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.