Confucius Institutes v2 (1)

36 CONFUCIUS INSTITUTES AND THE GLOBALIZATION OF CHINA’S SOFT POWERChina’s cultural glories superimposed with images of its aerospaceindustry and a bullet train. After gathering in a large conferenceroom, a representative from Hanban, the governmental organizationthat runs the Confucius Institute program, welcomed us to Beijingand introduced us to China. “The Great Wall is a famous symbol,”she informed us, “but now Beijing is a successful and moderncity. It successfully held the Olympics…I’m so glad you findChinese culture so amazing.” Her speech, like the mural on thewall, exemplified what I have come to label in a different contextChina’s “exceptionalist narrative of modernity.” 7 This narrative linkscontemporary and future progress to past glory in a linear modelthat weds historical, “traditional” practices and belief systems tocontemporary economic growth and technological advancement ina manner that positions China as an innovative leader of the globalcommunity.Mural at boarding school. Photo by J. HubbertAfter two days in Beijing, students in the summer program werefarmed out to various cities in China. On our group’s first day outsideof the capital, we boarded a bus for a long ride to the outskirts of town.The university had built an immense new campus in the suburbs, its