Conquering the world is not supposed to be easy, but that’s exactly how things must look some days to Xu Lin, head of the government’s new effort to promote the Chinese language overseas.
Ms. Xu is creating a global network of Chinese cultural centers, called Confucius Institutes, to teach foreigners throughout the world a language with a forbidding reputation for difficulty. But far from having to round people up, Ms. Xu is finding they are beating down her door.