Chinese culture has a long history and has exerted extensive and profound influence on the cultures of neighboring countries and even other countries in the world. With the deepening of globalization and the development of China，the influence of Chinese culture is still further enhanced. The history of foreigners learning Chinese culture can be traced back to the Jin Dynasty，when ancient Chinese classics were used by foreigners as teaching materials，shouldering the function of cultural teaching and constructing the initial cognition of Chinese culture in neighboring countries. According to the time clue，before the founding of the People’s Republic of China，the development of foreign cultural textbooks can be divided into five periods：Jin Dynasty to Northern and Southern Dynasties，Sui and Tang Dynasties，Song and Yuan Dynasties，Ming and Qing Dynasties，and the late Qing Dynasty to the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The development of the five periods has both inheritance and characteristics. Grasping the history of foreign cultural textbooks can provide useful reference for our current practice of compiling foreign cultural textbooks.