Narrating China in Italy: State Rhetorics and Diasporic Narratives in the Teaching of Chinese Culture

This paper explores the ways in which Chinese culture is taught and narrated in Italian schools, within a context where available anthological and cultural teaching materials remain limited and fragmented. This limited editorial availability has fostered the emergence of localized and creative pedagogical practices, based on teachers’ self-produced materials, autonomous selection of texts and resources, and processes of intercultural mediation. Within this framework, teachers of Chinese culture design educational pathways that interweave literary texts, films, media products, and diasporic testimonies, giving rise to a plurality of micro-narratives about China. The analysis is situated at the intersection of the conference’s thematic axes of Teaching and Identity, with an extension toward the political-discursive dimension. The paper examines both pedagogical practices and localization strategies adopted in Chinese culture courses in Italy, highlighting how these experiences contribute to the construction of shared cultural and narrative identities between teachers and students. A comparative perspective with other European contexts—particularly Germany and France—allows for the identification of pedagogical and institutional models that may support the qualitative strengthening of Chinese culture education in Italy and its integration within national educational systems. At a broader level, the study engages with China’s political-discursive dimension by analyzing the Party-promoted rhetoric of jianghao Zhongguo gushi (讲好中国故事, “telling China’s story well”) as a strategy of narrative soft power. Aimed at disseminating a coherent and positive image of China, this discourse now constitutes a key horizon of reference for those teaching Chinese culture abroad, influencing—directly or indirectly—the contents, languages, and representations conveyed within European educational contexts. Diasporic narratives—literary, media-based, and autobiographical—play a crucial role in this scenario, providing tools of narrative hybridization capable of connecting the political level (China and its state rhetoric), the social level (Chinese diasporic communities), and the educational level (the school). They enable the construction of an approach to Chinese culture education that moves beyond mere transmission toward a critical and dialogic process of translation. The analysis is based on direct observations and context-based reflections developed through a research experience spanning Italy, Europe, and China, as well as on a qualitative comparative process aimed at fostering dialogue among practices, discourses, and educational models. The paper thus reflects on how the teaching of Chinese culture can evolve within the Italian school system, drawing on European experiences and perspectives developed in China to become a space for identity negotiation and dialogic knowledge construction, while valorizing the transcultural and diasporic dimensions of educational experience.