The Confucius Institute at Saint Mary's University
Why Study Chinese?
  • Prepare for the future:
    • employment opportunities at home and abroad
    • post-secondary education possibilities
    • growing recognition in North American popular culture
    • travel
  • The People's Republic of China:
    • world's largest population
    • world's second largest economy
    • fourth largest country in land area
    • rich cultural heritage
    • 5000-year history
    • famous cuisines
  • A very different language from English:
    • Is it difficult?
      • a "tonal" language
      • thousands of characters, called ideographs or pictographs
      • variety of dialects
    • Yet aspects of it are quite simple:
      • no grammatical cases
      • no verb conjugations or tenses
      • no gender for nouns and adjectives
      • simple plural structure
      • subject-verb-object structure
      • many of the characters are easy to learn because of the stories behind them
  • Learn about Chinese culture at the same time:
    • art and film
    • architecture
    • music and dance
    • folktales and literature
    • history, philosophy, and religion
    • sports and martial arts
    • tea and regional cuisines
    • textiles, ceramics, and other artisanal products




The Confucius Institutes
  • Begun in 2004
  • Now number more than 300 worldwide (in 90+ countries)
  • Focus on teaching Chinese language and culture overseas
  • Provide learning materials overseas
  • Sponsor lecture, film, and other series outside China
  • Sponsor travel and study within China



Xiamen University
  • Saint Mary's partner university in hosting a Confucius Institute
  • Founded in 1921, "Xiada" is one of China's top universities
  • Current enrollment:  38,000
  • Once called Amoy, Xiamen is located halfway between Shanghai and Hong Kong, opposite Taiwan, and has been a bustling port city for a thousand years



The Confucius Institute at Saint Mary's
  • Announced October 2010, to open Fall 2011
  • The 8th Confucius Institute in Canada (now there are 13)
  • To offer non-credit courses in Chinese language and culture, Chinese language proficiency testing (HSK), teacher training, specialized courses for business and hospitality, lectures, film series, and more
  • Willing to serve as a link between Nova Scotia and China in multiple ways
  • Builds on existing strengths in Chinese language, culture, and history already offered at Saint Mary's
  • Housed in the Faculty of Arts


Guilin's Li River at dusk



To the Confucius Institue Homepage

Asian Studies at Saint Mary's