Vocational College Chinese

Author: Xu Huachun, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Vocational Chinese is a branch of the broader field of Chinese studies. Its disciplinary nature should naturally align with that of the entire field of Chinese studies. However, regarding the question of "what constitutes Chinese studies," there has been a state of diverse opinions and no consensus for decades. In the 1950s, Chinese studies was primarily divided into two courses: "Modern Chinese" and "Selected Works of Literary Works," excluding non-literary genres. During the Cultural Revolution, Chinese language teaching was confined to the instruction of characters, words, and sentences, turning the subject into a quasi-political course. Since the reform and opening-up, Chinese language teaching has emphasized knowledge, yet it has also given rise to tendencies such as "" (de-emphasizing grammar) and "" (de-emphasizing literary styles), as if words could be spoken freely and articles could be written however one pleased, with less emphasis on grammar and stylistic rules. From the breadth to the depth, these three approaches are inconsistent with the actual practice of Chinese studies. In fact, in university Chinese textbooks, including those for vocational Chinese, apart from a small amount of stylistic knowledge, the main content should be language knowledge and various types of articles. It is clear that Xu Professor's Vocational Chinese, with its "Four Parts and One Appendix" structure, aligns with the actual practice of vocational Chinese studies.
The first part is Characters and Calligraphy, which focuses on an overview of characters and training in traditional brush calligraphy and modern pen calligraphy (regular script and running script), emphasizing the word "practice" to help students write characters "correctly" and "well." The second part is Language and Communication, which covers the characteristics of language, expression, refinement, and communication, emphasizing the word "speak" to help students express themselves "clearly," "smoothly," and "beautifully." The third part is Text Interpretation, which focuses on summarizing and analyzing classic works of poetry, prose, fiction, and argumentative essays from ancient and modern times, emphasizing the word "read" to cultivate students' ability to appreciate literature. The fourth part is Practical Writing, which covers how to write various practical genres, emphasizing the word "write" to develop students' ability to compose common types of articles. The Appendix primarily includes knowledge-based, regulatory, and tool-related documents and materials, emphasizing the word "use" for reference by teachers and students in their work and studies.
Particularly noteworthy is the integration of humanistic care for students throughout all sections, which aims to enhance their humanistic spirit, moral concepts, and the "Four Competencies" of writing characters correctly, communicating orally effectively, appreciating literature, and writing practical genres. This aligns with the overall goals and requirements of current educational and teaching reforms in the field of Chinese studies. This textbook is both substantial and profound, with numerous "highlights" throughout. The explanations of the nature of characters, the summaries of linguistic features, and the analyses of many text contents are all of considerable quality, revealing the authors' valuable insights. The annotations are very standardized, and the content is well-aligned. Certain entries not only offer unique insights but also demonstrate the authors' proficiency in language and writing.