For Western universities, internationalization of the curriculum has involved bringing more and more international content to bear on a curricular framework that historically has been firmly rooted in European history, particularly nineteenth-century history. For China, by contrast, the whole framework of modern disciplines was introduced from abroad, after the abolition of the traditional civil service examinations in 1905, with the establishment of universities on a Western model. Over the century, Chinese intellectuals struggled to relate this framework to China’s own scholarly heritage and its development needs.
With the initiation China’s open door policy in 1978, students were sent to many parts of the world, and collaborative partnerships in academic exchange were established with many countries, allowing for interesting experiments in knowledge transfer and adaptation. Several hundred thousand Chinese students have taken advantage of the open door to study abroad, with the largest concentration in North America, but very significant numbers in Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere. Chinese official policy has wavered between sending younger students to gain higher degrees and sending established scholars for opportunities to familiarize themselves with current developments in their field abroad and to engage in collaborative research.