China studies becomes more popular

The symposium on China studies organized by China's Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday, attracting scholars and academics from 17 different countries.

At the symposium, scholars talked about the growth of China studies in foreign academic institutes as well as the spread of Chinese literature and the Chinese dream.

Addressing a meeting at the symposium, Liu Qibao, head of China's publicity department, said that hoped foreign professors of Chinese studies will continue their efforts in the translation and broadcast of Chinese literature works.

He also asked them to help the world understand that the Chinese Dream is dream that pursues peace and the people's well-being, that it is a dream that benefits the world.

Twenty foreign professors shared their views on the Chinese Dream and Chinese values. Some of the professors had the opportunity to visit the Qufu city in Shandong province, the hometown of Confucius.

Among the 20 professors was Alexsei Rodionov of Saint Petersburg State University in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Rodionov said that China studies has become such a popular course that only top applicants in the country are allowed into the university's program.

"Chinese studies have become the most popular subject in the university where I am working, which is welcomed by students with unprecedented warmth," said Rodionov. "Chinese classes were available in only eight universities in the former Soviet Union and now more than 160 institutions in Russia provide Chinese lessons."

As a professor of Chinese studies, Rodionov commended the role that the Confucius Institute played in promoting Chinese studies and he hopes it can provide more opportunities for young people to learn more about China.

Priyadarsi Mukherji from India's Jawaharlal Nehru University said Chinese studies is a interdisciplinary subject and that he welcomes China to establish a Chinese culture center in his university to study Chinese-Hindu culture and promote national culture between the two countries.

Independent scholar Jean-Paul Wiest, originally from the United States, says that there are three major institutions in his country committed to Chinese studies, including a Chinese center at Harvard University. He says the academies and publications that teach China studies serve as pivotal platform for dialogues and cooperation between the US and China.

"The Confucius Institute should concentrate more on the studies of Chinese language as well as its culture," said Wiest.

As Chinese becomes one of the most popular foreign languages to learn in the US, Wiest advises China to improve management of the Confucius Institutes. The institutes have recently suffered from bad publicity in the US.

The Confucius Institute program began in 2004 and is overseen by the National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language. After establishing a pilot institute in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in June 2004, the first Confucius Institute opened in November 2004 in Seoul, South Korea.

As of the end of September 2014, there were 465 Confucius Institutes in 123 countries and 713 Confucius Classrooms in primary and secondary schools worldwide.