Foreword

On October 18, 2017, in the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China（CPC）, Xi Jinping metioned Chinese culture many times, and he pointed out that “we will improve our capacity for engaging in international communication so as to tell China's stories well, present a true, multi-dimensional, and panoramic view of China, and enhance our country's cultural soft power.” And Xi Jinping stressed that “with this we will see that Chinese culture maintains its appeal and evolves with the times.”

With the increase of China's international influence, coupled with the Belt and Road Initiative, more and more foreigners come to China for traveling, studying, and living, which provides an opportunity for spreading traditional Chinese culture. Among them, the overseas students in colleges and universities are the most ideal force.

Under such circumstances, A Brief Introduction to Chinese Culture, mainly for overseas students in China, therefore, comes into being.

Like other cultures in the world, Chinese culture is changing continually. With the strenuous work of the whole nation, China has witnessed fundamental changes in every field. People are enjoying the peace and harmony in economy, culture and education, daily life, and entertainment and leisure. Our country's construction and development are changing with each passing day, and people's thoughts, views, and lifestyles have also undergone great changes.

Accordingly, from making plans to hatching plots, and from working out schemes to carrying out the writings, the author has been diligent and conscientious to provide readers with a rich and colorful introduction of an encyclopedic manner in two texts, including not only China's traditional culture, but also China's current reform and opening-up policy, urban and rural life, etc. in the first part of each chapter. And sure enough, the new and creative series will bring fresh feelings and experiences to all readers.

In the second part of each chapter, “Chinese Eyes on the World”is to tell about a relevant theme of the world in the eyes of Chinese people, which will undoubtedly give readers a new aspect to understand Chinese people.

Culture course is important for learners to understand and master the differences and communication between different cultures. Therefore, the last part of each chapter of this book designs rich cultural exchange practices so that the use of this textbook in the classroom will achieve the student-centered purpose of capacity building: emphasizing teamwork rather than individual work, solving problems on their own and making independent decisions under imperfect conditions so as to constantly improve their decision-making abilities, and apply their knowledge to practice by visualizing and materializing abstract theories.

This textbook is not only suitable for international students in China for their culture courses, but also good for college English extension courses and elective courses for majors of English, foreign trade, foreign affairs, tourism, Chinese as a foreign language, etc. It can be used as a college English teacher's reference book. It can also uncover the mysteries of China for all of the foreigners who are interested in Chinese culture.

The original intent of compiling this textbook is to promote Chinese culture, enrich English teaching materials, and foster English teaching reform. We apologize for the insufficient information in some aspects due to lack of resources. We intend to show every respect for intellectual property rights, but we hope our pleading of the permission to use these materials for the purpose of letting more foreign friends know China better will receive kind and generous consideration. Last but not least, many thanks to the School of Economics and Management in Ningbo University of Technology for its monographs fund support.