The name of a university often carries the precipitation of history and the accumulation of culture, and plays a significant role in the brand identity and image shaping of an institution. However, in China's higher education circles, there is such a university that has undergone a name change, but it has caused widespread controversy in the outside world - Donghua University. Today, we will take stock of the name change that was considered a "failure".
The predecessor of Donghua University is China Textile University, and it can be traced back to the Nantong Textile Dyeing Xi Institute founded by Zhang Jian in 1912, which is the birthplace of textile education in China. After several changes and mergers, the school was formed in 1951 by the merger of several textile colleges and universities into the East China Institute of Textile Technology, and after many renaming, it was officially named China Textile University in 1985. The name China Textile University is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, which not only reflects its professional status in the textile field, but also represents the city of Shanghai as an important city for the development of China's textile industry.
In 1999, China Textile University was approved by the Ministry of Education to change its name to Donghua University. The name change has sparked a lot of discussion. Some people think that the name change removes the word "textile", which dilutes the characteristics and advantages of the school in the textile field for decades, and also eliminates the two regional identities of "China" and "Shanghai", and loses the opportunity to intuitively reflect the geographical advantages and cultural identity in domestic and foreign publicity. In the eyes of some people, the new name of Donghua University seems to be a bit abstract and elusive, and it is not easy to impress the public, and it is even confused with the names of colleges and universities such as Nanhua, Xihua, and Beihua, which have no obvious location characteristics, resulting in many people not knowing where Donghua University is for a while.
Although the reason for the name of Donghua University has not been fully announced, it can be speculated that the school may hope to achieve a kind of transformation and development with the help of the name change, get out of the overly specific industry label, expand the scope of disciplines, and pursue a more comprehensive development. However, such a name change has deprived it of its original brand accumulation to a certain extent, which has caused Donghua University to suffer many challenges in terms of the recognition and recognition of the school name.
However, there are always two sides to things. Although Donghua University faced brand promotion problems after changing its name, it still maintained a strong position in textile technology education and research. The school has gradually formed the characteristic advantages of many disciplines such as textiles, materials, and design, and has made remarkable achievements in the fields of fashion design and materials science. Through innovative development strategy and international vision, Donghua University is gradually establishing its own unique brand image.
In this era of globalization, Donghua University can indeed make its voice heard at home and abroad, but it will take more effort and time to popularize and deepen public awareness. Looking back on the history of this special name change, we can't help but ask: how should the name of a university balance tradition and innovation, historical precipitation and development needs?