Ancient Chinese Quick Read

Author: Liu Qing'e
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-03-17
Features: The thirty articles selected in this book are not only traditional masterpieces with healthy thoughts and standardized language but also twenty-eight of them have been used as examination materials for the Normal College Promotion Examination conducted by the National Education Commission in the past ten years. Additionally, the two articles "The Five Insects" and "Emotion and Style" are commonly taught in most schools.
Unlike general textbooks that focus primarily on word explanations, beginners often struggle to fully comprehend sentences even after understanding key vocabulary. Therefore, this book integrates sentence parsing with word explanations, starting with sentence parsing before moving on to word definitions. While this approach may seem somewhat repetitive, it is essential for beginners.
After studying a single article, students often feel overwhelmed by a vast amount of information but struggle to grasp the key points or organize their thoughts. To address this, this book includes learning points at the end of each article, outlining the essential knowledge students must master in terms of phonetics, characters, vocabulary, and grammar. The section on common words is left unexplained, encouraging readers to consult dictionaries.
General textbooks are typically comprehensive, lengthy, and filled with numerous examples, offering complete knowledge while balancing general theories with selected texts. This book aims to incorporate these strengths while also improving upon them. It strives to compare modern Chinese with ancient Chinese, utilize students' existing knowledge to guide them from the familiar to the unfamiliar, and clarify difficult concepts that are often confusing. The language is kept as accessible as possible.
This book is suitable for self-study but does not hinder classroom instruction. Teachers can use it to teach students how to study independently, a crucial skill in any educational setting. Additionally, it allows teachers to introduce a wealth of knowledge in fewer class hours, thereby improving teaching effectiveness.
For sections with detailed explanations, teachers can choose to omit them; for less-covered but important knowledge (such as common words in the selected texts and general knowledge of ancient culture), teachers can supplement it appropriately. Issues identified in student assignments, which were previously too time-consuming to address in detail, can now be analyzed thoroughly.
The author has used this book to teach undergraduate students at ordinary universities, vocational college students in adult education, and participants in refresher courses on ancient Chinese language for professional qualification exams. Each time, the results have been highly satisfactory.