Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School (CKHS; Chinese: 臺北市立建國高級中學; pinyin: Táiběi Shìlì Jiànguó Gāojí Zhōngxué) is a public high school for boys in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. The school was established in 1898 during Japanese rule as the first public high school in Taiwanese history.
The school requires the highest scores on the national senior high school entrance exams for admittance. Graduates of Chien Kuo include Nobel Prize laureate Samuel C. C. Ting, Turing Award winner Andrew Yao, filmmaker Edward Yang, two heads of state, at least five members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and numerous scholars and public servants. Its female counterpart is the Taipei First Girls' High School.
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History
What is now Chien Kuo High School was founded as the Fourth Affiliated School, Secondary School (第四附屬學校尋常中等科) of the Taiwan Governor's Office Japanese Language School (today the National Taipei University of Education), and was the first public secondary school in Taiwan. Except for a short period following the Chinese Civil War, the school has been an all-boys high school. The red brick building was built in 1909 during Japanese rule and is considered one of Taipei's historically significant buildings.
Following its foundation, the school went through a number of names before settling on First Taihoku Prefectural Secondary School (臺北州立臺北第一中學校) in 1922, Second Taihoku being what is now Chenggong High School. During Japanese rule, First Taihoku (臺北一中) was reserved primarily for Japanese students while Second Taihoku allowed entry for the Taiwanese. The two schools developed a competitive nature that persists to this day. Following World War II and the Chinese seizure of power, both schools were renamed in 1946 so that the two names would spell out the phrase "successfully building a nation" (建國成功), thus naming them Chien Kuo High School and Chenggong High School (成功中學).
Overview
Students attending the school are widely recognized for their distinctive khaki uniforms and green bookbags. Only the top scorers on the Comprehensive Assessment Program receive admission. The school has graduated over 100,000 students in its history. For many international science and math competitions (e.g. the International Science Olympiad), students from Chien Kuo are chosen to represent Taiwan. As of 2007, students from Chien Kuo High School have won 46 gold, 63 silver and 21 bronze medals in International Mathematical Olympiad, International Physics Olympiad, International Chemistry Olympiad, International Olympiad in Informatics, and International Biology Olympiad. Since 2000, students from Chien Kuo have received 11 medals in the IMO/IPhO/IChO/IBO/IOI/IESO per year on average.
Notable alumni
Andrew Yao (姚期智): computer scientist, Turing Award laureate (2000), Academician of Academia Sinica
Benjamin Hsiao (蕭守道): Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University; Fellow of the American Physical Society and American Chemical Society
Calvin Chen (辰亦儒): singer
Chen Shih-chung (陳時中): dentist, Minister of Ministry of Health and Welfare of Republic of China (Taiwan)
Chang-Lin Tien (田長霖): chemical engineer, former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, Academician of Academia Sinica, member of the US National Academy of Engineering and American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Chang San-cheng (張善政): engineer, former Premier of the Republic of China, former Director of National Center for High-Performance Computing
Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁): epidemiologist, Academician of Academia Sinica, member of the US National Academy of Sciences, former Vice President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Chiang Peng-chien (江鵬堅): democracy activist, the first chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party
Cyrus Chu (朱敬一): economist, Academician of Academia Sinica, member of the US National Academy of Sciences, former public servant and diplomat
Ding-Shinn Chen (陳定信): hepatologist, Academician of Academia Sinica, member of the US National Academy of Sciences
Edward Yang (楊德昌): film director, Cannes Festival Best Director Award winner (2000)