Why is the foundation called Seek Truth From Facts?

Liu Bang, founder of the Han Dynasty

The foundation’s inspiration comes from the Book of Han, written in the first century AD, and still valid 2,000 years later.

Here is the Chinese,

河间献王德以孝景前二年立，修学好古，实事求是。从民得善书，必为好写与之，留其真，加金帛赐以招之。

For students of Mandarin, here is the Pinyin,

Hé jiān xiàn wáng dé yǐ xiàojǐng qián èr nián lì, xiūxué hǎo gǔ, shíshìqiúshì. Cóng mín dé shàn shū, bì wèi hǎo xiě yǔ zhī, liú qí zhēn, jiā jīn bó cì yǐ zhāo zhī.

The English translation,

The Prince Xian of Hejian, Liu De, was made a prince in the second year of Emperor Jing the Filial; he enjoyed studying classics from earlier eras, and sought truth from facts. When he obtained a valuable book from the people, he always made a copy by transcribing it and returned the copy to them, keeping the original himself, and provided gold and silk to keep those guests coming.

《漢書 ·河間獻王德傳》
The Biography of the Prince Xian of Hejian, Liu De (Book of Han)^[1], first century AD
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seek_truth_from_facts#

The concept of Seek Truth From Facts did not end there. By the Tang Dynasty (c. 600-900AD), it was already a part of governing and philosophical documents.

Hunan University, in its capital city Changsha, is the world’s oldest, was founded at the beginning of the Song Dynasty (c. 900-1,200AD) in 976AD. Oxford (1,096AD) and Cambridge (1,209AD) came later, but Hunan University never forgot Prince Xian’s Han-Era maxim, as its motto is,

Seeking Truth from Facts; Daring to be Pioneers (实事求是；敢于当先锋  - Shíshìqiúshì; gǎnyú dāng xiānfēng)
http://www-en.hnu.edu.cn/info/1013/2015.htm.

Mao Zedong studied at Hunan University 1917-1919 and being deeply imbued and knowledgeable of classical Chinese literature, knew this maxim well.

During the Chinese Civil War, the Chinese Communist Party built a stele in 1943, in Yan’an, Shaanxi Province, as a reminder to all of the citizens there of its importance to the success of the revolution.

Pictured above: the (Seek Truth From Facts) stele in Yan’an, built in 1943.After China gained its liberation in 1949, Seek Truth From Facts became a frequent rallying cry of Mao Zedong. Upon his death in 1976, his successor, Deng Xiaoping cited it in public just as much, and still today leaders like President Xi Jinping often quote it.

Seek Truth From Facts Foundation is honored and humbled to use this 2,000-year-old sage advice as its name and inspiration. It has and will always stand the test of time. We look forward to Seek Truth From Facts Foundation doing the same.

Further study: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seek_truth_from_facts#