English language and literature as an academic subject in China

A brief examination of the history of English as an academic subject in China is given, with focus on the paramount importance China attaches to the teaching and learning of foreign languages and literatures in general and of English language and literature in particular. It is argued that China presents a unique case in human history in which an immense sovereign state has put systematic and sustained efforts into learning a foreign language, formulating unified linguistic policies and enforcing them in a potent manner; and by so doing, has made the external world relatively transparent in a short time, integrating all kinds of new knowledge into its cognitive system and transforming the minds of its population, thus effecting an overall civilizational transformation.