This second edition, like the earlier first edition, introduces some of
the main varieties of Chinese as found before and after the
establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. While
continuing to stress the basic importance of the traditional usages,
such as the regular characters to be found in all materials published
before the adoption of the simplified forms in 1956 and still in use in
some areas, the present revision goes further in contrasting variant
usages and in providing additional material relevant to the PRC.
Closely related with the author's Beginning Chinese and its companion
volume, Character Text for Beginning Chinese, this text is based on a
new approach which not only takes into account the advantages of the
oral-aural method but gets the student more quickly into material that
he is likely to encounter in actual written Chinese. Unique features are
the emphasis on compounds and their extensive use in various types of
exercises. The 1,200 combinations are based on 400 characters; in all,
the book contains 120,000 characters of running text. All compounds
appear in illustrative sentences accompanied by English translations, in
dialogues as a means of audio-lingual reinforcement, and in narrative or
expository form. Additional exercises include maps, booksellers' book
lists, correspondence, poems, table of contents, and brief passages from
the works of outstanding writers such as Sun Yatsen, Hu Shih, Mao
Tse-tung, and Lu Hsun. Supplementary lessons present reading material
using the simplified characters adopted in mainland China.
To suit the needs of the beginner, characters are introduced in large
size, and tables indicate the sequence of strokes used in their
formation. In addition to a pinyin index, there are three summary
charts in which the characters are arranged by lesson, by number of
strokes, and by radical. A fourth chart contrasts regular and simplified
characters; a fifth chart presents variant forms of the same character.
Because of the large characters and extensive material, the book is
issued in two volumes, Part I and Part II. This work was supported by a
contract with the United States Office of Education.
