) was formerly known as Hwa Nan College, built by the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Founded as the preparatory course of Woman’s College of South China in 1908, the college started to construct its buildings in 1912. With the foundation stone laid on December 12, 1911, the project was completed in 1914. Three years later, the school began to establish a four-year undergraduate program, from which the students graduated in 1921, starting with the Department of Education.
Later, with the number of college students increasing, a fund-raising campaign to build a dormitory was launched among students and alumni in 1922, with the completion of the Lydia A. Trimble Hall in 1925. In 1921, the college applied to the State University of New York for the right to grant a bachelor's degree, gaining a provisional certificate of recognition from the Board of Trustees of the university in 1922. After the right to education was withdrawn, it was renamed Hwa Nan College in 1928.
Approved by the Ministry of Education in June 1934, the college opened seven departments of Chinese, foreign languages, education, housekeeping, mathematics, chemistry, and biology. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the college moved to Nanping, Fujian, to continue its education. Because the college was a private school with quite an expensive tuition, the students were mostly daughters of officials, gentry, and wealthy businessmen. With a strong Christian color, more than 80% of the college’s students were believers.
According to "Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive. '" (Acts 20:35), the words "Saved for Service" were the motto of the college. Although known as a kingdom of women, the college attached great importance to the comprehensive development of students' morality, intelligence, physique, art, carrying out social services for women and children.
The Fujian Provincial Archives also kept the cards of graduates of Hwa Nan College from 1921 to 1930, including the scorecard of Ms. Wu Jiahe, who was the eighth graduate of the college. After graduation, she taught at Peiyuan Girls' Middle School in Quanzhou, Fujian, and then went to Singapore to engage in educational work.
After the founding of New China, the school was taken over by the government in 1951. The following year, the college was reorganized and merged with Fukien Christian University to form Fuzhou University, which was renamed Fujian Normal College in 1953 and Fujian Normal University in 1972. The old site was successively used by the School Department, the Department of Chemistry, and the Overseas Education College of the university. Before Liberation, known as the "most beautiful university" in Fuzhou and rated as a cultural heritage protection site in 2007, all the buildings of the college were all in the style of the Republic of China.
In November 1984, with the approval of the State Council, the college was reopened and named Fujian Hwa Nan Women’s College, which was the first privately-run women's higher school with independent qualifications to issue academic diplomas after the founding of the People's Republic of China. It is also a pilot project unit of the reform of the running system of non-profit private colleges and universities sponsored by the Ministry of Education. In 2015, the college passed the second round of higher vocational talents training evaluation; in 2016, the college was awarded as the first "Fujian Province Family Service Vocational Training Demonstration Base".
Consisting of Qishan Campus and Yantai Mountain Campus now, the college has a construction area of 38.54 acres, and a floor area of 20.01acres (81000 square meters), with a total investment of 160 million yuan. With more than 20 majors and 4,000 students, the college started to enroll some male students, and no longer a kingdom of women. Located at the eastern foot of the beautiful Qishan Mountain, it is the only private vocational college stationed in the university town. Since its resumption, it has received strong support from the governments of the Fujian Province and Fuzhou City. President Xi Jinping and other national and provincial leaders have come to the college to inspect and guide the work. President Xi wrote an inscription for the college, "Women are not inferior, and many outstanding women are in Hwa Nan College."
Today, with the spirit of school motto of "self-reliance, exploration, diligence, and dedication", giving play to the advantages of private schools, the college strives to train more high-tech talents for the development of the economic zone on the west side of Taiwan Strait.
(Thanks to the relevant information from Mr. Wu Youli and Fujian Provincial Archives.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Fujian Hwa Nan College Built by American Church
