A New Practical Primer of Literary Chinese (Harvard East Asian Monographs) Bilingual Edition

by Paul Rouzer (Author)

24 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0674022706

ISBN-10: 9780674022706

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Forty lessons designed to introduce beginning students to the basic patterns and structures of Classical Chinese are taken from a number of pre-Han and Han texts selected to give students a grounding in exemplary Classical Chinese style. Two additional lessons use texts from later periods to help students appreciate the changes in written Chinese over the centuries.

Each lesson consists of a text, a vocabulary list featuring discussions of meaning and usage, explanations of grammar, and explications of difficult passages. The standard modern Chinese, Japanese, and Korean pronunciations are indicated for each character, making this a learning tool for native speakers of those languages as well. Appendices give suggestions for further readings, review common and significant words, explain the radical system, and provide Japanese kanbun readings for all the selections. Glossaries of all vocabulary items and pronunciation indexes for modern Chinese and Korean are also included.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Rouzer is Associate Professor of Chinese Literature at the University of Minnesota.

Series: Harvard East Asian Monographs (Book 276)
Paperback: 540 pages
Publisher: Harvard University Asia Center; Bilingual edition (June 30, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780674022706
ISBN-13: 978-0674022706
ASIN: 067402270X
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 1.4 x 11 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Customer Reviews: 16 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #27 in Regional Geography
- #27 in Chinese Language Instruction (Books)
- #552 in Foreign Dictionaries & Thesauruses

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4 star		19%
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Guy Schuh

Excellent textbook for self-study

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Excellent textbook for self-study of Classical Chinese, especially for those who know a little formal grammar or have experience with classical languages. Couldn't be happier with my purchase. The book also has the advantage of not presupposing that the reader knows modern Mandarin Chinese. A tip for others who want to undertake the crazy project of teaching themselves to read Classical Chinese: get the Pleco app and download the stroke order packet (it's like $5) to learn how to write the characters.

2 people found this helpful

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Antti Kivelä

Excellent

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I've been studying modern Chinese for last few years, and have always been interested in the origins of this fascinating language. My first book in classical/literary chinese was Michael a Fuller's An Introduction to Literary Chinese: Revised Edition (Harvard East Asian Monographs) . It's thorough and linguistically exact but can be difficult for beginner. Another good choice is Yuan, Tang & Geiss's Classical Chinese: A Basic Reader in Three Volumes.

Paul Rouzer's Practical Primer of Literary Chinese is definitely the most user-friendly, down-to-earth approach to classical Chinese. Starting with simple proverbs Rouzer explains vocabulary, grammar and sentence structures clearly and concisely. I can recommend this book as first purchase to everybody interested in literary Chinese.

26 people found this helpful

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Student1

Good textbook

Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The book is very well written for beginning students of classical Chinese (before the Han Dynasty). Its explanations of characters and choice of excerpts are clearly very carefully thought out. The layout makes the content straightforward to learn. Would definitely recommend not just for classes, but for self-study as well.

6 people found this helpful

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John Wm Schiffeler

A Must Buy!

Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

What a pleasure it is to comment on Professor Rouzer's book. When I studied classical Chinese forty years ago under the guidance of the late Professor Edward H. Schafer at the University of California at Berkeley, we did not have such a well-written introductory textbook as this one. In point of fact, we did not have one; instead we dealt with the actual textual material itself, along with the lecture commentary. What a difference it would have made and what a difference it makes today for the interested student wanting to pursue this subject matter. I cannot recommend this book too highly--it is a must buy!

9 people found this helpful

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HJT

Definitely not perfect, but well thought of...

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

So I purchased this book based on the 100% 5-stars ratings from the past 8 customers. I feel a little tricked. Nothing is perfect and I should of known. There are definitely more cons than pros, but overall a good buy. It may not be a good book for someone learning on their own. Definitely a good classroom discussion based product.

Pro: 1) I liked how the primer has great choices on ancient texts. The variety of texts in which the author picked was well suited for beginners learning literacy chinese. 2) Glad it has the plus 1400 vocab that a beginner can learn. The back of the book is a great reference tool with the radicals/strokes/dictionary.

Cons: 1) All these little numbers in parenthesis after the vocabs can get confusing after awhile. Also, references back to certain pages or chapters can be confusing. what does this mean? See 2.7 for more information. what is 2.7 again? 2) Practice Exercises are great, but where are the solutions. I would like to know the answers to see if what I wrote was correct or not. 3) What are the original meanings of the ancient text/proverbs/stories? I find myself guessing what the sentence/paragraph means. 4) Maybe should of included an analects or text from Confucius. Kinda bummed there wasn't one. 5) Didn't like flipping back and forth to check on the ancient text and vocabulary, especially if the new vocab is towards the end of the lesson. Just seems tedious to do so. Example: first chapter. 3 proverbs could have been separated on its own pages with the new vocab underneath it with modern translations. Then lessons and explanations can follow. 5) Needs more visuals - like more bolded headlines or a better way to section off lessons. It just looks very dry to read.

20 people found this helpful

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John Thorley

Paul Rouzer, A New Practical Primer of Literary Chinese

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

With 540 large-format pages this book undoubtedly covers a vast amount of information about Literary/Classical Chinese. The 40 lessons contain a range of reading material, and each new character met with in a lesson is described in some detail. The grammar and the historical context of each passage is also dealt with clearly and thoroughly. Especially useful are the list of 'Common and Significant Words', the 'Comprehensive Glossary' and the Mandarin Pronunciation Index at the end of the book. I personally have no interest in the Japanese and Korean sections at the end of the book, but for those who do these sections appear to be clearly set out. A problem for me as a home-based student is that only the first 10 passages are translated . From lesson 11 one is quickly faced with difficulties that may well be resolved in a seminar group with a teacher, but I have to say that I would have found translations of the remaining 30 lessons at the back of the book extremely useful.

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Maurizio Matella

One of the best books available on Classical Chinese

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Over the years I collected a wide range of books on Classical and Literary Chinese. I can therefore appreciate the different approaches to this study adopted by the various authors. Generally speaking, German and Italian scholars appear to focus on the detailed structure of the language, sometimes with excellent results, whilst French scolars seem in some cases more interested in giving an overview of the language not too distant from the linguistic experiences of a standard Western reader. English and American scholars have on the contrary a very practical approach with an aim to enable the reader to understand texts at a very early stage of knowledge.
This book is an excellent example of this approach. Graded texts are completed with lists of new words and very clear and exhaustive grammatical notes. The evolution of Classical Chinese into Literary Chinese is also well-documented. A book which cannot be dispensed with.

5 people found this helpful

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J. Baley

The best book to learn Classical Chinese

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The other reviewer explained it better than I could, so I won't enter into details, but having used several textbooks to study Classical Chinese and browsed through even more to choose the ones I would want to study, this one has by far been the best constructed, most enjoyable and leading to the most significant progress for me.

After using it, I felt quite confident that the language was actually in reach, and getting to Wagner's reader I got confirmation of it. I really recommend it.

2 people found this helpful

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Mir-jam

Der beste weg Klassisches Chinesisch zu lernen

Reviewed in Germany on July 7, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Das Buch ist sehr gut aufgebaut, die Kapitel werden nach und nach länger und schwerer. Es gibt hinten ein komplettes Vokabelverzeichnis das sehr hilfreich ist. Die grammatikalischen Besonderheiten werden sehr einfach erklärt.
Dieses Buch nutze ich und meine Kommilitonen als Lehrbuch im Unterricht.
Zum alleine lernen ist es vielleicht etwas zu schwer, aber mit einem Lehrer ist es kein Problem.
Etwas schade ist es das gar kein Pinyin angegeben wird, dies würde helfen um die Texte laut lesen zu können.

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Andrea M.

Ottimo

Reviewed in Italy on July 3, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Design un po' scarno, ma gli esempi sono ottimi e in poco tempo potrete leggere e decifrare i testi che trovate in questo grosso manuale. Fa quello che deve fare, ma preparatevi ad uno studio intenso.

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Elle Jé

Great tool for learning classical chinese!

Reviewed in Canada on August 28, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

A good compilation of texts with sufficient explanations both grammatical and cultural. Excellent purchase!

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Federica

ottimo

Reviewed in Italy on October 21, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

un libro fondamentale e dal metodo efficace per imparare a leggere testi semplici in cinese classico senza farsela prendere a male.

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