自2004年首家孔子学院在韩国成立以来,已有接近300家孔子学院遍布全球。孔子学院已然成为推广汉语教学、传播中国文化全球品牌。那么,中国政府兴建孔子学院的意图究竟是什么?有人认为孔子学院对于国家软实力建设有很重要的作用。笔者认为,孔子学院与中国对外提升软实力没有太大关系,而为了达到教授汉语的目的,就更只是官方的说辞而已。文章从理论与历史出发,阐释了软实力的双重涵义。 Since the first Confucius Institute was established in South Korea in 2004, nearly 300 Confucius Institutes have been established throughout the world. Confucius Institute has become a global brand promoting Chinese teaching and dissemination of Chinese culture. So, what is the intention of the Chinese government to establish a Confucius Institute? Some people think that the Confucius Institute plays an important role in building the country’s soft power. The author believes that the Confucius Institute and China’s external promotion of soft power is not much, but in order to achieve the purpose of teaching Chinese, it is even more official rhetoric. Starting from the theory and history, the article expounds the double meanings of soft power.