Culture Promotion and Language Planning in Context of Construction of Soft Power in China

China has become the second largest world economy and is increasingly playing an important and influential role in the international affairs, which has convinced scholars at home that enhancing China’s soft power is high on... [ view full abstract ]

China has become the second largest world economy and is increasingly playing an important and influential role in the international affairs, which has convinced scholars at home that enhancing China’s soft power is high on the agenda. Different from military force or economic might, soft power means a non-threatening component of a nation's strength, such as culture. As a key instrument to increase China’s soft power, the Chinese culture promotion faces many adverse factors that hamper this process, including the difficulty in explaining Chinese traditional culture, the limited influence of Confucius institutes and the resistance from international competing environments. To raise the prestige of Chinese language and culture, we must give emphasis to the domestic Chinese education and integrate Chinese culture into the foreign languages teaching. In this way, not only Confucius Institutes but the whole nation can be actively engaged.