Sun Jianai | |
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 Sun, early 1900s | |
| Minister of the Imperial University of Beijing | |
| In office 1898–1899 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Xu Jingcheng |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 7, 1827 Suzhou, Anhui, Qing China |
| Died | November 29, 1909 (aged 82) Beijing, Zhili, Qing China |
| Sun Jianai | |||||||||
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| Chinese | 孫家鼐 | ||||||||
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| Courtesy name | |||||||||
| Chinese | 燮臣 | ||||||||
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| Posthumous name | |||||||||
| Chinese | 文正 | ||||||||
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Sun Jianai (7 April 1827 – 29 November 1909) was a Qing dynasty official and educator, noted as an advisor and tutor to the Guangxu Emperor. Born in Anhui, he passed the imperial examinations and became a jinshi in 1859. After service as an education director in Hubei and at the Palace School for Princes, he was appointed as the tutor of the young Guangxu Emperor alongside Weng Tonghe. He served in various administrative posts during the 1880s and 1890s, including as president of the Censorate, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Rites, and Ministry of Civil Appointments. He was an advocate for the creation of what would become Imperial University of Peking. Emperor Guangxu appointed Sun the Director of Educational Affairs (管學大臣; Guǎnxué dàchén) and the imperial minister of the university. During the Hundred Days' Reform, he managed the university's opening and served as one of the emperor's closest advisors during the period.
A political moderate, Sun survived Empress Dowager Cixi's coup against the reform movement, and continued to manage the university. During the Boxer Rebellion, the university was destroyed and Sun's house was looted by the Kansu Braves. Following Cixi, he fled to Xi'an. After the war, he was promoted to the post of Grand Secretary of the Tiran Ge, and served as an examiner for the metropolitan imperial exams. He returned to managing the university in a triad with Zhang Baixi and Rongqing in 1904. He was named the prospective chairman of the advisory National Assembly, but died before the body could convene.