Tsinghua University was established in 1911, originally under the name “Tsinghua Xuetang”. The school was renamed "Tsinghua School" in 1912. The university section was founded in 1925. The name “National Tsinghua University” was adopted in 1928.

The faculty greatly valued the interaction between Chinese and Western cultures, the sciences and humanities, the ancient and modern. Tsinghua scholars Wang Guowei, Liang Qichao, Chen Yinque and Zhao Yuanren, renowned as the "Four Tutors" in the Institute of Chinese Classics, advocated this belief and had a profound impact on Tsinghua's later development.