Nanjing University (NJU or NU, Chinese: 南大; pinyin: Nándà), or Nanking University, is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher learning in China. Following many changes through dynasties since CE 258, it was established as a modern school in 1902 in late Qing dynasty, and became a modern university in the early 1920s, the early years of Republic of China, being the first Chinese modern university with the combination of education and research, and also as a pioneer laying the foundations for the establishment of the modern educational system (Renxu Xuezhi) in China.