Chinese Language Teaching and Discursive Practices of the Piedmont Centre for Middle and Far Eastern Studies in Late Twentieth-Century Italy

The study focuses on the Chinese language education of the Piedmont Centre for Middle and Far Eastern Studies from the 1980s to the early 21st century. Adopting Orientalism as a theoretical lens, the study analysed how this institution constructed and presented Chinese language and cultural content across its curriculum. Data were collected from the institutional website, historical archives, and interviews with three teachers and one student. Findings show that the institution tailored its curriculum to the language demands of specific professional and technical fields, while maintaining a strong emphasis on Chinese cultural knowledge. The institution also adopted a collaborative teaching model involving both Chinese and Italian instructors and organised summer study programmes in China for local university students and working professionals. The ways in which the Piedmont Centre for Middle and Far Eastern Studies framed Chinese language and cultural content underwent three shifts: from ‘Oriental languages’ to ‘Asian languages,’ from an emphasis on ancient civilisation to contemporary culture, and from highlighting cultural differences to exploring cultural commonalities. By offering a close institutional perspective, this case study enriches the scholarly understanding of the history of Chinese language education in Italy.

Keywords

case study, European sinology, Italy, teaching Chinese as a foreign language, the history of international Chinese language education

source

International Journal of Chinese Language Education; Jun 2026; Issue No. 19; p.23-42

Language

Chinese