China News Agency, Beijing, January 9th: How do American textbooks shape American children's impression of China?
——Interview with Lifetime Professor Liu Jinghui of California State University
Author Ren Yumeng
In 2022, seven states in the United States, including Illinois, New Jersey, and California, require K-12 (the last year of kindergarten to 12th grade) teaching to include content related to Asian culture.
Prior to this, knowledge points about Chinese history and culture had been listed in the syllabus standards for history and sociology courses in primary and secondary schools in the United States, but their accuracy and comprehensiveness were not satisfactory, which may lead to deviations in students' perception of China.
As a window for children to understand the world, textbooks will lay the foundation of a person's thinking and culture, and affect their life in a "preconceived" way.
Jack Liu, a doctor of education in the United States and a lifelong professor of Chinese descent at California State University, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency "East and West Questions" to explain the main channels for American children to obtain Chinese historical and cultural enlightenment, and to explore the Chinese view behind American textbooks.
China News Agency reporter: Generally speaking, how much do American K-12 children know about China? In their impression, what words can represent China?
Liu Jinghui:
Because Chinese history and culture education is not mainstream in the United States, American children do not know much about China, and there are regional differences in the degree of understanding.
Take California as an example. Local children grow up in a multicultural environment, and there are many Chinese or Chinese-American classmates around them, so it is not surprising.
However, in their cognition, these students are only different from themselves in skin color and appearance, and there is not much difference in other things.
Chinese Culture Paradise New York Summer Camp opened at Mingyuan Chinese School in Brooklyn.
Photo by Liao Pan
In fact, Americans look at Chinese from the perspective of ethnic minorities - there are three major ethnic minority groups in the United States, African Americans (Africa Americans), Mexicans (Chicano or Chicana) or Latinos (Latino Americans), Asian Americans (Asian Americans).
The Asians here are different from the concept of Asians in our impression.
In our opinion, Asians are mainly composed of East Asian groups, but the United States includes all Asians, including Filipinos and Indians, in this broad concept.
As for which words are related to China, "panda" is undoubtedly one of them.
As for historical celebrities such as Confucius, since they only appear in classrooms and are not children's hobbies, they will not pay too much attention.
China News Agency reporter: Can the Chinese language teaching or Chinese history education provided by American schools be regarded as the main channel to understand China? What kind of China do they see in textbooks?
Liu Jinghui:
For American teenagers, unless their parents have traveled to China, or they have very good Chinese friends, textbooks should be the main channel for them to learn Chinese history and culture.
However, what students learn in textbooks is only a part of Chinese culture, and they have little understanding of the current development of China.
American students begin their exposure to early ancient Chinese civilization in the last year of elementary school (sixth grade).
In American textbooks, Chinese civilization is listed as one of the eight major civilizations in the world. In addition to the four ancient civilizations we know (ancient China, ancient India, ancient Egypt, and ancient Babylon), the United States has added Mayan civilization, Roman civilization, and Greek civilization. Civilization and Jewish Civilization.
Therefore, American schools do not single out Chinese history and explain it in detail, and children also learn and memorize Chinese civilization as one of the ancient civilizations.
On October 17, 2014, after 11 years of unremitting efforts by Ms. Shi Liuxiuzhi, chairman of the Ball Museum in the United States, more than 120 precious Sanxingdui cultural relics and Jinsha cultural relics traveled across the ocean to California, USA, opening the "China's Lost Ancient Museum" Civilization: Mysterious Sanxingdui" exhibition curtain.
Photo by Mao Jianjun
China News Agency reporter: What are the characteristics of American classrooms when they introduce the origin of Chinese civilization? Among them, is the comparative study of Eastern and Western histories important?
Liu Jinghui:
American textbooks use time as a clue and compare and explain the major civilizations of the same period according to themes.
For example, American textbooks compare Chinese civilization represented by Confucius and Confucianism with Greek civilization based on the "Axial Age" theory.
The "Axial Age" theory holds that around 500 BC, several of the most developed civilizations in the world existed at the same time.
In American textbooks, the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates created the entire European and even Western civilization, and laid the foundation for the development of various disciplines; in the far east, Confucius was an outstanding thinker and philosopher at the same time. School, founded private school.
The book also specifically mentions that Aristotle, one of the "Three Sages of Greece" together with Socrates, further created the Academy as a place for people to exchange what they have learned. Since then, the West has formed the art of debate. .
At the same time, China's "Jixia Academy" was comparable to it.
Jixia Academy is now located in Zibo, Shandong Province. It is a debate place set up by King Xuan of Qi for scholars of various schools. Many scholars who have already made a name and wrote books collided with sparks of thought there.
Aerial photography of the ruins of Jixia Academy.
Founded in 374 BC, Jixia Academy is the world's first special form of institution of higher learning organized by the government and privately hosted, which contributed to the formation of the world's academic "contending among a hundred schools of thought".
Photo by Liang Ben
These contents rarely appear in Chinese history textbooks, but appear in foreign textbooks, because according to Western standards, debate is an important part of the progress of civilization.
Another example is that when American textbooks talk about Rome, they will introduce the Han Dynasty in China, and call the heyday of Rome the "Golden Age" and believe that China's "Golden Age" is the Han Dynasty, because the Han Dynasty established a set of ruling ideas different from that of the Qin Dynasty. Confucianism became orthodox, but also because Buddhism was first introduced in the period of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty.
The textbooks focus on the knowledge about the Silk Road and the introduction of Buddhism into China.
China News Agency reporter: In your opinion, can the knowledge in American textbooks give young people a sufficiently accurate and comprehensive understanding of China? If not, what are the shortcomings?
Liu Jinghui:
Actually, it is not comprehensive. Because American textbooks teach all civilizations in the world in a comparative mode, each civilization is presented in the form of breakpoints.
As far as Chinese history is concerned, the United States only introduces a few dynasties, so students will encounter a lot of confusion when learning.
At the same time, American primary and secondary school history textbooks and history teaching models often center too much on American politics and national interests, and interpret China from the perspective of Western history and culture.
Confucian lectures in American textbooks.
Photo provided by the interviewee
For example, when American primary school textbooks highlight Confucius’ experience as an official, he directly translates his official position as “Scoop” in the State of Lu into “Minister of Justice.”
When introducing Confucianism, American primary and secondary school textbooks only focus on Confucius’ personal ideological achievements, regard Confucianism as Confucianism, and only take the early Confucianism, that is, the Confucianism of the Spring and Autumn Period as a fragmented interception explain.
At the university level, American textbooks regard Confucianism as a religion, that is, Confucianism, and it is also written as Confucianism in English.
This interpretation is actually a conclusion obtained by applying the framework of Western religions to China.
In the West, sociologists such as Max Weber believe that religion changed Europe and brought capitalism, so they also use the concept of religion to tell Chinese history, which is not accurate.
China News Agency reporter: If it is said that ancient Chinese history is far away from American teenagers, do they understand the situation of Chinese in the United States? Apart from textbooks, is there any other way to popularize knowledge? How's the effect?
Liu Jinghui:
At present, the content on the history of Chinese immigration in the textbooks of primary and secondary schools in the United States is basically missing. Some universities will offer courses on Asians, including the history of Chinese immigration.
In addition, because the textbooks are formulated by each state, there are regional differences in the situation - in the western United States with a large Chinese population, more colleges and universities will set up relevant courses.
American world history textbook cover.
Photo provided by the interviewee
In fact, some historical culture related to Chinese immigrants has long been infiltrated in the daily life of Americans, but if it is not mentioned in the book, Americans will not realize it.
For example, the English phrase "Long time no see" (long time no see) was actually created by the Chinese.
In the middle of the 19th century, some Chinese workers who built railways in the United States knew a little English. They mixed Chinese and English together and created the saying "Long time no see".
Despite the grammatical errors, the phrase has since entered the English language and has become mainstream.
Also, "tea" comes from "tea" in Cantonese; "silk" is the Chinese "silk", and the pronunciation is very similar.
In addition to textbooks, Chinese celebrities are also a window for American teenagers to understand China.
And with the rise of Asian affirmative action in the United States in recent years, more Americans have a better understanding of Chinese.
It was against this background that the third-generation Chinese immigrant Anna May Wong boarded the U.S. currency not long ago.
Anna May Wong is the first Chinese actress to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In fact, she is also the first woman to criticize Hollywood's racial discrimination and unequal pay for equal work.
Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong.
Photo by George Rinhart
China News Agency reporter: At present, how much content about China or Chinese people is in the K-12 textbooks of the seven states in the United States? How can the new generation of Americans understand and understand China more comprehensively and accurately?
Liu Jinghui:
Although there are no specific statistics to show the proportion of relevant content, the proportion is gradually increasing.
One of the manifestations is that illustrations depicting Chinese people began to appear in textbooks. Previously, the protagonists of these illustrations were all white.
And this phenomenon is not limited to history textbooks. Illustrations of Chinese parents hugging their children to learn mathematics can also be seen in mathematics books.
The best way for the new generation of Americans to understand and understand China more comprehensively and accurately is to study in China.
In 2008, I led American students to study in Qingdao, Shandong Province, allowing them to escape the few words about ancient Chinese history in textbooks, and experience China's history, culture and current development in person.
In Xinshigu Town, Deqing County, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, shadow play artists guide foreign students to practice shadow play.
Photo by Xie Shangguo
In fact, the effectiveness of this teaching method has been fully confirmed in Southeast Asia.
Chen Yongzai, a Chinese entrepreneur in the Philippines, took three steps to train his children to get in touch with Chinese culture. The first is to learn Chinese, the second is to visit various provinces in China, and the third is to send them to Peking University for education.
At this point, American basic education can learn from it.
China News Agency reporter: How will the impression of China formed in childhood affect the growth process of young people? What role do these initial perceptions play in shaping the next generation's China-related cognition?
Liu Jinghui:
American teenagers have been exposed to general education since the first and second grades of college, and after reading various news media reports, or traveling to China, they will form a relatively complete impression of China.
But their view of China was enlightened in the process of receiving basic education.
Views on China usually exist in the subconscious of students or ordinary people. When events occur in the outside world, they will stimulate the recognition of "facts" and form opinions.
This kind of cognition and viewpoint comes from the knowledge about China they have been in contact with and the perception of the long-term mainstream social and cultural atmosphere.
The tag of "#IAmChina" (I am China) by Tobi, a German boy, conveyed his solidarity with China's fight against the epidemic on different international social media.
video screenshot
A Chinese and foreign research team led by me found that clarifying the Chinese keywords in American primary and secondary school textbooks is conducive to understanding the formation process of Chinese history, culture and related Chinese views learned by American teenagers, so as to grasp the gradual formation of American college students. Chinese Knowledge Framework.
I hope to write a reference book in the future, starting with interest, to decipher the key words behind the Chinese view, so that American young readers can shape a more comprehensive and accurate view of China through the understanding of these key words.
To put it simply, it is to use keywords to draw Chinese stories and tell Chinese stories well.
(Finish)
Respondent profile:
Liu Jinghui, Tenured Professor of California State University
Jack Liu, Doctor of Education in the United States, is a tenured professor of Chinese descent at California State University. His research fields are sinology, Chinese civilization, and Drucker's philosophy of cross-cultural management.