A prestigious but short-lived academy devoted to the study of Chinese culture in the late 1920s reopened Sunday in Beijing.

The former Tsinghua Academy of Chinese Learning, Tsinghua University, one of China's top-tier universities, was established in 1925 and closed in 1929. Among the 70 students graduated from the academy, 50 became renowned scholars of Chinese culture, especially in literature.

Its instructors included Wang Guowei, Liang Qichao and Chen Yinque, all legendary figures in the history of Chinese literature and household names even in today's China.

By reopening the academy, we wish to inherit the heritage of the old Tsinghua Academy of Chinese Learning and promote the study of Chinese culture, said Xie Weihe, vice president of Tsinghua University.

The academy aims to become an influential Chinese culture research center in the world, Xie added.

Prof. Chen Lai, a 57-year-old leading scholar of Chinese philosophy, is the first dean of the academy which carries in-depth studies in the fields of Chinese philosophy, aesthetics, history, literature and international sinology, Xie said.

The academy has a journal called Chinese Academics and will host various seminars and conferences, inviting scholars home and abroad to give speeches and exchange minds on the study of Chinese culture, Xie said.