Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU; ) is a public university of linguistics in Haidian,

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China. It is affiliated with the

Ministry of Education of China The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China is a constituent department of the State Council, responsible for basic education, vocational education, higher education, and other educational affairs throughout the country. The ...

.The university has the main aim of teaching the Chinese language and culture to

foreign students International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own. In 2022, there were over 6.9 million international ...

. It is a key university directly under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. It is the only international university founded by the People's Republic of China named after "language" and with the main mission of spreading Chinese language and culture. However, it also takes Chinese students specializing in foreign languages and other relevant subjects of

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

and

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

s, and trains teachers of

Chinese as a foreign language Chinese as a foreign or second language is when non-native speakers study varieties of Chinese, Chinese varieties. The increased interest in China from those outside has led to a corresponding interest in the study of Standard Chinese (a type of ...

. It used to be the only institute of this kind in China. After the push for higher education starting in the 90s, nowadays many other universities in almost every major city in China have a similar offer. Thus bachelor, master or post-doc degrees in "Teaching Chinese as a second language to Foreigners", as well as bachelor's and master's degrees in several foreign languages, are no longer only to be found at BLCU. Beijing Language and Culture University is often called "Little United Nations" in China because of its very large number of international students from various countries. As of 2022, there are approximately 9,000 international students in its campus, ranking first in China. As of 2020, Beijing Language and Culture University ranked no.5 nationwide among universities specialized on languages teaching and research in the recent edition of a recognized

Best Chinese Universities Ranking The Best Chinese Universities Ranking (BCUR) is a domestic ranking table of Chinese institutions of higher education. It is compiled by Shanghai Ruanke, the same agency that is behind the Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Acad ...

, the sub-ranking of

Shanghai Ranking The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ...

History

Early in the 1950s when the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL) was still at the initial stage, the first generation of BLCU teachers took an active part in the pioneering work. As a result, the first school of higher education specially oriented to foreign students, "Higher Preparatory School for Foreign Students", was established in June 1962. In 1964, the school was officially named "Beijing Language Institute" (). In June 1996, it was renamed "Beijing Language and Culture University" (). Its Chinese name was shortened in July 2002 to "Beijing Language University" with the approval of the Ministry of Education, but the English name remained unchanged. September 6, 2002, witnessed the celebration of the 40th anniversary of BLCU, for which General-Secretary

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as Chairman of the Central Mil ...

and Vice-Premier Li Lanqing wrote letters of congratulations, and the Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Li Peng wrote words of encouragement. BLCU was granted the privilege to confer doctoral degrees in foreign languages and literature in 2011. Throughout its history, the university has educated more than 220,000 international students from 189 different nations and regions around the globe. As of 2022, there are approximately 9,000 international students in its campus, ranking first in China.

Campus

Beijing Language and Culture University Tokyo College

The campus of BLCU is located in the

Haidian District Haidian () is a northwest urban district of Beijing, bordering Xicheng, Beijing, Xicheng and Fengtai, Beijing, Fengtai. It is in area, making it the second-largest district in urban Beijing area (after Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang), and is home ...

of Beijing. It takes about 330,289 m², and total building area is about 427,342 m². Most teaching facilities, including the main building, library and gym are in the teaching area, while dormitories for Chinese students are there as well. The special dormitory for foreign students is Building 17, located in the living area with apartments for staff and families. Some grocery stores can be found in both the teaching and living areas, and the biggest market zone

Wudaokou Wudaokou (), whose name is a literal reference to the fifth level crossing of the Jingbao Railway, is a neighborhood in the Haidian District of North West Beijing, famous for its close distances to universities including Tsinghua Universit ...

is near the north exit of the living area.

Bachelor's degree programs

*Chinese Language and Literature *Teaching Chinese as a Second Language *English Language and Literature *French Language and Literature *German Language and Literature *Spanish Language and Literature *Russian Language and Literature *Arabic Language and Literature *Japanese Language and Literature *Korean Language and Literature *Italian Language and Literature *Portuguese Language and Literature *Turkish Language and Literature *Translation and Interpretation *Computer Science and Technology *Information Management and Information Systems *Technology of Digital Media *Finance *Accounting *Painting *Journalism *International Politics *International Economics and Trade

Master's degree programs

*Chinese Linguistics and Philology *Linguistics and Applied Linguistics *Course Design and Teaching Theories *Special Historical Studies *Chinese Ancient Literature *International Politics *Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics *Comparative Literature and World Literature *Contemporary Chinese Literature *Literary Theory *Ancient Chinese Philology *English Language and Literature *French Language and Literature *Japanese Language and Literature *Spanish Language and Literature *Arabic Language and Literature *European Languages and Literatures *Asian and African Languages and Literatures *Ideological and Political Education *Basic Psychology *Chinese Ethnic Languages and Literatures *Master's program of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (MTCSOL) *Technology of Computer Application *Master of Translation and Interpreting

Doctoral degree programs

*Arabic Language and Literature *Linguistics and Applied Linguistics *Comparative Literature and World Literature *Chinese Ancient Literature *English Language and Literature *Theory of Literature and Art *Chinese Philology *Studies of Ancient Chinese Documents *Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature *Chinese Ethnic Languages and Literatures

Notable faculty

Wei-Heng Chen Wei-Heng Chen () is a Chinese linguist who is a professor of English and linguistics at Beijing Language and Culture University. Chen was the education consul of China at the Chinese Consulate-General, Los Angeles. Work Chen is noted for his work ...

Liang Xiaosheng Liang Xiaosheng (; born 22 September 1949) is a Chinese novelist and screenwriter. Liang is a member of China Writers Association. He is also a professor at Beijing Language and Culture University. His novels have been translated into English, Fr ...

, novelist and screenwriter *

Huang Jing Huang Jing (; 1912 – 10 February 1958), born Yu Qiwei (), was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician who served as Mayor and Communist Party Chief of Tianjin municipality, Minister of the First Ministry of Machine Building, and Chair ...

, Chinese-American political scientist and alleged spy *

Valerie Grosvenor Myer Valerie Winifred Grosvenor Myer (April 13, 1935 – August 9, 2007) was a British writer, university teacher, and editor. Early life Valerie Winifred Grosvenor Godwin was born in Lower Soudley in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England ...

, English novelist, biographer and literary historian

Notable alumni

* Da Chen, author *

Hong Lei Hong Lei may refer to: * Hong Lei (artist) (born 1960) * Hong Lei (diplomat) (born 1969) {{hndis ...

, diplomat *

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev (born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakhstani politician and diplomat who has served as the second president of Kazakhstan since 2019. He previously served as Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 ...

, President of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and Former Director-General of the

United Nations Office at Geneva The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, ) in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the four major offices of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The main UNOG administrative offices are located inside ...

Karim Massimov Karim Qajymqanuly Massimov (, , ; born 15 June 1965)Kazakhstan moves to ...

, Prime Minister of

(10 January 2007 - 24 September 2012 and 2 April 2014 - 8 September 2016) *

Mulatu Teshome Mulatu Teshome Wirtu (; ; born 1957) is an Ethiopian politician who was president of Ethiopia from 2013 to 2018. Biography Mulatu was born in the town of Arjo in Welega Province. He was educated in China, receiving his bachelor's degree in p ...

, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (7 October 2013 - 25 October 2018) *

Awkwafina Nora Lum (born June 2, 1988), known professionally as Awkwafina (), is an American actress, comedian and rapper. She rose to prominence in 2012 when her rap song "My Vag" became popular on YouTube. She then released her debut album, ''Yellow Ra ...

, Actress and rapper

References

External links

Beijing Language and Culture University
{{authority control Language schools in China Schools of Chinese as a second or foreign language Academic language institutions Universities and colleges established in 1962 1962 establishments in China Universities and colleges in Haidian District 1962 in Beijing