Founded in 1928, Guangxi University established its Department of Foreign Languages in 1947 under the leadership of Mr. Luo Jiezi, an esteemed diplomat, State Council Advisor, and Cambridge Ph.D. The department launched its undergraduate programs in English and Russian in 1947 and 1950, respectively. In 1953, Guangxi University ceased operations during the nationwide restructuring of universities and colleges, and the faculty and students of the Department of Foreign Languages were transferred to four universities, including Sun Yat-sen University and Wuhan University. In 1958, Guangxi University was reestablished, and the Department of Foreign Languages resumed offering undergraduate degrees in English and Russian, and expanded to include Japanese in 1973. In 1996, the Department of Foreign Languages, Department of College English, and the Guangxi Foreign Language Training Center merged to form the School of Foreign Languages. In 2000, an associate degree program in Business English was introduced. In 2007, the school established the Southeast Asian Languages Department, offering undergraduate programs in Thai and Vietnamese. It was authorized to offer a master's degree in Translation Theory and Practice in 1993 and a first-level master's degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures in 2010. In 2021, it was also approved to offer a second-level doctoral degree in Marxist Literature and Communication. From 2019 to 2021, the English, Vietnamese, Translation and Interpreting, and Thai programs were recognized as national-level first-class undergraduate programs, while the Japanese program was recognized at the provincial-level. In 2021, the school was selected for the first batch of new liberal arts research and practice projects of Ministry of Education. In the past three years, Guangxi University's first-level discipline of Foreign Languages and Literatures has steadily climbed in the Shanghai Ranking “Best Chinese Universities Ranking”, reaching the top 25% nationally in 2023.
Currently, the first-level discipline of Foreign Languages and Literature encompasses five research directions: Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, English Language and Literature, Translation Studies, Japanese Language and Literature, and Country and Area Studies. It offers four Master of Translation and Interpreting (MTI) programs: English Translation, English Interpreting, Japanese Translation, and Vietnamese Translation. Additionally, it provides five undergraduate programs: English, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Translation. At present, the first-level discipline of Foreign Languages and Literature includes five research directions: Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, English Language and Literature, Translation Studies, Japanese Language and Literature, and Country and Area Studies. It offers four Master of Translation and Interpreting (MTI) programs: English Translation, English Interpreting, Japanese Translation, and Vietnamese Translation. Additionally, it provides five undergraduate programs: English, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Translation and Interpreting. From 2019 to 2021, the school had eight courses approved as first-class undergraduate courses at the provincial level, and in 2023, the course “Introduction to Translation” was approved as a national first-class undergraduate course. The school has one provincial talent highland and one excellent teaching team at the provincial level. The English program is a national characteristic program, Foreign Languages and Literature is a key discipline at the provincial level, and the English, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Translation and Interpreting programs are part of the provincial advantageous and characteristic academic programs
Presently, the school has 85 full-time faculty members, including 10 professors and 30 associate professors. Among them, 27 hold doctoral degrees, and 9 are pursuing their doctorates. The school also has 2 distinguished professors, 1 provincial-level teaching master, and 1 university-level teaching master. Most of the faculty members have studied or conducted research abroad, and several have received awards in national teaching competitions and for their teaching and research achievements.
Over the past five years, the school has undertaken one key project funded by the National Social Science Fund of China (NSSFC), one major sub-project under NSSFC, nine projects funded by NSSFC, and one academic translation project funded by NSSFC. Additionally, it has carried out 17 provincial and ministerial-level projects. In 2020, it received one second prize and one third prize at the 8th Ministry of Education Awards for Outstanding Achievements in Scientific Research (Humanities and Social Sciences) in Higher Education Institutions. In 2018, it won one third prize at the 15th Guangxi Social Science Excellent Achievements Awards. In 2020, it received two third prizes at the 16th Guangxi Social Science Excellent Achievements Awards. In 2022, it was awarded one second prize at the 17th Guangxi Social Science Excellent Achievements Awards. In 2021, it also received one third prize in the Guangxi Science and Technology Progress Awards.
The school publishes two academic journals: the Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies, an English academic journal indexed by ESCI and published by Routledge, UK, and the Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Translation Studies, a journal included in the AMI database of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The school hosts several research institutions, including the Asia Pacific Translation and Cross-cultural Transmission Institute (university-level), the Translation Studies Bibliography (TSB) Database Center (jointly operated with Benjamin Publishing Company in the Netherlands), and the Asia-Pacific Forum on Translation and Intercultural Studies, which has a permanent mechanism involving 18 member countries. Each year, the school organizes two to three large-scale international and domestic academic conferences, providing high-level simultaneous interpreting services for major international events such as the China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, thereby contributing to local economic and social development and earning widespread acclaim.
The school steadfastly adheres to the ethos of “Fostering virtue through education”, upholds the motto “Diligence and Sincerity, Profound Learning and Innovation”, and aims to cultivate leading talents with the “Five Haves” (social responsibility, innovative spirit, practical ability, legal awareness, and global vision). It vigorously promotes teaching reforms, strengthens teaching management, and continuously improves the quality of education, thereby producing a large number of outstanding foreign language talents with both moral integrity and international perspectives. Students frequently win awards in various national and provincial-level foreign language competitions, and the pass rate for the China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters (CATTI) ranks among the highest compared to similar institutions.
In the new era, the school will continue to focus on talent cultivation, lead with discipline construction, support with platform building, and secure with team building, seizing opportunities and consolidating strengths to comprehensively advance the development of the school, support the s university’s “Double First-Class Initiative”, and make greater contributions to the national economic and social development.
