Abstract：The Chinese Language Special Course for Eastern European Exchange Students at Tsinghua University was presided over by the Premier of the Government Administration Council Zhou Enlai, and operated in collaboration with multiple departments such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cultural and Education Commission, and the Ministry of Education, with direct participation of Chairman Mao Zedong, Vice Chairman Liu Shaoqi and Zhu De, Vice Premier of the Government Administration Council and Director of the Financial and Economic Commission Chen Yun, after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. The program originated from an initiative to exchange students between China and five Eastern European countries. Both parties extensively negotiated curriculum content, program duration, student qualifications, and living arrangements, forming an early model for international student education and management in the early years of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Officially inaugurated in September 1950, the program operated at Tsinghua until its transfer to Peking University in autumn 1952. During this period, it employed 17 faculty and staff members and enrolled 36 students. Its program’s administration operated on three levels: Governmental, i.e. an Eastern European exchange student working group comprised of relevant ministry personnel; Institutional, i.e. a guidance committee for foreign students, consisting of renowned scholars from the university; Departmental, i.e. the Chinese Language Specialization Program for Eastern European Exchange Students at Tsinghua University, administratively equivalent to a department, with Deng Yi overseeing teaching operations. The program adhered to two key principles: ‘division of labor and cooperation’ and ‘democratic centralism’. In retrospect, this program not only cultivated a cohort of foreign students knowledgeable about and friendly towards China but also laid a solid foundation for the development of Chinese as a foreign language education. It holds a significant place in the history of Chinese language education both in China and even in the world.
施正宇，赵 美. 清华大学东欧交换生中国语文专修班建班考[J]. 语言战略研究, 2024, 9(5): 64-75.
Shi Zhengyu and Zhao Mei. A Study on the Establishment of Chinese Language Special Course for Eastern European Exchange Students at Tsinghua University. , 2024, 9(5): 64-75.
