Review of the Confucius Institutes’ Strategy for the Dissemination of Chinese Culture

Abstract

Following four years of continuous expansion in scale, the Confucius Institutes have begun entering the stage of implicit development: the most pressing question that needs answering is whether the Confucius Institutes, which are devoted to the dissemination of Chinese culture, can achieve the spread of Chinese culture overseas through day-to-day Chinese teaching. This paper reviews the Confucius Institutes’ strategy for the dissemination of Chinese culture from four perspectives: first, it dissects the connotations of Chinese culture, to clarify precisely what aspects of Chinese culture the institutes are seeking to disseminate; second, it analyzes the current international cultural order and challenges that may be faced in the process of cultural dissemination, and uses this foundation to draw lessons from other countries’ strategies for linguistic and cultural dissemination; third, it clarifies the methods, channels, and mechanisms for cultural dissemination; and last, it tracks the results of overseas cultural dissemination by the Confucius Institutes, and offers a scientific assessment.