The Hopkins-Nanjing center

The Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies, founded in 1986 in Nanjing, was the first educational collaboration between a university in the United States and China since the 1940s. The Center is not a language program per se but is content-based, offering one- and two-year graduate curricula in Chinese History; International Politics; International Economics; International and Comparative Law; and Energy, Resources, and the Environment. Its student body consists of 45–70 international students, whose courses are mostly taught by Chinese faculty in Chinese as well as up to 120 Chinese graduate students, whose courses are mostly taught by international faculty in English. The Center includes outstanding library facilities with an uncensored, open-stack research library and freedom of expression within the building. This article discusses several issues related to the study of Chinese language and area studies in situ, including strategies used by instructors to facilitate comprehension and coping strategies that students have developed. Despite many challenges, the two partnering universities and their respective governments have long believed that both sides benefit in continuing to support and develop the Center. Having weathered the vicissitudes of ever-changing U.S.-Chinese relations for well over three decades, the Center is looking forward to the 40th anniversary of its founding in September 2026.

南京大学-约翰斯·霍普金斯大学中美文化研究中心成立于1986年，是自20世 纪40年代以来中美两所大学之间首个教育合作项目。该中心并非单纯的语言项目，而是以内容为导向，提供为期一至两年的研究生课程，涵盖中国历史、国际政治、国际经济、国际与比较法以及能源、资源与环境等领域。该中心的学生由45至70名国际学生组成，由中国教师教授中文学习课程，同时还有多达120名中国研究生，由国际教师教授英文学习课程。该中心拥有卓越的图书馆设施，包括一个无审查、开放式书架的研究图书馆，以及在建筑内享有言论自由的空间。本文探讨了与中国语言和区域研究相关的若干问题，包括教师为促进理解所采用的策略，以及学生所发展的应对策略。尽管面临诸多挑战，两所大学和两国政府长期以来一直认为，继续支持和发展该中心符合双方的共同利益。经历了中美关系三十余年的起伏变迁，该中心正期待着2026年9月迎来其成立40周年纪念。