Chinese
At Exeter you can study Chinese language and culture in an engaging, research-inspired environment. In addition to language modules, you can choose from a diverse range of topics including the literature, art, architecture, visual culture, politics and history of China.
Over one billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language, so you will be mastering the most spoken language in the world, as well as developing your own capacity to understand and analyse China through its history, culture and politics.
Our academics are all native speakers of Mandarin Chinese who are internationally recognised for their research in a diverse range of Chinese studies. We are committed to providing outstanding student experiences, and developing a world-class Chinese programme with strong international links to the global research community.
Online course
"Many Faces: Understanding the complexities of Chinese Culture", a MOOC developed by three specialists in the Chinese unit, is now open for enrolments! The online, free course will help you to develop a clearer understanding of modern China by exploring the role of art, literature and the 'noble hero' in Chinese culture.
China’s cultural importance to the world is at an all-time high, and understanding this fascinating country and its language is of increasing strategic importance to higher education. But how much do you really know about China? If you want to take a closer look at China’s fascinating culture and history, and develop your capacity to analyse its past, present and future through its diverse cultural forms, or if the encounter between Chinese-speaking and English-speaking communities interests you, our Chinese pathway will provide the stimulation and insight that you are looking for.
You can study Chinese through three pathways
Find out more
Modern Languages at Exeter ranks among the top UK institutions for student satisfaction, teaching and research. We offer excellent programmes and boast a Language Centre with state-of-the-art language-learning facilities. Our MA in Translation is taught by published literary translators, experienced practitioners and specialists in the use of computer-aided translation tools, helping prepare our students to undertake further study and become professional linguists. All teaching is directly related to our research. Modern languages postgraduates benefit from regular research seminars and scholars of international repute are frequent visitors.
Postgraduate taught programmes
Postgraduate research
Staff in Chinese at the University of Exeter have research expertise in art and cultural history as well as in translation studies in Chinese contexts.
Research interests
- China and the Middle East relations
- Chinese art and architecture
- Chinese-British artistic exchange
- Cultural decolonisation in the Third World
- Fandom and Chinese cinema
- Film, cultural policy, digital media, soft power, and international communication
- Modern Chinese political history
- Translation and China’s modernization
- Translating gender and sexuality
Research Centres
- Centre for Translating Cultures
- Global China Research Centre
- Art History & Visual Culture
- Centre for Medical History
Research projects
- Afro-Asian Cultural Decolonisation in the People’s Republic of China and Egypt, 1955-1965
- 20th century Empire and Imperialism from Afro-Asian perspectives
- Cultivating Happiness: Sir William Temple, Confucianism, and the English Landscape Garden
- Entangled landscapes: early modern China and Europe
- Film co-production as soft power between the UK and China
- Identity or Obsession: Translating Homosexuality into Chinese
- Matteo Ripa’s “Views of Jehol”
- Nature Entangled: Entangled histories of ‘Nature’ in the landscape discourses of early modern China and Europe
- Surviving in Violent Conflicts: Chinese Interpreters in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1931-1945)
- Translating for change: Anglophone queer cinema and the Chinese LGBT+ movement