The rise and development of Chinese modern universities was embedded in the life of the country.Modern universities were created as the state was in anirresolvable crisis，and they matured in the long struggle of Chinese people for national independence.The system of university teachers，the core part of Chinese modern universities，was gestated and nurtured in the national salvation，and accordingly developed with an ever-growing self-consciousness of going all out to save the nation.Thus，“academic independence”，the essential ideology extended from the ideal of “national independence”，became the theme of value or soul of the system of university teachers in modern China.In the enlightenment of democracy and science promoted during the New Culture Movement of May Fourth，the idea of “academic freedom” originating from the western universities had been absorbed into the much indigenised view system of “academic independence”，and became the new spirit of system of modern university teacher in China.Thanks to this educational indigenisation，the development of the system of modern university teachers in China is a typical example of Sino-Western Cultural integration，and silhouettes a way of growth of intellectuals in modern China and reflects the ideals and principles of modern universities in China.As a result，the system of university teachers gained more impetus and shaped up nicely.

The system of modern university teachers has such key components as qualification，appointment，promotion，evaluation，rewarding，nurturing，salary and retirement.Teacher appointment，however，is the most important among them，co-managed by government and university authorities.The system of modern university teachers，always moulded by influences of government，university authorities and teachers，walked a way from cautious imitation of its foreign counterparts to indigenisation to innovation.In the 1940s，the system of university teachers had already taken shape in China.

This dissertation intends to unfold the general picture of the system of university teachers in China and traces the evolution of it from the mid 19th century up to 1948 by dividing this probable 80 years into six stages，namely，the period of gestation （1862-1895），the period of emergence （1895-1902），the period of formation （1902-1911），the period of growing （1912-1927），the period of maturing （1927-1937） and the period of perfecting （1937-1948）.This dissertation accordingly relocates the official legal documents as the main line to trace the evolution of the system and explores into the internal regulations that are the specific rules to run the system.

The rise of the earliest modern government schools in China，represented by the Imperial Tongwen College of Peking，initiates the formation of the system of modern university teachers in China.The prototype of modern university in China，these earliest modern government schools，having had quite few early indigenous examples to follow，kept the old educational institutions as the external form，and began to learn from the models of indigenous Christian schools and western universities.Motivated by the idea “Chinese substance and western function”，these new-style government schools hired teachers from both China and western countries，thus formulated the earliest element of teaching personnel.After the first Sino-Japanese War，the first modern university，the Imperial University of Peking，emerged in China in the background of Reform Movement and national salvation.Charter of the Imperial University represents the infant look of the system of Chinese university teachers with a separate chapter and several sections in other four chapters，which settled the teacher appointment rules and set “teacher cultivation” as the start point of evolution logic of the system of university teachers.Charter of Teacher Appointment out of Renyin-Kuimao Educational System symbolises the initial settlement of the system of university teachers in modern China by clarifying the legitimate status of university teacher and setting up an initial framework of teacher qualification.

After 1912，thoughts of education democratization swept across China.As a result，new educators headed by Cai Yuanpei modeled the system of university teachers on Japanese，European and American universities，and finally established the new system of university teachers in the period of republic of China，with Chinese factors much considered and integrated.A series of regulations on universities issued by central government of China subsequently，such as Directive about University，Regulations on State University Faculty Appointment and Salary，constructed an internal framework of faculty-governance in university.This had been followed by the creation of new organisations of scientific research to gather advanced teaching personnel.All these pioneering ventures formed the basis of “academic independence” and promoted the system of university teachers to a more advanced level.The eleven years from 1927 to 1937 witnessed the maturing of the system of modern university teachers in China.Despite the restraint on the rights of academic freedom imposed by Kuomintang’s rigorist education policy，the tradition of liberalism was still maintained more or less within the system of university teachers in different universities thanks to the fact that lots of overseas graduates returned to China to become university heads，deans of faculty and professors.Some important higher education laws promulgated over this period，such as Regulations on University Teacher Qualification and Law of University Organisation，made much concrete progress in either the stratification of teacher posts into a four-tier structure，or the building of up-or-out rules-centred mechanism of free flow of personnel，the forming of a culture of cultivation of academic leading figures，or the establishing of regulations on teacher retirement and pension.

From 1937 to 1945 national salvation and nationalindependence became the theme of China and Chinese universities again.Under that severe wartime conditions，Chinese universities，loyal to the idea of “saving the nation with education”，began to change their system of teachers from one single track to more tracks combined，namely a comprehensive personnel system.Institutional elements of incentive and guarantee，such as in-service advanced training，salary，personnel quota，retirement and reward for senior teachers，were added and improved.Teachers’ scientific research was particularly well systematized.From 1945 to 1948 the construction of the system of university teachers in modern China came to its final scene.These four years saw the promulgation of University Law and the setting of the goal of creating first-class university.

The eighty years of development of the system of university teachers in modern China from its gestation to its full maturity，was remarkable and historic with the issue of a complete set of legal and administrative documents and the full emergence of a community of university teachers.This history has impressed us with its valuable modern experiences about the building of a system of university teachers：“academic independence” and “academic freedom” are the soul of it；the shift from simple borrowing to self innovation is the line along which modern university culture has evolved；university self governance under the direction of government，the general leadership of university chancellor and faculty-governance are the external motivation factor and the driving force from inside.The most effective parts of it are the mechanism of faculty-governance，the mechanism of free flow of university personnel，a salary system based on pricing by quality and a research-oriented in-service advanced training system.

Key Words：system of university teachers modern academic independence academic freedom