The exhibition begins with the first attempts made by German scholars under the Great Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg to acquire Chinese texts. It outlines the views held by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Wilhelm von Humboldt of Chinese in the 18th and 19th centuries and describes the establishment of the first professorship in modern Chinese at the Department of Oriental Languages at the University of Berlin in 1887. Chinese as a discipline becomes more firmly anchored during the course of the 20th century. More and more universities set up professorships devoted to Chinese, the number of students increases steadily, and beginning in the 1990s, Chinese is increasingly being taught in secondary schools. Today the Chinese language plays an important role in studying China's history, culture, and current situation.

Several prominent individuals will give presentations during the exhibition opening on October 23: Dr. Jiang Feng, Deputy Chief of Mission of the People's Republic of China in Germany; Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Mechthild Leutner, Director of the Confucius Institute at Freie Universität Berlin; and the managing director of the institute, Dagmar Yu-Dembski.

Time and Location

• Exhibition opening: Wednesday, October 23, 6 p.m.
• Exhibition: through November 28, 2013
• Confucius Institute at Freie Universität Berlin, Goßlerstraße 2–4, 14195 Berlin
• Directions: S1, station: Lichterfelde West; U3, station: Thielplatz (20 minute walk); Bus M11, M48, and 101, bus stop: Unter den Eichen/Drakestraße
• Admission is free, and no advance registration is required.