Customer Reviews

Fun With Chinese Characters Volume 1

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

Brilliant way to start learning written Chinese; this book gives you the story behind each character and it really helps you remember. Thus the word for 'big' represents a man with outstretched arms whereas 'right' incorporates the signs for a hand and a mouth, signifying the hand you eat with . When you realise Chinese isnt just meaningless squiggles it becomes so much easier. Fascinating to browse, even if you're not seriously learning the language.
176 pages (1 sign per page)

When you start learning Chinese, how do you remember how to draw the Chinese characters? You can memorize the order of the lines, by repeating it many times. The problem is that you'll get bored soon and you'll abandon the study.

If you understand that the character for man simply resembles the legs of a man, you'll remember it much faster and for a longer time. It will remain etched in your head.

A pig and a roof make a house. A child and a woman mean "good". On each page, there is a simple and logical explanation for the character.

I didn't read this book. I devoured every single page of it. After the last page, I had only 1 question in my mind : "Why didn't I find this book earlier in my life?"

By the way, this is volume 1 of a 3 volumes set.

Sergiu FUNIERU

The majority of reviews, by far, are overly happy with this, and I am no exception. I bought the first 2 volumes and CANNOT SAY ENOUGH. ITS SUPER ! I read 2 seperate reviews of the book (one in each volume) and I couldn't believe how uptight people are. These cartoons are WONDERFUL and skillfully drawn. One reviewer said he (and his daughter) were offended because of the chinese stereotype characters. THERE IS NOTHING OFFENSIVE IN HERE. And to be honest, these are traditional characters, and dressing they way they did in the old days. If you go to china today, much of the tradition still exists. They even still pull rickshaws. This reviewer was chinese & should come to grips with the traditional appearance of the chinese. I think its wonderful. As for the other reviewer who Loved the book, but felt embarrassed in front of his kid, because women were seen in "traditional" roles preparing food, etc.... damn, get a life. This is still the way in china, and even to a lesser degree in the USA. Why the hell is everyone LOOKING FOR THINGS TO BE OFFENDED AT? DO yourself a favor and buy this book. you won't regret it. Its fantastic & I learned alot. This is a FAMILY book you can share with anyone.

The first time I took a glance at this book I immediately decided I was going to read and finally learn Chinese. When I opened it, I was overtaken by the simplicity and structure of the book. A minute into the introduction I knew how to read Chinese!! I was very surprised, I never thought it would be this simple. By the 20th page I was smiling and thinking, "Wow!! This is fun. I have to buy this book." Unfortunately I have to return it within 2 weeks to my campus library at Cal State Northridge but I know that during those 14 days I will learn and return it knowing that I could speak Chinese. This book deserves 5 stars and I highly recommend it to anybody who wants to learn this language that day by day is becoming more necessary. I am positive that you will learn and have plenty of fun.

The item shipped was not in the condition stated. It said that it was in very good condition when it was actually more good or acceptable. there was writing in the book and the book cover had folds which were not stated in the comments.