The Manual for Teaching Chinese Culture is the first reference book for teaching Chinese culture based on The Framework of Reference for Chinese Culture and Society in International Chinese Language Education (hereinafter referred to as the Framework of Reference), which aims to provide teachers and students with scientific and standard interpretations of culture in an in-depth manner. The book divides Chinese culture into 12 categories, including geography, history, philosophy, religion, literature, art, language and writing, folklore and folk tales, education, science and technology, cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world, and national conditions, with a total of more than 600 cultural words and phrases that are common in international Chinese language education and are of interest to Chinese language learners. Each word or phrase is accompanied by an English name and a Chinese explanation.

Liu Qiangong, the editor-in-chief, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Peking University, a Master of Education degree from the School of Chinese Language and Literature, Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), and a Doctor of Arts degree from the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University. She is now a professor at BLCU, specializing in international Chinese language education, and has taught a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. She was awarded the “Ninth Beijing Colleges and University Teaching Master” in 2013. Moreover, she has travelled to Bulgaria, the Netherlands, South Korea, the United States, Singapore, and Thailand to teach in more than 10 countries for long or short periods of time, and has been teaching international Chinese language teacher training courses at home and abroad since 1993. Her research mainly focuses on international Chinese language education, art, and Chinese language and literature. Professor Liu has published 3 monographs including Introduction to Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Language and History of Chinese Art, 36 papers including On the Translation of Chinese Classics and Viewing the Prosperous Tang Dynasty from the Tang Tri-colored Pottery, and 8 textbooks including Topics in Contemporary China and Chinese News Reading Course. She is a permanent member of the International Society for Chinese Language Teaching.

Referring to the design of the University and Growing-up section of The Framework of Reference for Chinese Culture and Society in International Chinese Language Education, this book breaks down the abstract cultural items into more than 600 cultural words and phrases. Led by senior experts and professors in the field of international Chinese language education, the authors not only combine their decades of experience in international Chinese language teaching, but also refer to authoritative tools and databases such as A Collection of Words and Encyclopaedia of China, so as to make the content and data authoritative and credible. At the same time, each word or phrase is equipped with concise Chinese explanations, which is controlled at the intermediate level of Chinese.

This book is recommended for teachers engaged in international Chinese language education, learners of Chinese at the intermediate level and above, undergraduate and graduate students of international Chinese language education, and researchers in the field of international Chinese language education.