●Chapter I The Opium War, the Reformist Trend of Thoughts and the Westernisation Movement
●Chapter II The Fierce Struggles between the Westernisationists and the Conservatives over the Tong Wen Guan of Peking
●Chapter III The Development of the Tong Wen Guan of Peking
●Chapter IV The Legacy and Influence of the Tong Wen Guan
●Chapter V From the Qiangxuehui to Guanshuju to the Preparations for the Launch of the Da Xuetang of Peking
●Chapter VI The Hundred Days' Reform and the Official Launch of the Da Xuetang of Peking
●Chapter VII The Rectification of the Da Xuetang of Peking
●Chapter VIII Guangxu, Cixi and the Three Statutes of the Da Xuetang of Peking
●Chapter IX The Da Xuetang: Curriculum Design and Implementation of Teaching
●Chapter X The Da Xuetang: Administration and Rules and Regulations
●Chapter XI The Da Xuetang: Its Affiliated Structures
●Chapter XII The Road to Democracy and Science
●Chapter XIII The First National Institution of Higher Learning in Modern China
●Glossary
●Personal names in this book
●Place names in this book

本書以大量史實詳細論證了北京大學的創辦是晚清維新派與保守派多年鬥爭的結果，並回答了該大學創辦初期引人深思的幾個問題：慈禧太後在殘酷鎮壓了戊戌變法後，為什麼廢除了幾乎所有的變法措施，卻單單保留了擁有改革精神的京師大學堂？為什麼該學堂有三個不同的建校章程，且均與光緒皇帝和慈禧太後有關？為什麼說北京大學是中國近代的靠前所國立大學？本書論述清晰，文筆流暢，可讀性強。