Sichuan University is one of the earliest institutions of higher education in China. Its earliest predecessor was the Sichuan Chinese and Western School (四川中西學堂), a school established in 1896 that combined traditional and modern methods of education. In 1902, it was merged with two traditional Chinese academies, the Jinjiang Shuyuan (錦江書院, founded 1740) and the Zunjing Shuyuan (尊經書院, founded 1875), and became known as the Sichuan Higher School (四川高等学堂, later 四川高等学校). In 1916, after another merger with a normal school, it was renamed the National Chengdu Higher Normal School (國立成都高等師範學校). In the late 1920s, the institution was briefly divided into three universities, namely the National Chengdu University, the Chengdu Normal University and the Public Sichuan University. In 1931, however, they were reintegrated to form the National Sichuan University (國立四川大學). By 1949, the National Sichuan University had been developed into one of the largest multidisciplinary universities in China, with arts, science, engineering, agriculture, law, and normal schools and a total of 25 departments.