Hsuan Chuang University (HCU; Chinese: 玄奘大學""; pinyin: Xuán Zhuǎng Dàxué) is a private Buddhist university in Xiangshan District, Hsinchu City, Taiwan. Founded in 1997 by the Ven. Liao Zhong (了中), and named for the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang, the school was promoted to university status in 2004. It offers bachelor's and master's degrees, mainly in humanities subjects. Prior to 1985, the government of Taiwan maintained strict controls on private universities, and in particular discouraged university-level religious education. For several decades, senior officials of the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China (BAROC) pressured the government to overturn these restrictions, and allow a private Buddhist university similar to Fu Jen Catholic University.