# Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School

25°1′51.26″N 121°30′44.23″E﻿ / ﻿25.0309056°N 121.5122861°E﻿ / 25.0309056; 121.5122861
Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School (CKHS; Chinese: 臺北市立建國高級中學), also historically known as Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School, is a public high school for boys located in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. The school was established in 1898 during the early years of Japanese rule and was the first public high school in Taiwanese history. CKHS requires the highest scores on the national senior high school entrance exams. As of July 2021, CKHS's alumni include one Nobel Prize laureate (Physics), the only ethnic Chinese Turing Award laureate, one Cannes Film Festival Best Director award winner, two heads of state, at least five members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and numerous scholars and public servants. Its female counterpart is the Taipei First Girls' High School.

## History

What is now Chien Kuo High School was founded as the Fourth Affiliated School, Secondary School (第四附屬學校尋常中等科) of the Taiwan Governor's Office Japanese Language School (today the National Taipei University of Education), and was the first public secondary school in Taiwan. Except for a short period following the Chinese Civil War, the school has been an all-boys high school. The red brick building was built in 1909 during Japanese rule and is considered one of Taipei's historically significant buildings.
Following its foundation, the school went through a number of names before settling on First Taihoku Prefectural Secondary School (臺北州立臺北第一中學校) in 1922, Second Taihoku being what is now Chenggong High School. During Japanese rule, First Taihoku (臺北一中) was reserved primarily for Japanese students while Second Taihoku allowed entry for the Taiwanese. The two schools developed a competitive nature that persists to this day. Following World War II and the Chinese seizure of power, both schools were renamed in 1946 so that the two names would spell out the phrase "successfully building a nation" (建國成功), thus naming them Chien Kuo High School and Chenggong High School (成功中學).

## Overview

Students attending the school are widely recognized for their distinctive khaki uniforms and green bookbags. Only the top scorers on the Comprehensive Assessment Program receive admission. The school has graduated over 100,000 students in its history. For many international science and math competitions (e.g. the International Science Olympiad), students from Chien Kuo are chosen to represent Taiwan. As of 2007, students from Chien Kuo High School have won 46 gold, 63 silver and 21 bronze medals in International Mathematical Olympiad, International Physics Olympiad, International Chemistry Olympiad, International Olympiad in Informatics, and International Biology Olympiad. Since 2000, students from Chien Kuo have received 11 medals in the IMO/IPhO/IChO/IBO/IOI/IESO per year on average.

## Notable alumni

* Alec Su (蘇有朋): singer (Xiao Hu Dui, Solo), actor
* Andrew Yao (姚期智): computer scientist, Turing Award laureate (2000), Academician of Academia Sinica
* Benjamin Hsiao (蕭守道): Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University; Fellow of the American Physical Society and American Chemical Society
* Calvin Chen (辰亦儒): singer
* Chen Shih-chung (陳時中): dentist, Minister of Ministry of Health and Welfare of Republic of China (Taiwan)
* Chang-Lin Tien (田長霖): chemical engineer, former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, Academician of Academia Sinica, member of the US National Academy of Engineering and American Academy of Arts and Sciences
* Chang San-cheng (張善政): engineer, former Premier of the Republic of China, former Director of National Center for High-Performance Computing
* Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁): epidemiologist, Academician of Academia Sinica, member of the US National Academy of Sciences, former Vice President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
* Chiang Peng-chien (江鵬堅): democracy activist, the first chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party
* Cyrus Chu (朱敬一): economist, Academician of Academia Sinica, member of the US National Academy of Sciences, former public servant and diplomat
* Ding-Shinn Chen (陳定信): hepatologist, Academician of Academia Sinica, member of the US National Academy of Sciences
* Edward Yang (楊德昌): film director, Cannes Festival Best Director Award winner (2000)
* Eric Chu (朱立倫): politician, former President of Executive Yuan, former associate professor of accounting at National Taiwan University
* Fredrick Chien (錢復): diplomat, former President of Control Yuan, former minister of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan)
* Fu Kun-cheng (傅崐成): professor of law, former lawmaker
* James C. Liao (廖俊智): President of Academia Sinica; Parsons Foundation Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UCLA
* Jeffrey Koo Sr. (辜濂淞): former chairperson of Chinatrust Commercial Bank
* Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔): economist, Academician of Academia Sinica, President of National Taiwan University
* Kwang-chih Chang (張光直): anthropologist, Academician of Academia Sinica, member of US National Academy of Sciences, former Vice President of Academia Sinica
* Lai Ching-te (賴清德): politician, medical doctor, President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
* Lu Hsiu-yi (盧修一): democracy activist, former legislator
* Lü Shao-chia (呂紹嘉): world-renowned opera and orchestra conductor
* Lu Yen-hsun (盧彥勳): professional tennis player (formerly #1 in Asia)
* Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九): former President of Republic of China (Taiwan), professor of law
* Pai Hsien-yung (白先勇): novelist, Professor Emeritus of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara
* Samuel C. C. Ting (丁肇中): physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (1976), Academician of Academia Sinica
* Stan Lai (賴聲川): playwright, theatre director
* Su Beng (史明): independence activist and author of Modern History of Taiwanese in 400 Years
* Wang Kuan-hung (王冠閎): professional swimmer
* Wei min Hao (郝慰民): atmospheric chemist, climatologist, contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which won Nobel Peace Prize (2007)