The name of the organization responsible for this work is also different. Tsinghua University, the first foreign student in New China, was called "China Language Specialized Course for Eastern European Exchange Students", and later Peking University was called "China Language Specialized Course for Foreign Students". After the establishment of Beijing Language Institute, there was a "Chinese Department for International Students in China".
In the ancient history of China, there were two climaxes of foreign cultural input, one was the input of Indian Buddhist culture in the Han, Wei, Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the other was the input of western culture in the late Ming and modern times. When foreign culture was imported twice on a large scale, religious culture was the pioneer and played an important role in promoting it. It can be said that the large-scale teaching of Chinese as a foreign language in ancient times developed with the spread of religion.
The first time was the spread of Chinese in the cultural circle centered on China. Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, the ruling class in China has actively absorbed Buddhism, absorbed and reformed Buddhism, and made itself the center of Buddhism. Especially the strong cultural background of the Tang Dynasty attracted monks and students from neighboring countries to study religion and culture in China.
The second time was in the Ming Dynasty. In the coordinate system of world history, the14-17th century was the period when the Renaissance Movement and the Reformation Movement rose. Jesuit missionaries played a central role in the process of westerners learning the language of China.
When did the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language in China rise? At present, there is no unified statement, but it has a long history in China and does exist objectively. Originated in the Han dynasty, it is generally certain.
As one of the oldest languages in the world, teaching Chinese as a second language has a long history. As early as 25,600 years ago, "comprehensive translation" mentioned in Zhou Li and The Book of Rites appeared. Foreigners or foreigners really came to China to learn a lot of Chinese, which began in the early Eastern Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. There was also a craze in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which all referred to studying in China.
Buddhism first spread from India to China, and then from China to Korea and Japan. Monks from India and other countries come to China to preach Buddhism, or Korean and Japanese monks come to China to study Buddhism, so they must learn Chinese first.
The Chinese teaching of monks in various countries has developed almost simultaneously with the teaching of Chinese to foreigners in schools run by governments.