Representation of Chinese Culture in English Textbooks: A Corpus-driven study of Two Editions of Senior High School English Textbooks Published by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Publishing House

Abstract

In the context of globalization, the cultural role of foreign language textbooks has become increasingly salient. Through corpus search and manual screening, this study takes the Oxford Shanghai Edition of senior high school English textbooks published by Shanghai Educational Publishing House in 2006 and the Shanghai Edition published in 2020 as research objects. It systematically examines the representation and evolving trends of Chinese cultural content in the two editions. Findings show that both editions construct an image of China as culturally rich, technologically advanced, and open to the world, covering themes such as cities, figures, technology, and intangible heritage. The 2020 edition, however, demonstrates greater breadth, depth, and balance in cultural representation. It integrates visual and textual elements more effectively and embeds Chinese topics more extensively in writing and cultural awareness tasks, though listening and speaking activities remain less culturally infused. The study highlights a conceptual shift in textbook design from internationalization toward cultural self-awareness, offering empirical evidence and pedagogical insights for integrating Chinese culture into English education and fostering students’ cultural confidence.