Abstract: During the period of Southwest United University running, as the Secretary-General of Peking University and the director of general affairs of Southwest United University, Zheng Tianting undertook heavy administrative work. At the same time, he was diligently engaged in teaching, research and training of graduate students. In undergraduate teaching, he shifted his teaching position from the Department of Chinese to the Department of History, and his teaching focus from “History of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties”, and “History of the Sui and Tang Dynasties” to “History of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.” His classes were extremely lively and informative and were thus welcomed by the students. In the training of graduate students, Zheng Tianting was in charge of the educational administration of Institute of Liberal Arts, Peking University. Through careful planning and coordination of services, he created good conditions for the study and life of the graduate students. Zheng made special contributions to the training of outstanding talents in Chinese humanities during the War against Japanese Aggression. In academic research, he shifted his research field from literature collation to the study of Qing history and Southwest Frontier History. He wrote a number of historical papers with precise research and unique insights, and published Exploration of Qing History, establishing himself as an expert in Qing history. The characteristic of his research is cross-evidence between textual criticism and exploration. From the perspective of his academic career, the period of Southwest Associated University was the most brilliant and fruitful of the first half of his life.

Key words: Zheng Tianting, period of Southwest United University, talent development, academic research