The Way of Chinese Characters: The Origins of 400 Essential Words

For non-native speakers of Chinese, learning to write Chinese can be one of the most challenging aspects of the language; learners are often asked to memorize characters by simply writing them over and over again, without a basic understanding of their meanings.The Way of Chinese Characters offers a more efficient approach to character learning that is fun and accessible, yet grounded in solid academic research. Four hundred of the most basic Chinese characters are presented, each with a concise introduction to its classification and evolution, plus insightful comments about the character's significance in Chinese culture. Illustrations of early writing forms help learners visualize the character's evolution, and cartoon drawings serve as helpful mnemonic devices.This book is ideal for teachers and learners of Chinese at all levels. The characters presented correspond to the vocabulary introduced in Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1, making this a perfect characte