The NTU Motto

The University's motto, "Integrity, Diligence, Fidelity, and Compassion," is adopted from a line in the speech made by President Ssu-Nien Fu in 1949 on a memorial occasion celebrating the fourth anniversary of the University. The line is intended to encourage students of National Taiwan University. However, the word President Fu originally used is "to study hard" instead of the present version "to advance intellect."

In 1964, President Shih-liang Chien inscribed the eight Chinese characters, “Integrity, Diligence, Fidelity, Compassion” onto the cover of the university Yearbook as the university’s motto to urge graduates to live up to the late president’s expectations. President Chien also inscribed “Integrity” (cultivate virtue) and “Diligence” (advance intellect) on the board which has been hung on the wall in the entrance hall of the old main library in January 1969. Later in the early 1970s, President Chen-Hsing Yen further applied the eight-word motto and carved them onto the outer wall of the Gymnasium's facade. At the same time, a bust of the late President Fu was erected on the University's Main Campus, with this established motto inscribed onto the base of the statue.