Quick Answer: How Is University Graduation Marked in China?
At many mainland Chinese universities, the event includes caps and gowns, photographs and a ceremony. The tassel turn (拨穗, bōsuì) moves the tassel from the graduate’s right to left at the awarding of a degree.[1][2][3]
- On stage. A university official may move the tassel as a graduate is recognized.[2][3]
- What students wear. The cap, tassel, gown and draped collar form the usual set.[2][4]
- Where families join. Relatives can watch where invited and may join graduates for photographs.[3][5]
Each university sets its ceremony and guest arrangements.[1]
At Nanjing University in 2012, a pair of young twins posed in miniature caps beside their graduating father. The photograph captured a family milestone within an institutional ceremony.[3]
What the Tassel Turn Marks
A graduation ceremony (毕业典礼, bìyè diǎnlǐ) can be held together with a ceremony for degree conferral (学位授予, xuéwèi shòuyǔ). At Beijing Normal University, the tassel begins on the cap’s right front. Once the degree is awarded, the dean moves it to the left front. The directions refer to the wearer’s own right and left.[2]
At the 2012 Nanjing University ceremony, graduates received both graduation and degree certificates. The stage gesture made the recognition visible to relatives in the audience. [3]
How Academic Dress Took Shape
In 1994, the State Council Academic Degrees Committee’s office recommended a standardized form of academic dress (学位服, xuéwèifú). Its cap, tassel, robe and draped collar followed an international academic form, with details including peony motifs on the collar and a Great Wall pattern on the cuffs. The recommendation did not require every institution to hold a conferral ceremony.[1][4]
Tsinghua University adapted the form in 2021. It used the school’s purple for the robe, put the outline of its Second Gate on the cuffs and embroidered two campus flowers along the collar trim. Personalized commemorative badges recorded details including the graduate’s name. The robe kept the four-part form and used its trim to identify the campus.[4]
Where Families Join the Celebration
Family participation can go beyond watching from the seats. In June 2020, Beijing Language and Culture University held a remote summer ceremony. Its humanities and social sciences division mailed out gowns. During the ceremony, parents at home moved the tassels for their graduating children.[5]
When a ceremony is in person, use the invitation to check guest access and where to meet for photographs. Chinese school opening rituals concern the start of school, and teacher respect ceremonies focus on a different relationship.
FAQs About Chinese Graduation Traditions
Is graduation the same as degree conferral?
They mark different things. Graduation marks completing a course of study. Conferral awards the degree. A university may recognize both at one event and issue separate certificates.[1][3]
Do Chinese universities all graduate in June?
Dates vary by university and program. The 2020 summer ceremony at Beijing Language and Culture University was in June. Peking University’s School of Transnational Law held its 2026 commencement in May.[5][6]
Sumber
[1] Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. Guidance on Degree-Conferral Ceremonies
[2] Beijing Normal University. Degree Dress Code Specification
[3] Nanjing University. Family Participation at the 2012 Graduation Ceremony
[4] Tsinghua University. Tsinghua’s 2021 Academic Dress and Commemorative Badges
[5] Beijing Language and Culture University. Parents Turn Tassels at a Virtual Commencement
[6] Peking University School of Transnational Law. Class of 2026 Commencement