Tongwen Guan

Small, specialized government foreign language schools have long existed in China since the Ming dynasty.

As early as 1407, China had an Office for the Languages of Nations of Four Directions (四夷舘/四夷馆 sì yí guǎn), for the purposes of translating documents from minority and nomadic groups including the Mongols, Jurchens, Hui, and Burmese, who delivered tribute to the court.

[2] Hanlin Academy#Bureau of Translators The Eluosi Wenguan (俄羅斯文舘 "Russian College") was set up by the Qing dynasty Lifan Yuan in 1708, due to the importance of Russia as a security threat to Qing-dynasty China's north-west border.

In 1869, Dr. Willian Alexander Parsons Martin, a famed American missionary and translator in China, was appointed the first dean of studies.

[4][5] By 1877, the school had expanded to teach English, French, German, Russian and Japanese, as well as chemistry, medicine, machine-making, astronomy, mathematics, geography and international law, and enrollment was over one hundred.