Fundamental Written Chinese: Second Edition

Like its predecessor, the second edition of Fundamental Written Chinese provides students with a clear, systematic, and graduated introduction to written Mandarin Chinese with chapters designed not only to teach the content of the lessons, but also build on the proficiency the student has acquired. The authors continue the tradition of separating the teaching of written and oral skills, leaving the instruction of vocabulary and grammar exclusively to the accompanying Fundamental Spoken Chinese, also in its second edition. The lessons in the two textbooks, however, are keyed to each other, so they may be used simultaneously or the parallel written skills introduced at a later time. Both textbooks were developed for learning in the classroom and for independent study.

Fundamental Written Chinese begins by educating readers on the crucial knowledge of the Chinese writing system so they are well-equipped for the practical application of Chinese characters. Following chapters include a list of vocabulary items, exercises, multiple charts explaining the characters’ usage, mnemonics and memory suggestions, supplementary texts, and space for writing practice. This textbook teaches comprehension of written Chinese by methodically focussing on structural regularities such as radicals, phonetic components, and stroke order. The lessons are organized so students begin with simple independent characters before moving to the more complex compound characters.

• Margaret Lee, Author

  Margaret Lee taught Chinese at the tertiary level for more than thirty years and was a senior tutor at the University of Auckland.

• Jiayan Lin, Author

  Jiayan Lin is a learning advisor at Massey University.

• Robert Sanders, Author

  Robert Sanders was a professor of Chinese language and Chinese linguistics for thirty-five years at universities in the United States, New Zealand, and Japan.

• The essence of the Fundamental Chinese textbooks that distinguishes them from all others widely used today is their focus on building a Chinese language acquisition foundation in the learner’s linguistic mind—one that will enable them to acquire native or near-native proficiency. This approach formed the basis of some very successful textbooks produced decades ago by teams of truly bilingual-bicultural linguists from both sides of the English-Chinese divide. These pioneers achieved native proficiency in their second language and knew intuitively how to guide students on the path to effective language acquisition. Fundamental Spoken Chinese and Fundamental Written Chinese are a synthesis of their tried-and-true methodology with twenty-first-century innovations.
  —Vivian Ling, former director of the Chinese Flagship Program, Indiana University
• The Fundamental Chinese books are original, innovative, and replete with insightful observations on language and culture. The lessons are systematically laid out and include rich and varied exercises. Together the spoken and written volumes form a complete package for both self-study and classroom instruction.
  —Zheng-sheng Zhang, professor of Chinese, San Diego State University