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Title: I Can Read That: A Traveler's Introduction to Chinese Characters by Julie M. Sussman ISBN: 0-8351-2533-5 Publisher: China Books & Periodicals Pub. Date: December, 1994 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.78 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Quickie Tour of Chinese Characters
Comment: Not exactly a text on Chinese characters, this pocketbook is a great starter for those who have a curiosity of how Chinese writing works and don't want to be burdened with the extraneous info found in a serious textbook. Seventy-one characters frequently encountered by tourists are introduced but you'll wind up learning much more than that because many of these characters are also used in combination to form new compound words. The format is well-designed and makes the book fun and easy to use without being too simplistic. You'll learn the traditional and simplified form of the character, how these characters are rendered in the Western alphabet (i.e. the pinyin), and, thankfully towards the back of the book, how to write the character. Throughout the book are cultural tidbits and photographs of signs, ticket stubs, stamps, and advertisements which contains the characters introduced. This little book will take the intimidation out of trying to learn what far too many Westerners find as beyond their capacity to understand.
Rating: 3
Summary: Not for the student
Comment: If this is your first Chinese book, it's kind of fun, but it doesn't take you very far. If you really want to learn Chinese, there are a lot better books than this. This is more of a stocking stuffer/[bathroom] book.
Rating: 5
Summary: A fun book to learn a few Chinese characters
Comment: For the most part, Chinese is really two languages - a written one and a spoken one. One really cannot "sound out" written Chinese Characters, like they can with English. Most books for travelers to China dwell on the spoken language. This is actually a very good idea, because it helps you communicate and get around. But this book is different and fun, because it concentrates on Chinese characters which are beautiful and interesting.
I lived in the city of Shenyang, China for almost a year and a half. I dealt with a lot of Chinese people and Westerners that had been there for varying lengths of time. The Westerners had varying levels of oral Chinese language skills, but it was very rare for me to find a Westerner who knew how to read Chinese. The Westerners that I knew who could read Chinese were for the most part long time scholors on the topic or they learned it from their Chinese relatives.
I read this book, and learned most of the characters in it. I could not even come close to reading a magazine or newspaper, even those for children. But, I knew more Chinese characters than 95% of the Westerners that I knew in China. Most of these foreigners would be impressed when I could read the little I did. For most of the Chinese people I met, I was the only Westerner that they ever met who could read even a few characters. I'd figure a sign out, and they could not believe it. This skill was a great conversation topic, and I soon learned several other characters in the conversations that I had with the locals.
For the most part, this book is not required reading for someone who travels to China. In places where a lot of Westerners travel, many signs are in English, or pin-yin, or "Chinglish" (poor translations from Chinese to English.) But when I went to places less traveled, I can tell you that it was nice to be able to read the sign on the restroom door so I did not get into an embarrassing situation. (I had plenty of other embarrassing experiences without going into the wrong public toilet.)
I highly recommend the book. Have fun!
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Title: What Character Is That?: An Easy-Access Dictionary of 5,000 Chinese Characters by Go Ping-Gam ISBN: 0962311359 Publisher: Simplex Publications Pub. Date: November, 1997 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Learn to Write Chinese Characters (Yale Language Series) by Johan Bjorksten ISBN: 0300057717 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: October, 1994 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Lonely Planet China (China, 8th Ed) by Damian, Harper, Marie Cambon, Katja Gaskell, Thomas Huhti, Bradley Mayhew, Korina Miller, Mielikki Org ISBN: 1740591178 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: August, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.99 |
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Title: Beginner's Chinese by Yong Ho ISBN: 078180566X Publisher: Hippocrene Books Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Reading and Writing Chinese: A Guide to the Chinese Writing System by William McNaughton, Li Ying ISBN: 0804832064 Publisher: Charles E Tuttle Co Pub. Date: September, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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