1、 Introduction

The importance of the history of Chinese language education as an academic research topic was discussed, which is closely related to the historical process of teaching Chinese as a second language and the internal laws of the development of the Chinese language itself. The history of Western people learning Chinese during the Ming and Qing dynasties provides valuable information for the changes in modern Chinese. Zhang Xiping emphasized that the study of the history of world Chinese language education can expand the academic perspective of Chinese language and international Chinese language education. This field has become an academic soil for interdisciplinary scholars to study together, and research results continue to emerge. This article will review the research achievements of the past 20 years from four aspects: literature review, research monographs, journal articles, and dissertations, summarize experiences, and provide references for future research.

2、 Literature organization

Reviewed the development process of the discipline of Chinese language education history in the world, especially the achievements in literature review. In 2002 and 2003, Dong Ming and Zhang Xiping respectively published "A History of the Spread of Ancient Chinese Characters to Foreign Countries" and "A Survey of the Early Chinese Learning History of Westerners", marking the establishment of the discipline. The survey on the early history of Western Chinese language learning provides important research samples and literature catalogs, showcasing the volume and importance of foreign literature to the academic community. Over the past two decades, many important documents have been published in the form of photocopies or single volume editions, such as Wang Weihui's "Series of Chinese Textbooks in the Korean Era", Zhang Meilan's "Collection of Chinese Textbooks in the Meiji Era of Japan", and Li Wuwei's "Collection of Chinese Textbooks in Japan". These series of books contain a large number of textbooks, each with problem-solving, proofreading, and photocopying. In addition, there are also separately published literature worth paying attention to, such as Gao Benhan's "Han Wen Dian" and You Rujie's "A Study of the Bibliography of Western Missionary Chinese Dialects". From 2003 to 2015, the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press planned and published the "Overseas Chinese Studies Series", presenting important literature in the history of Chinese language education in the form of Chinese translations to readers. The book series "Research on Chinese Language in European History" edited by Liu Ruomei and Jin Guoping has compiled and translated the five most important achievements in the study of Chinese grammar in 19th century Europe. The compilation and publication of these documents provide valuable materials for the study of the history of Chinese language education in the world.

3、 Research monograph

In the 1980s and 1990s, Zhang Yajun, Lu Jianji, and others proposed the importance of strengthening research on the history of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. In 1998, the Hanban funded research projects for Zhang Xiping and Dong Ming, focusing on the early history of Western Chinese language learning and the history of ancient Chinese characters' dissemination to foreign countries, respectively. In 2009, the publication of "World History of Chinese Language Education" became a milestone in the history of teaching Chinese as a foreign language, establishing the concept of disciplinary history for the first time, covering 21 countries and regions, with a time span of nearly 2000 years. Afterwards, the research on the history of Chinese language education in the world has been expanded in breadth and depth, involving multiple aspects such as language ontology, teaching Chinese as a foreign language, and the history of overseas Sinology. The China Overseas Sinology Research Center of Beijing Foreign Studies University has collaborated with Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press to publish the "World Chinese Education Series", showcasing different aspects of research on the history of world Chinese education. The "International Chinese Language Education History Research Series" launched by the Chinese International Promotion Base of Beijing Foreign Studies University and the China Overseas Sinology Research Center is an important academic achievement in this field. In 2016, Wang Lihua edited and published the "Research Series on Modern Chinese Language Textbooks for Westerners in China", which conducted preliminary research on 36 Chinese language textbooks written by Westerners. The "East Asian Chinese History Department" edited by Li Wuwei at Xiamen University focuses on language contact within East Asia, showcasing the historical appearance of Chinese recorded in overseas sources. The "Early Beijing Dialect Research Series" published by Peking University Press analyzes the grammar, word classes, and phonetic research works of Western Chinese, and uses Western materials to study the characteristics of early Beijing dialect. The research works published by Li Wuwei, Zhang Meilan, Fu Lin and others have expanded the subject matter of dialect research for sinologists from different perspectives. In recent years, there have been many research works published in various fields of Chinese education history, providing important references for scholars to find research breakthroughs.

4、 Journal Articles

Analyzed the publication status of papers in journals such as International Sinology, Sinology Research, and World Chinese Language Teaching over the past 20 years, showcasing the academic frontiers and trends in the field of "World Chinese Language Education History" research. The journal International Sinology published 29 papers on the history of world Chinese language education from 1995 to 2014, focusing on the early history of Western Chinese language learning and exploring their views on Chinese characters in letters and travelogues of early Chinese visitors. After 2015, articles published in International Sinology focused on a wider range of textual materials, emphasizing the excavation of first-hand literature and historical figures, exploring more diverse issues, and the experts and scholars who published articles were not limited to China. Since 2017, Sinology Research has established a column on "International Communication and Research of Chinese Language" and published 37 related papers covering a wide range of fields. However, they have not yet been fully indexed by CNKI and Wanfang platform, making retrieval difficult. The World Chinese Language Teaching focuses on the study of language ontology and teaching practice, with few articles published related to the history of world Chinese language education. In recent years, with the establishment of new publications such as "Research on the History of International Chinese Language Education", the field of Chinese language education history research has been expanded, covering the latest research on language exchange between China and foreign countries, historical documents, textbooks, teaching figures, and institutions.

5、 Thesis and Dissertation

Through searching the "World Chinese Language" topic in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure master's and doctoral thesis database, 303 master's theses and 31 doctoral theses from 2003 to 2023 were collected. The master's thesis focuses on the major of "Chinese International Education", with English as the main research material, using a case study method, and paying attention to textbooks and specific language elements. Shanghai Normal University, Shandong Normal University, and Xiamen University are the main universities that produce master's theses. My doctoral thesis is mainly based on Beijing Foreign Studies University, involving case studies of Sinology journals and Chinese textbooks, as well as Sinologists' research on Chinese language. A master's thesis broadens the research perspective, while a doctoral thesis delves into the literature value. Representative doctoral theses have a high degree of correlation with research monographs, supplementing and refining existing research. Domestic thesis promotes the study of modern and foreign Chinese language, and completes the excavation, organization, translation, and research of literature materials.

6、 Conclusion

The study of the history of Chinese language education in the world is closely related to teaching Chinese as a foreign language and has become an important component of Sinology research, involving interdisciplinary fields such as linguistics, literature, and history. This field has grown from a peripheral discipline to a mature discipline, providing raw materials and research topics for multiple disciplines, forming a collaborative development of literature review, case studies, and academic history sorting. Despite achieving fruitful results, there is still room for expansion, such as the systematic review of the history of Chinese language education in different countries, the excavation and organization of overseas Chinese language education literature, and the digitization and translation of original literature. There is a phenomenon of repetition in existing research, and it is necessary to deepen the exploration of academic history, integrate linguistic expertise, and conduct in-depth comparative linguistic analysis. Strengthen international academic exchanges and introduce new perspectives such as learner motivation. Under the strategy of "going global" in Chinese culture, comprehensively promoting the research and practice of global Chinese language education history, cultivating talents in teaching Chinese as a foreign language that meet national needs, updating theories and methods, and activating the endogenous driving force of disciplinary development are new challenges faced by the new generation of researchers.