104-624: Confucius Institutes ( CI ; Chinese : 孔子学院 ; pinyin : Kǒngzǐ Xuéyuàn ) are public educational and cultural promotion programs funded and arranged currently by the Chinese International Education Foundation [ zh ] (CIEF), a government-organized non-governmental organization (GONGO) under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China . The Confucius Institute program
208-859: A Chinese vice premier and member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party who formerly headed the United Front Work Department . Other leaders of the council are similarly drawn from the CCP and central government agencies, such as the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, and the State Council Information Office (also known as the Office of Overseas Propaganda). The council sets
312-683: A Hanban representative attempted to exclude information on Taiwan from the program provided to attendees at a conference. In the short time-frame of their rapid expansion, the institutes have been the subject of much controversy. Criticisms of the institutes have included administrative concerns about finance, academic viability, legal issues, and relations with the Chinese partner university, as well as broader concerns about improper influence over teaching and research, industrial and military espionage, surveillance of Chinese abroad, and undermining Taiwanese influence. There has also been organized opposition to
416-579: A Royal Charter was issued to the Royal Technical College, Nairobi and the foundation stone of the college was laid in April 1952. During the same period, the Asian community was also planning to build a college for Arts , Science and Commerce as a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi . To avoid duplication of efforts, Gandhi Memorial Academy Society partnered with the colonial government. Thus,
520-777: A collaboration between University of Nairobi and Tianjin Normal University in China. It is a body corporate established under the Universities Act 2012 of the Laws of Kenya and the Charter. Through module II and III programmes, opportunity has been opened to thousands of Kenyans and foreigners especially from Sudan, on a paying basis, who meet university admission requirements, but who have not been able to access university education due to restricted intake into
624-443: A component—either a character or a sub-component called a radical —usually involves either a reduction in its total number of strokes , or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example, the ⼓ ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏ ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of
728-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst
832-407: A few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name 简化字 ; jiǎnhuàzì , or colloquially as 简体字 ; jiǎntǐzì . The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure, a practice which has always been present as
936-491: A foreign government", and called for a GAO study into agreements between American universities and China. On 5 December 2014, PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying denied the House testimony and said "We have assisted with supplying teachers and textbooks at the request of the U.S. side but have never interfered with academic freedom." Controversy continued in 2018 as U.S. Congress members from Texas wrote
1040-609: A foreign government." After interviewing China scholars, journalists and CI directors, a writer for The Diplomat , a publication covering politics, society, and culture in the Indo-Pacific region, also found little support for the concern that CIs would serve as propaganda vehicles, though some of her sources did note that they would face constraints in their curriculum on matters such as Tibet and human rights. An article in The New York Times quotes Arthur Waldron ,
1144-537: A large-N analysis to examine the Confucius Institute and demonstrate that it is designed to promote China's educational, economic, and political interests altogether. Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write the Chinese language , with the other being traditional characters . Their mass standardization during
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#17327658370281248-610: A letter to four universities in that state urging them to close their Confucius Institutes. Texas A&M did so shortly after receiving the letter. Throughout 2018 and 2019, all of the institutes in Florida were closed: the University of West Florida , the University of North Florida , the University of South Florida , and Miami Dade College . A U.S. law passed in 2019 that prohibits universities hosting Confucius Institutes from receiving funding for Chinese language studies from
1352-408: A new Chinese partnership program. In 2024, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council banned its citizens from working at Confucius Institutes due to national security concerns. Confucius institutes have not been subject to such pushback in southeast Asia. In that region, Thailand in particular has been a major promoter of Chinese language education. With 16 Confucius Institutes as of 2024, Thailand hosts
1456-610: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the Complete List , the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as
1560-518: A part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms. According to Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui , the broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ),
1664-888: A pilot institute in Tashkent , Uzbekistan in June 2004. The CI in South Korea is no longer active. The second Confucius Institute was opened on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park , also in November 2004. In 2006, the goal of 1,000 Confucius Institutes by 2020 was being discussed. Hundreds more have opened since in dozens of countries around the world. All countries in the Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European (China-CEE) host at least one Confucius Institute, and some (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, and Romania) host multiple of them. In 2001,
1768-458: A positive international environment for China. People's Daily has described Confucius Institutes as a form of public diplomacy . Confucius Institutes were previously under Hanban , a non-profit government organization affiliated with the Ministry of Education and operated by a committee of party-state officials. The Confucius Institute headquarters in Beijing establishes the guidelines which
1872-459: A professor of international relations at the University of Pennsylvania , saying that the key issue is academic independence. "Once you have a Confucius Institute on campus, you have a second source of opinions and authority that is ultimately answerable to the Chinese Communist Party and which is not subject to scholarly review." In October 2013, University of Chicago professor Marshall Sahlins published an extensive investigative article criticizing
1976-608: A result, both Taiwan and Tibet become taboos at the institutes. The CI's soft power goals are seen as an attempt by the PRC to modernize away from Soviet-influenced propaganda of the Maoist era . Other initiatives include Chinese contemporary art exhibitions, television programs, concerts by popular singers, translations of Chinese literature , and the expansion of state-run news channels such as Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television . Academic and economist Jun Xiang used
2080-849: A self-described "non-governmental private organization". The curriculum of Confucius Institutes is based on the institute's role as a language center. All Confucius Institutes teach Chinese language and culture, with their offerings varying across branches. For instance, one branch might focus on business Chinese while another emphasizes everyday Chinese language skills. Courses on culture may also range from cooking to Tai Chi to calligraphy. In addition to courses (which are sometimes taught for-credit and sometimes not-for-credit), Confucius Institutes typically host extracurricular activities included Chinese New Year Festivals , Mid-Autumn Festivals , tea ceremonies, art exhibitions, musical performances, film screenings, guest lectures, and conferences. School officials, researchers, and other people interviewed by
2184-600: A trademarked brand name, which according to a spokesman for the organisation, "Those who enjoy more brand names will enjoy higher popularity, reputation, more social influence, and will therefore be able to generate more support from local communities." A 2011 crackdown protected "Confucius Institute" from preregistration infringement in Costa Rica. A China Post article reported in 2014 that "Certainly, China would have made little headway if it had named these Mao Institutes, or even Deng Xiaoping Institutes. But by borrowing
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#17327658370282288-534: Is a joint project of the County Government of Nandi and the University of Nairobi. The university underwent a major restructuring in 1983, resulting in decentralization of the administration, by the creation of six colleges headed by principals. Further, in 2021, the university was further restructured to faculties headed by Deans, phasing out the colleges. In 2023, Times Higher Education ranked
2392-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌 'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊ 'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,
2496-492: Is concern by professors and students that a Confucius Institute would interfere with academic freedom and be able to pressure the university to censor speech on topics the CCP objects to. An article in The Chronicle of Higher Education asserts that there is little evidence of meddling from China, although the same article did go on to say the institutes were "distinct in the degree to which they were financed and managed by
2600-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): Omitting entire components : Omitting components, then applying further alterations : Structural changes that preserve the basic shape Replacing the phonetic component of phono-semantic compounds : Replacing an uncommon phonetic component : Replacing entirely with
2704-548: Is identified with China. Some commentators argue, unlike these organizations, many Confucius Institutes operate directly on university campuses, thus giving rise to what they see as unique concerns related to academic freedom and political influence. Confucius Institutes have been accused to be used as a form of "soft power" by the Chinese government, which spends approximately $ 10 billion a year on CIs and related programs to exercise these initiatives. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) general secretary Xi Jinping in 2013 stated that
2808-813: Is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public. In 2013, the List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of 8105 characters. It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at
2912-641: Is ranked 7th in Africa and 1698 in the world according to Webometrics Ranking of World Universities . The idea of an institution for higher learning in Kenya goes back to 1947 when the Kenyan colonial government drew up a plan for the establishment of a technical and commercial institute in Nairobi. By 1949, this plan had grown into a concept aimed at providing higher technical education for Kenya. In September 1951,
3016-623: Is referred to as the " big seal script ". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ( c. 100 AD ), is that the Qin small seal script that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However, the body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to
3120-403: Is totally unacceptable." The Wall Street Journal described Xu's attempted censorship as the "bullying approach to academic freedom". In September 2014, the University of Chicago closed their CI after pressure from faculty members, blaming Xu's comments that her threatening letter and phone call forced the university to continue hosting the institute. The Business Spectator concludes that
3224-547: Is used instead of 叠 in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable. The Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included 7000 simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese , which specified 2500 common characters and 1000 less common characters. In 2009,
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3328-471: The Cultural Revolution . However, in recent decades, interest in pre-modern Chinese culture has grown in the country, and Confucius in particular has seen a resurgence in popularity. Outside of China, Confucius is a generally recognizable symbol of Chinese culture , removed from the negative associations of other prominent Chinese figures such as chairman Mao Zedong . "Confucius Institute" is
3432-583: The Göttingen Young Union (Junge Union) City Association is striving for the University of Hannover and the University of Göttingen to terminate their cooperation with the Confucius Institute. The Youth League promoted a motion on the grounds that the Confucius Institute is under the control of the CCP and "is aimed at strengthening the propaganda of Beijing's totalitarian ideology and exerting harmful influence on German universities." Yuhan Huang from Kunming , Yunnan Province of China wrote
3536-468: The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) offered mixed experiences in their autonomy over the curriculum. According to the GAO report, "officials from multiple case study schools noted that U.S. school faculty members make all decisions regarding conference themes, guest speakers, and topics for events at their institute." Further, some schools were able to host conferences and programs that are critical of
3640-702: The University of East Africa was split into three independent universities: the Makerere University in Uganda , the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania , and the University of Nairobi in Kenya. During the 2023 academic year, the university had 49,047 students, of whom 35,897 were undergraduates and 11,003 were postgraduates . The university launched several policy frameworks and introduced self-funded enrollment (also called 'module 2') to cope with
3744-490: The University of London , Sir John Lockwood, the Royal Technical College, Nairobi was transformed. On 25 June 1961, the college became the second university college in East Africa, under the name "Royal College Nairobi." The Royal College Nairobi was renamed "University College, Nairobi" on 20 May 1964. On the attainment of "University College" status, the institution prepared students for bachelor's degrees awarded by
3848-468: The University of London , while also continuing to offer college diploma programmes. The University College Nairobi provided educational opportunities in this capacity until 1966 when it began preparing students exclusively for degrees of the University of East Africa , with the exception of the Department of Domestic Science. With effect from 1 July 1970, the University of East Africa was dissolved and
3952-547: The University of Maryland also announced the closure of its Confucius Institute, the oldest one in the U.S. On 19 February 2019, Leiden University in The Netherlands promised to end its agreement with Confucius Institute in August 2019. On 30 June 2021, Baruch College - The City University of New York - ended its agreement with the Confucius Institute. In 2020, Sweden ended agreements with all Confucius Institutes in
4056-586: The University of Witwatersrand under the name Royal College of Nairobi. It joined the University of London 's 'schemes of special relations' and began preparing students in the faculties of Arts , Science and Engineering for University of London award degrees. Meanwhile, students in other faculties such as the Faculty of Special Professional Studies (later renamed Faculty of Commerce) and Faculty of Architecture continued to offer diplomas for qualifications of professional bodies/institutions. On 20 May 1964,
4160-550: The "Dot" stroke : The traditional components ⺥ and 爫 become ⺈ : The traditional component 奐 becomes 奂 : University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi ( uonbi or UoN ; Swahili : Chuo Kikuu cha Nairobi ) is a collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest university in Kenya . Although its history as an educational institution dates back to 1956, it did not become an independent university until 1970. During that year,
4264-459: The "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical form ( 字体 ; 字體 ; zìtǐ ), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes". The initiatives following the founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across
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4368-482: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986 Complete List . Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3
4472-520: The 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters. Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of
4576-511: The 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on the mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of
4680-589: The CCP. At other schools, officials have raised concerns that the Confucius Institute espouses a sanitized view of Chinese society that avoids contentious topics like human rights abuses and Tibet, and they also express concerns regarding whether the Hanban would sponsor events that discuss views contrary to those of the CCP. At one school, the Confucius Institute Chinese director allegedly removed literature material about Taiwan. At another school,
4784-1011: The Chinese International Education Foundation was registered and granted exclusive use of Confucius Institute's trademark, and began to operate Confucius Institutes under a brand licensing model. The institutes operate in co-operation with local affiliate colleges and universities around the world, and financing is shared between Hanban and the host institutions. The related Confucius Classroom program partners with local secondary schools or school districts to provide teachers and instructional materials. Officials from China have compared Confucius Institutes to language and culture promotion organizations such as Portugal's Instituto Camões , Britain's British Council , France's Alliance Française , Italy's Società Dante Alighieri , Spain's Instituto Cervantes and Germany's Goethe-Institut —several of them named for an iconic cultural figure identified with that country, as Confucius
4888-470: The Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of 8300 characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components
4992-565: The Chinese government such as democracy, “the three T’s,” Hong Kong, the Uyghur genocide, and the CCP's other prevailing human rights infringements." The United States National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 withheld federal research funds from colleges and universities that had Confucius Institutes. As of 2022, all of the Confucius Institutes located on SUNY campuses were closed because federal research funding
5096-454: The Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi was attacked in a suicide bombing . The Confucius Institute is named after the noted Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BC). Throughout the 20th century, CCP leaders criticized and denounced Confucius as the personification of China's "feudal" traditions, with anti-Confucianism ranging from the 1912 New Culture Movement to the 1973 Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius campaign during
5200-476: The Confucius Institute. In June 2014, the American Association of University Professors issued a statement urging American universities to cease their collaboration with the Confucius Institute unless the universities can have unilateral control of the academia affairs, that the teachers in Confucius Institutes can have the same academic freedom enjoyed by other university faculty members, and that
5304-484: The Confucius Institutes and the universities hosting them. Later, more than 100 faculty members signed a protest against the Confucius Institute at the University of Chicago. In September 2014, the University of Chicago suspended its negotiation for renewal of the agreement with Hanban. Two months later, the Canadian Association of University Teachers urged Canadian universities and colleges to end ties with
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#17327658370285408-460: The Confucius Institutes operate within established universities, colleges, and secondary schools around the world, providing funding, teachers and educational materials. This has raised concerns over their influence on academic freedom, the possibility of industrial espionage , and concerns that the institutes present a selective and politicized view of China as a means of advancing the country's soft power internationally. Underlying such opposition
5512-447: The Department of Defense led to more closures of Confucius Institutes. Unable to obtain a waiver from the Department of Defense, Indiana University , the University of Minnesota , the University of Rhode Island , San Francisco State University , the University of Oregon , Western Kentucky University , Arizona State University , the University of Hawaii at Manoa , and San Diego State University closed their programs in 2019. In 2020,
5616-548: The Gandhi Memorial Academy was incorporated into the Royal Technical College, Nairobi in April 1954, and the college proceeded to open its doors to the first intake of students in April 1956. Soon after the arrival of students at the college, the pattern of higher education in Kenya came under scrutiny. Through the recommendation of a working party formed in 1958, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of
5720-537: The Human Rights Foundation published a report stating that Confucius Institutes "cultivated a climate of intimidation and surveillance within American classrooms." and "Both information censorship and self-censorship are especially prevalent, as educators, researchers, administrators, and students alike are steered away from learning and critically thinking about topics that may be deemed sensitive to
5824-615: The Institute's". In December 2014, Stockholm University, the first university in Europe to host a Confucius Institute, announced it was terminating the program. Press coverage of the Braga incident in the Swedish press was said to have influenced the decision. "Generally it is questionable to have, within the framework of the university, institutes that are financed by another country," said
5928-583: The Royal College of Nairobi was renamed University College Nairobi as a constituent college of the Federal University of East Africa. During this time, enrolled students studied for college degrees awarded by the University of East Africa instead of the University of London. In 1970, it transformed into the first national university in Kenya and was renamed the University of Nairobi. The university tops in Kenya's university ranking . It
6032-674: The United States" based on the Human Rights Watch 12 Point Code of Conduct for academic freedom. On 13 August 2020, U.S. Department of State designated the Confucius Institute U.S. Center as a foreign mission of the PRC. On 8 March 2021, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that would restrict colleges hosting Confucius Institutes from receiving some federal funding. According to the Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine report on 3 July 2021,
6136-661: The University of Chicago, Pennsylvania State University , and the Toronto District School Board in 2014, the German Stuttgart Media University and University of Hohenheim in 2015, and Vrije Universiteit Brussel and University of Kansas in 2019. Controversy regarding Confucius Institutes in the US, Australian, and Canadian press includes criticism that unlike other governments' language and culture promotion organizations,
6240-479: The Xu Lin's hardline behavior highlights one of the biggest problems for Beijing's charm offensive. "It still relies on officials like Xu, who still think and act like party ideologues who like to assert their authority and bully people into submission." Less than a week later, Pennsylvania State University also cut ties with the Confucius Institute after coming to the conclusion that "its objectives were not in line with
6344-515: The agenda for the Confucius Institutes and makes changes to the bylaws while other tasks and ongoing management of the Confucius Institute Headquarters are handled by the professional executive leadership headed by the director-general. The Chinese Government shares the burden of funding Confucius Institutes with host universities, and takes a hands-off approach to management. The institutes function independently within
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#17327658370286448-552: The agreements between universities and Confucius Institutes are available to the community. The AAUP statement was widely noticed by US media and prompted extensive further debate in the US. Two months later, in August 2014, Xu Lin, Director-General of the Hanban and Chief Executive of the CIs worldwide, became embroiled in an incident in Braga , Portugal, when Xu ordered her staff to rip pages referring to Taiwanese academic institutions from
6552-428: The character set are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to a single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between
6656-407: The chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow: Sample reduction of equivalent variants : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant
6760-508: The conference had already begun, was extremely injudicious, and has promoted a negative view of the Confucius Institute Headquarters". The EACS letter of protest said this had been "the first occasion in the history of the EACS that its conference materials have been censored." It concluded, "Such interference in the internal organization of the international conference of an independent and democratically organized non-profitable academic organization
6864-473: The country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and poet Hu Shih (1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in the history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from
6968-480: The country. Management consultant Ross Feingold said the closure of the Confucius Institutes was the result of Sweden taking a much tougher view of China, as a result of Swedish national Gui Minhai being imprisoned for 10 years, and also comments by China's ambassador to Sweden, Gui Congyou , who threatened Sweden during an interview with broadcaster Swedish PEN in November 2019 saying that "We treat our friends with fine wine, but for our enemies we got shotguns." over
7072-697: The decision to award Gui Minhai with the Tucholsky Prize , the ambassador later clarified saying that China would impose trade restrictions on Sweden for this award. The embassy has systematically worked to influence the reporting on China by Swedish journalists. On 13 May 2020, the College Democrats of America and the College Republicans National Committee released a joint-letter calling for "the immediate and permanent closure of all Confucius Institutes in
7176-426: The early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing dynasty , followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into the 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see
7280-435: The establishment of a Confucius Institute at University of Melbourne , University of Manitoba , Stockholm University , University of Chicago and many others. More significantly, some universities that hosted Confucius Institutes decided to terminate their contracts. These include Japan's Osaka Sangyo University in 2010; Canada's McMaster University and Université de Sherbrooke , and France's University of Lyon in 2013;
7384-499: The first Confucius Institute in Africa opened as a collaboration between University of Nairobi in Kenya and Tianjin Normal University in China. In April 2007, the first research-based Confucius Institute opened in Waseda University in Japan. In partnership with Peking University , the program promotes research activities of graduate students studying Chinese. In 2007, China's Ministry of Education estimated that 100 million people overseas would be learning Chinese by 2010. In 2010,
7488-634: The first official list of simplified forms was published, consisting of 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong . However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936. Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme , a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over
7592-463: The first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and the confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters; the resulting List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters lists 8,105 characters, including
7696-475: The following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with pinyin as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility
7800-406: The founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with the People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during
7904-450: The guidelines established by Hanban and the Confucius Institute Headquarters. Each institute is responsible for drawing up and managing their own budget, which is subject to approval by the headquarters. The Confucius Institute Headquarters provides various restrictions on how their funds may be used, including earmarking funds for specific purposes. Institutes in the United States were generally provided with $ 100,000 annually from Hanban, with
8008-408: The highest concentration of institutes was in the United States, Japan, and South Korea. From 2006 to 2019, the Chinese government spent more than $ 150 million on institutes in the U.S. The number of institutes in the U.S. peaked in 2018, at around 100, with the total around the world being about 550. As of 2019, there were 530 Confucius Institutes in dozens of countries on six continents. In 2022,
8112-466: The increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. The Book of Han (111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by King Xuan of Zhou ( d. 782 BC ) to unify character forms across the states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what
8216-717: The intentions are to "give a good Chinese narrative". Confucius Institutes primarily focus on teaching Chinese language and culture without delving into political subjects. While they typically avoid political topics altogether, there have been concerns about potential censorship regarding certain content, including discussions on individual freedoms and democracy , the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre , Taiwan independence , human rights in Tibet , Falun Gong , and persecution of Uyghurs in China . The first Confucius Institute opened in 2004 in Seoul , South Korea, after establishing
8320-465: The left, with the 月 'Moon' component on the right. Li Si ( d. 208 BC ), the Chancellor of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin small seal script across China following the wars that had politically unified the country for the first time. Li prescribed the 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However,
8424-426: The local university required to match funding. In addition to their local-partner university, Confucius Institutes operate in co-operation with a Chinese partner university. The Chinese partner university supplies teaching materials, a co-director/dean, and instructors. Many institutes are governed by a board which is composed of several members from the Chinese partner school, with the remaining members affiliated with
8528-560: The local-partner university. Most of the Confucius Institutes in Central Asian countries are partnered with universities in Xinjiang . At most institutes, the director is appointed by the local partner university. In July 2020, Hanban announced its renaming to Center for Language Education and Cooperation, stating that The Confucius Institute was fully handed over to Chinese International Education Foundation [ zh ] ,
8632-684: The most Confucius Institutes of any country in Asia. Retired British diplomat and China expert Roger Garside concludes in his submission to the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission that academic freedom is "inherently compromised by permitting a state agency controlled by the Communist Party of China to establish a teaching operation in any school or university". While Chinese authorities have been cautious not to have CIs act as direct promoters of
8736-402: The most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" ( 漢字不滅，中國必亡 ). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout the country. In 1935,
8840-705: The motion proposal. He came to Germany in 2018 and is a member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), a main German political party, and a member of the Young Union youth organization. He introduced the situation of the Confucius Institute to the members of the organization, and organized related activities in Germany to request the termination of the cooperation between the Confucius Institute and German universities. On 4 August 2021,
8944-474: The name Confucius, it created a brand that was instantly recognized as a symbol of Chinese culture, radically different from the image of the Communist Party." The stated purpose of Confucius Institutes (CIs) is to promote and teach Chinese culture and language around the world. The director of the CI program, Xu Lin , stated that CIs were started to cater to the sudden uptick in interest of the Chinese language around
9048-466: The party's political viewpoints, a few critics suggest that the Confucius Institutes function in this way. Officials say that one important goal of the institutes is to influence other countries' understanding of China. Peng Ming-min , a Taiwan independence activist and politician, claims that colleges and universities where a Confucius Institute is established have to sign a contract in which they declare their support for Beijing's " One China " policy. As
9152-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted
9256-492: The published program for the European Association for Chinese Studies conference in Braga , claiming the materials were "contrary to Chinese regulations". When Roger Greatrex, president of the EACS, learned of this censorship, he ordered that 500 copies of the original program immediately be printed and distributed to participants. He later wrote, "The seizure of the materials in such an unauthorized manner, after
9360-465: The recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history. Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of woodblock printing , was ubiquitous. For example, prior to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on
9464-523: The regular programmes that is determined by limited resource allocation by Government . In addition to the regular, evening and, weekend programmes, classes are conducted at the University's Extra-Mural Centres located at the country's county headquarters . The university is admitting students to undertake courses in the proposed Koitalel Arap Samoei University College for law , business management and education courses that began in January 2015. This
9568-577: The rising demand for higher education in Kenya . The inception of the University of Nairobi dates back to 1956, with the establishment of the Royal Technical College, which admitted its first group of A-level graduates for technical courses in April of the same year. The Royal Technical College was transformed into the second university college in East Africa on 25 June 1961 by the Scottish mathematician Professor James Morton Hyslop , formerly of
9672-426: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. The first round was promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted
9776-467: The second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the General List of Simplified Chinese Characters . It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊
9880-409: The separate Confucius Institutes worldwide follows. The headquarters is governed by a council with fifteen members, ten of whom are directors of overseas institutes. The institutes themselves are individually managed under the leadership of their own board of directors, which should include members of the host institution. The current chair of the Confucius Institute Headquarters council is Liu Yandong ,
9984-481: The three African countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania each had its own national universities. This development saw the birth of the University of Nairobi set up by an Act of Parliament . Since 1970, the university had grown from a faculty based university serving a student population of 2,768 to a college focused university serving over 68,000 students. In 2001, the first Confucius Institute in Africa opened as
10088-427: The traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of the Cultural Revolution , a second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to
10192-833: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. The new standardized character forms shown in the Characters for Publishing and revised through the Common Modern Characters list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow: The traditional component 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes
10296-543: The university's chancellor. In the same month, the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations held a hearing entitled "Is Academic Freedom Threatened by China's Influence on U.S. Universities?". Chairman Chris Smith said, "U.S. colleges and universities should not be outsourcing academic control, faculty and student oversight or curriculum to
10400-522: The use of characters entirely. Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for the economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of
10504-584: The world. They also provide Chinese language teaching staff from mainland China. As of 2011, there were 200 such teachers working in the United States. In the Middle East 14 institute, and the main purpose for the local population to participate in the institute activities are learning Chinese to find a job in the local market or to find a job in the growing Chinese market. Confucius Institutes are also intended by China as cultural diplomacy to use language and culture to promote China's image overseas and create
10608-415: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by
10712-623: Was formerly under Hanban , another organization under the Ministry of Education. The stated aim of the program is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, and facilitate cultural exchanges. The Confucius Institute program began in 2004 and was supported by the Chinese Ministry of Education-affiliated Hanban (officially the Office of Chinese Language Council International, which changed its name to Center for Language Education and Cooperation in 2020), overseen by individual universities. In 2020,
10816-543: Was jeopardized. According to a June 2022 report by the National Association of Scholars , out of the 118 Confucius Institutes once in the United States, 104 were either shut down or were in the process of closing. However, dozens of closed Confucius Institutes have resurfaced in other forms, with universities adopting similar programs, maintaining close relationships with the defunct Confucius Institutes, transferring Confucius Institutes to new hosts or starting
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