Established in 1928 to provide for the studies of Oriental languages, literature, and history, the Harvard-Yenching Institute is today playing an important part in the development of Chinese-American cultural and political relations.

World-wide in scope, the institute centers its activities at Yenching University, in Peking, China, and at Boylston Hall, in the Harvard Yard. Although its program has necessarily been interrupted by the Japanese conquests in the Far East, the organization is continuing its work on two other continents.

The institute awards scholarships each year to advanced students, both Chinese and American, who may then continue their studies at Harvard, at any one of dozen universities in China, or at some college in Europe.

In addition to training men for advanced research, the institute has two other main objectives. It provides a constant stream of qualified instructors in the far eastern languages and culture by a program of instruction for prospective teachers and educators, and the institute assists the Chinese in their own efforts for continued study by giving yearly grants to institutions in China for teaching, research, and publication expenses.

Charles M. Hall, of Niagara Falls, New York, is the founder of the Harvard-Yenching Institute, as far as finances are concerned. He set up a fund under his will, and the institute was incorporated under the laws of Massachusetts in 1928, in order to administer the trust.

Fellow Schools

Cooperating institutions in the Harvard organization are the Sino-Indian Institute, which specializes in the study of Indian philosophy and Buddhism, and the afore-mentioned Yenching University, which has one of the largest libraries in all of the Orient.

Publications form one of the most important parts of the work of the Harvard-Yenching Institute. The foundation publishes two regular works, a quarterly review of happenings significant to all students of Oriental languages, and a series of more permanent works.