Gateway to the Chinese Classics [Paperback]

Jeannette Faurot (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0835125378 | ISBN-13: 978-0835125376 | Publication Date: February 18, 2006 | Edition: 1st

Learning Classical Chinese poetry has never been easier than by using this easy to follow anthology of selected famous works. Each poem is written in large print with an author's biography and a vocabulary list with traditional Chinese, Pinyin and English translations. Characters are broken down to their literal translation allowin geasier accessibility to the complexities of the poems' meanings. Faurot chose 81 classical poems, from poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu Su Shi and others.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Chinese

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: China Books; 1st edition (February 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0835125378
• ISBN-13: 978-0835125376
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #279,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive but Sparse and Disorganised, March 27, 2000

By 

"radagasty" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gateway to the Chinese Classics (Paperback)

'Gateway to the Chinese Classics' is an excellent introduction for those who wish to get a feel for classical Chinese. It is, however, very much an elementary text, giving the complete beginner a mere taste of the beauty of the language.

The text itself is poorly organised, with one chapter leading on to the next in a progressive manner; it is not at all clear that a given chapter deals with a particular topic, which makes it fairly useless as a reference grammar, a problem compounded by the lack of an index. Despite this failing, the reader who works through the book chapter by chapter will have a good foundation in classical Chinese by the end of the book.

Each chapter generally comprises vocabulary and notes thereupon, grammatical structures, examples thereof, and exercises. One notable omission is answers for the exercises, and not all the passages have a translation provided.

Physically, the book is well printed and bound, the Chinese characters being clear and sufficiently large. There are, however, a fair number of textual errors, albeit minor ones, which detract slightly from the quality of the production.

All in all, this book is an excellent, step-by-step introduction to classical Chinese. However, it is suitable only for those who wish to work through the book from start to finish. It does presuppose some knowledge of Modern Chinese written in the traditional script.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very helpful book for the beginner., October 19, 2005

By 

Nevin Hawkins (Redondo Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gateway to the Chinese Classics (Paperback)

This is an excellent book if you are trying to acquire a better understanding of the Dao De Jing or the Analects. The sub-title says it all: A Practical Guide. This is not a high level academic inquiry into literary Chinese. If you want a degree in ancient Chinese literature, this book is probably not for you. If you just enjoy reading classical Chinese poetry or the classics stated above, I believe you will find this book very helpful.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Intro to Classical Chinese, March 25, 2000

By 

Wang, Chao-Hong (Hualien Taiwan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gateway to the Chinese Classics (Paperback)

This book assumes you have a reasonable grasp of basic Chinese and characters. Traditional characters and Pin Yin are used throughout the book. Classical Chinese is complicated and Jeannette Faurot rightly points out that you have to "get a feel" for it. The book uses a vast range of examples and many poems to help you develop your own "feel" for how this language works. Language points are well explained and the cultural notes are informative. The last few chapters start leading you into longer texts. I used it for self-study but I'm sure it would work well in the classroom. Now I truly understand the wisdom of "Dao ke dao fei chang dao".