March 2012
ABSTRACT
The
Confucius
Institutes
have
been
established
by
the
Chinese
government
which
operates
them
in
collaboration
with
foreign
universities
and
educational
institutions
in
order
to
promote
understanding
of
the
Chinese
language
and
culture.
The
first
Confucius
Institute
opened
its
doors
in
Seoul,
South
Korea
in
2004.
Within
the
past
seven
years,
353
Confucius
Institutes
and
473
Confucius
Classrooms
have
been
established
in
104
countries
and
regions.
It
is
quite
unusual
for
a
language
school
to
be
able
to
make
progress
so
rapidly.
These
developments
raise
a
series
of
basic
questions.
First,
what
are
the
Confucius
Institutes?
What
are
their
purpose
and
function?
How
have
they
been
able
to
multiply
so
quickly?
Are
Confucius
Institutes
instruments
of
China’s
soft
power?
This
article
seeks
to
answer
these
questions
by
analyzing
the
details
behind
the
establishment
of
Confucius
Institutes,
their
organizational
mechanism,
and
their
activities.
This
paper
concludes
that
due
to
insufficiency
of
cultural
content
and
key
concepts
which
can
typify
contemporary
China,
it
is
hard
to
see
Confucius
Institutes
as
China’s
soft
power.
Keywords:
Confucius
Institutes,
Hanban,
cultural
content,
Soft
Power
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