Link the cultures of China and the world

Recently with the frequent pubic appearance on news media, "Confucius Institute" has become a focus of concern for Chinese learners across the world.

Thanks to the continuous rise of China's overall national strength, the Sino-foreign cooperation and exchanges have been in full swing to an unprecedented extent. A gust of "China craze" and "Chinese craze" around the globe is arising since more people all over the world express their willingness to know more about China, enter into China and experience China. Today, Chinese is not only merely a kind of language simply with the 5,000 years of civilization and the unique oriental philosophical thought, but also a sort of commercial language with practical value and an influential language with future opportunities.

French President Jacques Chirac has encouraged French youth to learn Chinese. He said that it is the best choice for French youth to learn Chinese. Former Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong once sincerely called upon all Singaporeans never to give up the advantage of mastering Chinese. As many experts pointed out, the value of Chinese has far exceeded the category of traditional judgment and Chinese will become an important tool for global competitiveness. Based on this new understanding of the value and function of Chinese the global demand for learning Chinese has raised gradually in recent years. The number of Chinese-teaching institutions and Chinese learners grew dramatically. Meanwhile, the Confucius Institutes have been established at this historic moment in light of the urgent need for outstanding Chinese teachers overseas.

One concept for the establishment of Confucius Institutes lies in the idea of making Chinese advance towards the world and meeting the global demand for learning Chinese; letting the world know more about China and promoting friendship between the Chinese and people of the world.

Confucius Institute is a non-profitable public welfare institution mainly focusing on teaching Chinese. As a language teaching service institution, it is natural that people can learn Chinese language here, exercise Chinese skill, test Chinese level and evaluate Chinese teaching ability. Meanwhile, it also serves as a station for cultural exchanges. People could experience Chinese culture, appreciate Chinese artistry, feel the unique charm of ancient China and admire the elegance of contemporary China.

Confucius Institute will provide Chinese learners from various countries with direct and convenient services. The good, unified and standard language and cultural resources and efficient teaching pattern it supplies will open a new channel for learning Chinese and experiencing China. The Confucius Institutes will be built in places as long as there is enough demand for learning Chinese worldwide. Every Confucius Institute will play the role of linking China with the countries where institutes are based, which will jointly set up Chinese bridges linking China and the rest of the world.

The coexistence of many languages will make the continuity of human civilization possible and the complete harmony of pluralistic culture will make the world more colorful. Language not only influences various aspects of people's life, but also plays a vital part in social development and the future of human beings and relations between countries. Under the current situation of economic globalization, we need more exchanges and mutual understanding than we did in anytime before. However, it is the learning of foreign language that helps people understand each other's culture in an effective way, and serves as a base for peaceful coexistence and exchanges of different cultures.

Therefore, many countries have established their own language promotion institutions, providing the resources of its own language teaching for other countries, for instance, British Council of English, Alliance Francaises of French, the Goethe Institute of German and Cervantes Institute of Spanish. The establishment of Confucius Institute also draws on the other countries' experience in popularizing the language teaching in accordance with accepted international practice. It goes without saying that China, pursuing peaceful development, has laid much emphasis on the promotion of Chinese teaching worldwide in the process of implementing the "Go Out" strategy. As a mother tongue of Chinese, China has the responsibility and obligation to enhance the exchanges and cooperation with other countries in terms of language and cultural education, which will not only provide various possible support and service for the teaching of Chinese in countries across the world, but also promote cultural understanding between Chinese nation and other nations worldwide, thus contributing to the world peace and development.

By People's Daily Online