Fun With Chinese Characters Volume 1 [Paperback]

Tan Huay Peng (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: China Books & Periodicals; First Edition, Fifth Impression edition (December 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 981013004X
• ISBN-13: 978-9810130046
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #567,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars chinese characters are not only fascinating, but also fun, June 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Fun With Chinese Characters Volume 1 (Paperback)

This book does not fall short of it's title. The Introduction gives some helpful background as to the ancient genesis of Chinese script, going back to the legendary period and Cang Ji, on up through the Modern Period. It clearly illustrates how various types of compound words are created - and potentially deciphered, and covers pictographs, ideographs, and determinative-phonetic characters. The Preface gives a general overview of Chinese as a means of visual communication. The body of the book gives a description of each of 176 of some of the most common characters. Each character description includes a cartoon to help the reader recall the etymology of each character, which can help novices simply to remember the character. As well, a number of examples of how the character is used in compound phrases are offered. This is the first of a three-part series, and the only one of the series to have the Intro and Preface described above. A great introduction to Chinese characters for someone unfamiliar with them, and a fun read for someone who is.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A find!, September 2, 2001

By 

"axescepter" (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fun With Chinese Characters Volume 1 (Paperback)

This is a helpful book. My five year old and I have just about gone through it twice, and it has held her attention, though I should say that she is insanely into languages of all kinds. But the the book is well designed, showing the etymology from ancient forms to traditional forms to simplified forms. Each character gets a page, and the etymology and cartoons constitute the top half of the page. The cartoons are fun and -- usually -- help you remember. My only criticism is the cartoons: often, embarrassingly non-PC, making me wince a bit as my daughter absorbs the roles men and women are _supposed_ to have. Also, I think the cartoons, though always drawn well, are often a little too far out there to really help you remember the meaning of the character. The middle to bottom of the page shows the character in phrases, and the bottom shows the character in a sentence. The phrases and the sentence are well-chosen, vernacular, and contemporary. Overall, the book is excellent, and I'm trying to track down the next volume, because nothing I could find at the local bookstores comes close to being something a five-year-old would want to read!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful & Captivating Approach to Chinese, May 4, 2011

By 

William J. Doran (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fun With Chinese Characters Volume 1 (Paperback)

The author leads you from a picture to the Chinese Character in 5 clear steps.
You will understand that word the character represents.
Then adding two characters together produces a thrid word, e.g. the character for woman added to that of small child/boy results in the word, happiness.
The whole book is ingenious this way.