Cultural Values in Chinese as a Foreign Language Textbooks: Tracing the Historical Evolution and Envisioning Future Textbook Writing

Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) textbooks are an important vehicle for international communication, so examining the diachronic evolution of their cultural values has historical and practical significance. Based on previous research and textbook analysis, this paper proposes a framework for cultural values in CFL textbook, which consists of eight dimensions and 22 elements. This framework is used to examine the textual discourse of three sets of textbookspublished in the 1950s, the 1980s-1990s, and the new century. The study revealed that the cultural value concerns across three generations of textbooks have grown over time, each presenting the characteristics of its era. The historical review provides valuable insights for future textbook development, suggesting that efforts should be made to portray a multifaceted positive image of China, to distinguish insider and outsider perspectives when fostering political identification, and to infuse cultural values by upholding a Chinese perspective, embracing a global outlook, and caring for the well-being of all humanity.

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