The School of Sinology was immediately set up after the establishment of the Division of Undergraduate and Graduate Programs at Tsinghua University in 1925. Four famous scholars — Wang Guowei, Liang Qichao, Zhao Yuanren, and Chen Yinke — were appointed to be the School advisors. They substantially established the paradigm for studies in humanities in modern China. Wang Guowei had great insight into Chinese and Western philosophy and he believed that philosophy can influence the mode of thinking of a nation and shape its ethics in an extremely deep way. He was also one of the pioneering figures who strived to separate philosophy from “the learning of classics” (Jingxue). In the same year, philosophy was officially listed in the curriculum for sophomore students and Liang Qichao began to teach a series of courses on the history of Chinese philosophy.

In 1926, Jin Yuelin, who had studied in America and Britain, was invited to work at Tsinghua to found the department of philosophy. In the beginning, there was only one professor, the Chair Jin Yuelin himself, and only one student, Shen Youding. In 1928, there were five faculty members altogether, including Feng Youlan who was appointed as a full professor and soon succeeded Jin Yuelin as the Chair.

In 1934, there were four full professors: Feng Youlan, Jin Yuelin, Zhang Shenfu, and Deng Yizhi; one lecturer, Shen Youding; three assistant professors, Lin Zaiping, He Lin, and Pan Huaisu. Feng Youlan continued to be the Chair. There were fourteen students altogether, including three sophomores, three junior students, three senior students, and three graduate students, some of whom became famous philosophers such as Wang Xianjun (Logic), Renhua (Western Philosophy), Zhou Fucheng (Ethics). During this period, The History of Chinese Philosophy (1934), by Feng Youlan and Logic (1936), by Jin Yuelin, were published successively. These two books were influential for Chinese scholars since they provided the foundations for the study of the history of Chinese philosophy and logic respectively in the twentieth century and pioneered the paradigm of knowledge for the discipline of philosophy in China.

Department of Philosophy, Tsinghua University Following the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in 1937, Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Nankai University were merged, forming the Southwest United University in Changsha and Kunming. It was so- called “the Period of Southwest United University”. The faculty members of the three famous universities, including many excellent scholars, gathered together and discussed issues freely and openly. “The style of the Southwest United University” and “the academic studies of the Southwest United University” contributed to the most brilliant period of Chinese cultural history in the twentieth century.

Accordingly, the departments of philosophy from the three universities were merged into one department of philosophy at the Southwest United University. The faculty members integrated as a whole, spent difficult times together, and passed the torch of Chinese philosophy to their successors. As far as the teaching was concerned, the work was divided among the faculty members of the three universities. The faculty members from Tsinghua University mainly taught two kinds of courses: Logic and The History of Chinese Philosophy. Besides the history of Chinese philosophy, Feng Youlan also taught Ethics, which was a compulsory course. In addition, the department of philosophy had a psychology section, and the related courses were all taught by the faculty members of Tsinghua University.

“The period of the Southwest United University” was the period in which the discipline of philosophy at Tsinghua University was shaped into “the School of Tsinghua Philosophy”. During the period, Feng Youlan wrote the most brilliant philosophical work in his lifetime Zhen yuan liu shu; Jin Yuelin published his outstanding book on ontology named On Dao (On the Way). All the publications were cornerstones in the studies of Chinese Philosophical History and the representative works of the School. They had shown two fundamental features: on the one hand, thinking hard to understand the Law of the World; on the other hand, setting ambition to the highest good of the World. The salient features of the school can be summarized, to borrow the words of Feng Youlan, as “to raise it to its greatest height and brilliancy, so as to pursue the course of the Mean.”

Since1980s, Tsinghua University has begun to rebuild the university with an ambition of becoming one of the world's top universities. It aims to be an open, comprehensive, and research-oriented campus again. At the end of 1980s, the goal of rebuilding its scientific disciplines was basically realized. In the early 1990s, it began to reconstruct its disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences. In 1999, Tsinghua University invited Professor Wan Junren from the Department of Philosophy at Peking University to rebuild its department of philosophy and began to welcome professors and researchers of philosophy from China and abroad. In May 2000, the Department of Philosophy at Tsinghua University was formally reestablished. Professor Wan Junren was the Chair; Professor Wang Xiaochao, Zou Guangwen and Professor Ai Silin were the Vice-chairs. The first administration led by the Chair responsible for the reconstruction of the department acted until December 2007.

Since the beginning of the reconstruction, the administration has cooperated closely with the faculty members of philosophy who work at Tsinghua University. With strong support from the university, the faculty members have worked together very hard and endeavored to rebuild the faculty. In about five years, the department has not only established a complete system with programs conferring bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees in philosophy as well as a post-doctoral program, but also made great progress in both teaching and research:

In 2000, the department was formally reestablished and began to enroll graduate students in programs that confer master's degrees in ethics (newly established) and in the philosophy of sciences and technology (established in 1984);

In 2002, the department established four programs conferring master's degrees in Marxist philosophy, Chinese philosophy, foreign philosophies, and logic;

In 2002, it established a program of conferring doctoral degrees in ethics;

In 2003, it began to enroll undergraduate students; and there were seven students that year;

In 2004, it established a post-doctoral program jointly with the Institute of the Philosophy of Sciences and Technology. In the same year, the Department of Philosophy at Tsinghua University was ranked tenth in the national evaluation of the discipline of philosophy, and its ethics ranked in the third position in China;

In 2004, the Departments of Philosophy, Chinese Literature, History, and Foreign Languages at Tsinghua University succeeded in the joint application for a priority project named “the National Base for Innovation in Chinese Civilization and Cultural Studies” sponsored by the Chinese Central Governmental Program of Priority Innovation Base “985” (the second term) ;

In 2005, the Department of Philosophy at Tsinghua University was approved as one of the units which has the qualification to confer doctoral degrees in all the areas of the study of philosophy (as announced in August 2006 by the Committee on Educational Degrees of the State Council of the P.R. China). In the same year, the Department of Philosophy at Tsinghua University was ranked sixth in the national evaluation of the discipline of philosophy.

At present, there are twenty-three faculty members in the department, including thirteen professors (eleven supervisors of doctoral candidates), seven associate professors, two assistant professors. More than 70 % of faculty members have doctoral degrees, including four staff members with doctoral degrees conferred by wellknown universities in other countries. One faculty member is Canadian. The specializations of the faculty members are distributed in the following eight areas: Marxist philosophy, foreign philosophy, Chinese philosophy, ethics, logic, aesthetics, philosophy of religions, and the philosophy of science and technology, with extra teaching and research resources in the areas of ethics, political philosophy, Chinese and foreign philosophy, and logic. The majority of the faculty members are in the prime of their careers, a golden period for academic innovation. Generally speaking, they have received the highest academic degrees; most of them have the experience of studying and visiting in other countries, and they also have the experience of international academic cooperation. There are complete teams in different areas, the team members are complementary to each other in terms of research interests, and they have reached a level of expertise in their own area. They are working together, following the example of their foreruners, endeavoring to realize the second glory of the department.

Since January of 2008, the department has been led by the third administration. The members of the new administration are: the Chair, Prof. Wan Junren; the Vicechairs, Prof. Ai Silin, Prof. Xiao Ying and Assoc. Prof. Han Lixin; Assistant to the Chair, Assoc. Prof. Liu Fenrong.

Since September of 2011, the fourth administration of the department has been built. The members of the new administration are: the Chair, Prof. Song Ji Jie; the Vicechairs, Prof. Sheng Kai, Prof. Xia Ying