Journal of Business and Technical Communication Oct 2015

The Guide to Kuan Hua: Language and Literacy in the 19th-Century Chinese Business Environment

Paul Sinclair University of Regina ; Dongyan Blachford University of Regina

Abstract

This article examines the Guide to Kuan Hua, arguably the world’s first business Chinese textbook series, exploring how a group of business communication experts in late 19th-century China created instructional materials that allowed foreigners to function efficiently in China’s business and bureaucratic environment. Rather than simply focusing on the mechanics of language, editors of the series fostered in students a set of literacies that would help them cope with the tumultuous change in 19th-century China. This study suggests that the experience of 19th-century textbook editors may inform our approach to complex intercultural communication challenges in today’s globalized world.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2015-10-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651915588144
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
professional writing literacy studies
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (39) · 2 in this index

  1. 10.1177/1080569912471186
     ↗
  2. 10.1023/A:1006225330894
     ↗
  3. Aylmer C. (1989)
    Hanxue Yanjiu [Chinese Studies]
  4. 10.1177/1028315309357944
     ↗
  5. Byram M. (1997)
    Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence
Show all 39 →
  1. 10.1177/0002764204267254
     ↗
  2. 10.2307/606615
     ↗
  3. Cooley J. C. (1981)
    T. F. Wade in China: Pioneer in global diplomacy, 1842–1882
     ↗
  4. 10.1177/1028315313497590
     ↗
  5. 10.1177/1028315306287002
     ↗
  6. 10.1525/9780520912489
     ↗
  7. Feng A. (2006)
    Living and studying abroad: Research and practice
  8. 10.2753/ATP1084-1806310310
     ↗
  9. 10.1007/BF02682733
     ↗
  10. 10.1108/JMH-08-2012-0054
     ↗
  11. 10.2307/3112668
     ↗
  12. Hopkins L. C. (1895). The guide to Kuan Hua: A translation of the “Kuan Hua Chih Nan” with an essay on tone a…
  13. 10.1177/1028315306286930
     ↗
  14. International Monetary Fund (2000)
    Globalization: Threat or opportunity?
  15. 10.1177/1028315312468329
     ↗
  16. Journal of the Royal Society of Arts (1923)
    Journal of the Royal Society of Arts
  17. 10.1177/1080569910365892
     ↗
  18. 10.1177/1475240911408563
     ↗
  19. Lowe G. S. (1999)
    Perspectives on Labour and Income
  20. Matsuura A. (2010)
    10.1515/jciea-2010-010105
    Journal of Cultural Interaction in East Asia  ↗
  21. Oba O. (1980)
    Edo jidai no nicchu mitsuwa
  22. 10.1177/1080569904268095
     ↗
  23. Ren H. (1988)
    Kinsei nihon to nicchu boueki
  24. 10.4135/9781446250563.n2
     ↗
  25. 10.1177/0038038507073044
     ↗
  26. Rokkaku T. (1994)
    Chugokugo shoshi
  27. 10.1177/1028315312468008
     ↗
  28. Sinclair P. (2003)
    Asia Major
  29. 10.1108/00220411011016407
     ↗
  30. Starke-Meyerring (2005)
    Meeting the Challenges of Globalization: A Framework for Global Literacies in P…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  31. Starke-Meyerring et al. (2007)
    Global Partnerships: Positioning Technical Communication Programs in the Contex…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  32. Tokyo gaikokugo daigakushi hensan iinkaihen [Tokyo University of Foreign Studies History Editorial Committee] (1999)
    Tokyo gaikokugo daigakushi: dokuritsu hyaku shunen
  33. Wade T. F. (1886)
    語言自邇集 Yü-yen tzu-erh chi: A progressive course designed to assist the student of colloqui…
  34. Wang R. (2013, 6 6). Annasituo Meicha yu “Shen Bao” chuangban [Ernest Major and the founding of the Shen Pao]…
CrossRef global citation count: 1 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Feb 2026
    Feedback-Only AI for Writing Instruction: A Constrained-Generative Tool That Preserves Authorship ↗
    Heidi Schultz
    rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy revision professional writing artificial intelligence literacy studies
  2. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Jan 2026
    Business Communication as Cultural Text: The Use of Student-Made Online Advertisements in Teaching Intercultural Communicative Competence ↗
    Saheeh Shafi
    writing pedagogy teacher development professional writing online writing instruction literacy studies
  3. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Dec 2025
    From Chatbot to Classroom: Developing Critical Thinking and Evaluative Judgment With AI ↗
    Daneshwar Sharma; Shiva Kakkar; Ashima Agrawal
    writing pedagogy service learning argument professional writing artificial intelligence literacy studies
  4. Pedagogy Oct 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy advanced composition creative writing writing across the curriculum graduate education two-year college service learning teacher development technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions archival research multimodality artificial intelligence literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies literary studies editorial matter
  5. College Composition and Communication Sep 2025
    Using the AI Life Cycle to Unblackbox AI Tools: Teaching Résumé 2.0 with Résumé Analytics and Computational Job-Résumé Matching ↗
    Huiling Ding
    writing pedagogy teacher development professional writing labor and working conditions qualitative research artificial intelligence literacy studies editorial matter