•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• • •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• • •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• • • • THE NEW WAY TO READ CHINESE by S H AOLA N aj!i\_ with illustrations by NOMA BAR ., •• • HARPER DESIGN An Imprint ol Harper CollinsPublisheni r r~ For Mulan caJI) and MuAn (·~) On the cover: The character for 'fire', *- (Illustration by Noma Bar; art direction by Crispin Jameson; © Chineasy Ltd) CHINEASY: THE NEW WAY TO READ CHINESE Copyright © 2014 Chineasy Ltd The story on pages 159-179 is based on Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf (1936) Chineasy"" is a trademark of Chineasy Ltd, London Published by arrangement with Thames & Hudson Ltd London All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews For information address Harper Design, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022 HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational, business or sales promotional use For information please e-mail the Special Markets Department at SPsales@harpercollins.com First published in North America in 2014 by Harper Design An Imprint ofHarperColtinsPublishers 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022 Tel: (212) 207-7000, Fax: (212) 207-7654 harperdesign@harpercollins.com www.harpercollins.com Distributed in North America by HarperCollinsPublishers 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022 Fax: (212) 207-7654 Library of Congress Control Number: 2013951753 ISBN 9780062358028 CKF8) Author and Concept: ShaoLan Hsueh Bi*Ji! Graphic Design: Brave New World Publishing Ltd Art Director: Crispin Jameson Principal Illustrator: Noma Bar Digital conversion by booqlab CONTENTS 1: INTRODUCTION The Calligrapher's Daughter How to Use the Book 2: THE BASICS Building Blocks, Compounds, Phrases Advanced Sentences STORY Peter and the Wolf 3: REFERENCE Building Block Plates Index of Characters and Phrases Acknowledgments • • = three (san ) One plus two is three REFERENCE Building Block Plates Index of Characters and Phrases Building Block Plates ~ "'' A ~ person (ren /\ dog (quan ) ) 16 26 40 ~ feather (yu ) 182 22 51 BUI LDING BLOCK PLATES Ill mountain (shan1) 42 j{_ woman (m/) ~ moon (yue ) 32 t'r bamboo (zhu 46 ~~ bird (niao 56 I work (gong ) ) 39 50 ) 60 • • a white ( bai2) 62 mtiger ( h u3) 64 r~ door (men2) tt=- cow ( n iu 2) 74 ,~ horse ( ma3) 76 3S jade (y u ) fit boat (zho ul) 81 -one (yi 1) 82-83 $.bug (chong 2) l}< 66 78 84 water (sh ui3) 70 JII river (chuanl) 80 ~tall/length (chan g2) 85 86 n knife (dao l) 88 ~pig (sh i3) , roof (mian2) 92 91 BUILDING BLOCK PLATES 183 '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ,,,,,,,,, ''''''''' '' '' '' ' ' '' '' '' '' '' '' ' '- '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' § 94 103 F household ( hu ) eye ( m u') 104 98 100 105 106 '• • = i:i to talk (yan ) 108 114 184 BUI LDING BLOCK PLATES lll 110 ± soldier ( sh i ) 116 ± scholar (sh i 117 ) ' L walking (c huo ) 112 83 field ( t ian ) 118 122 gj wine vessel (you 128 'l to wrap up ) 123 ~ -Xi weapon (g e ) 124 132 130 JL how many Ci) x(bao ) 136 140 j l ghost ( g u i3 ) - 135 iJ' to reveal (sh i ) 142 138 144 125 146 !R to owe ( q ian 150 ) 148 BUILDING BLOCK PLATES 185 Index of Characters and Phrases Chineasy teaches mainly traditional Chinese (see p 11) Where the traditional and simplified forms of a character are different, the traditional form is given first, followed by the simplified form Where no distinction between forms is noted, the traditional and simplified forms of the character are the same ~ID!K account/bill (zhang *~ ) achievement/generosity (da qi :bD to add :*:A Ji adult (da ren ) (jian ) adultery ** ~ angry (huo da ) apricot (xing tk ) 2· argument (nuan ) AI artificial (ren ~a~ gong ) to ascertain (cha ming to ask (wen ) to assist (fu 1± at (zai t~ ) ) auspicious (xiang 'rT A bank account (zhang hu ) to bark (fei 4 to bark loudly (da fei ) be carefu I (x iao beautiful (mei 1iA xin ) beautiful lady (jia ren Jtt * ** ~~~ belly (du ) CICI ,~ big (da ) ) bird (n iao bitter (ku 3 blazing (yan yan 47 ~ burning hot (yan blessing (fu to blow ) (chui ) ) (mie ) 38 ) I 87 I 122 57 ) ) 129 2 84, 127 29 ) 67 buyer (mai jia ) 101 ~tltt to calculate (ji 115 :bDtN California (jia zhou m~~~ cat (mao) SA Caucasian (bai ren ~ to cause (yin ~ character (zi 104 27 115 109 to buy (mai 131 ) to buy back (mai hui ) 131 131 109 ) 1 ) 90 134 1111/1~ 63 ) ) 23 97 ) to charge in (chuang ,J,r.P 77 ) 101 cheat sheet (xiao chao ) ~ 53 to check (cha ) ta-¥ to clap hands (pai shou :JJ' a,ij *I* ~*~~* l:lj *I l:lj 75 ) 'Jti!R: 'Jt ~I!*:.~ ~ 1#.1'!*: 1# * cleqrly (fen ming to come (lai ) 101 89 ) 33 ) to come back (hu/ lai 'ltRI!R:.~ to come out (chu lai tt commerce (mai mai 2 37 ) 44 ) 131 ) 1313 to compare (bi ) 151 -~~ to compel (po ) 113 M to congratu late (he) 41 3C'G' iX to construct (jia 143 Ill~ 77 bleating of sheep INDEX AI$ 129 ) ox 36 bug (chong) 50 ) to blame (ma ) 1& 71 how much (duo shao ) 107 41 @]A_ Hui people (hui ren 72 A.RIA f* human body (ren ti 57 *A.** I am furious 37 ) gall bladder (dan ) 57 to gallop (feng ) 147 gas pedal/accelerator 121 43 to get out (chu) ghost (gui 3 ~ (fu jia nu 135 ) fl1i to go (qu ) 121 ) 127 horses running (biao ) 104 138 ) 2 3 ) 24 ) 38 35 (ben ren huo da ) 141 god (shen ) 143 97 P:J'L' good Chao) ~/1/J\ good intention (hao xi n ~~/~J\~ grandch ild (sun ) ~=fi~J\=f granddaughter (sun nu ) -t+ grandson (sun zi) 1.! grass (cao ) ~ grass (cao) 1* greed (lan ) -¥ group (huo ) ~-¥ hand (shou ) ~~ handrail (fu shou 'L' happiness (xing fu ~A heart (xin ) 1 3 3 ) heaven (tian ren *·•·• f'01 - n '*~ ~jA./I*JA 1m 1ili 'J'.5a *-R!J\:1:* ) 97 ) 146 147 ice (bing ) idiot (dai ) 36 idler (xian ren 69 ) to illum inate (zhao imp (xiao g ui 43 135 ) ~ in vain (bai bai B* 38 ) in the coming days (lai ri 2 it (ta ) 4 B*itt B*A Japanese language 55 ) 109 n.4 b·en3 yu 3) Japanese person 133 ( 55 n b en ren 2) Japanese woman 3 55 128 1113:/~ 3: (n ben nu ren ) 129 3: king (guo wang 48 3:~/3:~ king (wang 29 IJ\11/IJ\~~ kingdom (wang guo 100 ]] kitten (xiao mao ) ~ knife (dao ) 145 $.fi3i Rl=l 1=1 lamb (gao) 86 ~131 language (yu ) 21 58 78 ) B*~/ '"' ) 150 jade (yu ( 63 ) Japan (ri ben B*~A 89 ) *J3/* f3 as immortal (xian ) 133 101 ) ice (bing ) in general (da"' ti 133 •• " " ••• -, , -~ " " " , ~ ••, - , , , ,., , .,, , • o• •• , ,., , I 3i INDEX household (hu ) 147 frozen (dong ) girl from a rich family P:1- 93 87 68 *~~~ ) •P IF (you men) :±1 119 ) \ 188 30 119 5~P~ I5~fl ~ helmet (jia 33 71 2 79 ) 79 ) ) 79 134 88 41 to learn/practise (xi 109 ) 63 •• • , , , " " " f' 01 , - r • • -.• •, , , ~- " " " • • • • ooo • •• • • •, • , , , , , , ,., - • • • • • •, n ~ " ' " , ,., . o o , ,-, , • • ,., , ,,, " " " -~ • • • • " " 0 - -oo " oo o ••• _, ,.-,., • • • , , , - , .,., " " " • " " " "" -, , " " " " " " • • • l'oo •• • •O "' • ·•·• • • • o n • • • " """ " " " " ' " , - r oo • •• • Oo• - • ••" h f'O • o tr left (zuo ) ~,/~/1*1 leisure (xian 1~ letter/trust (xin I ittle (shao ) ) ) longhorn beetle (tian niu lucky (ji 2 ) ) I.DU\/1-D~l lynx (shan mao ) 8/fJL machine (ji ) H~ mad dog (guang quan ) 1 4 ~ odour (chou ) 99 67 B'5J of (de) 137 109 ~~IOOi.if official language (guo yu 133 T-"9: offspring (zi nu 75 )fij oil (you 117 )fij 83 oil field (you tian 134 - one (yi ) 60 3 120 ) 2 82 138 one's self (ben ren ) 113 on·eself (zi 99 ) *~,Q/ main entrance 68 originally (ben lai ~ ~ ~ A.-¥ ~ :3:: ~ ~** A.i!!A.~ *A.I*A ~ 139 ) T 17 man (fu) manpower (ren shou ) 101 107 11'1any (duo) 79 master (zhu ) ) medical industry (xing lin mermaid (ren yu ) messenger (lai ren mile (li 3 ) ) moon (yue) morality ( ren pin 1 ) ~' *H must (bi ~* 71 120 platform (tai 89 plum (li 56 police (China) (gong an ) 141 ) 97 -~ ) 141 ttl~ police (Taiwan) (jing cha it.?I~F poor (pin A.l=l poor household (pin hu }J population (reh kou power (li 2 36 CJ ) 141 131 ) llll 48 ) tB&! ) 101 plain (dan 83 141 ) ) 105 net (wang) ) 91 private (d) ) ) :*:JJJ.I:*:i:J: to obey (ru ) 93 ~~~ 34 99 not yet (wei Province (shan dong ren b natural disaster (tian zai ~[] 54 prison (liao ~JJJ.I~'!k * person frol1'1 Shandong 107 name (ming nine (jiu 16 ) ~ myself (zi ji 111 ~a 18 person (ren ) ) ) to plagiarize (chao ) 87 11'1utual (xiang 11 people (zhong ren ) :*:11±-T I:T0:3:: $ ) 93 24 19 ) 'f!fi A.!A A A 1-D*-AI 1-D*A peaceful (an) 37 22 4 ~ 101 pine (song 42 mouth (kou) 148 ) pig (shi 77 mountain (shan 34 ) 124 24 ) mother (11'1a ) Mrs (tai tai ) to pat (pai ) I:X ) molecule (fen zi 139 ) 120 male phoenix (feng me/1 (wo to owe (qian male (nan) (da men kou) 34 ordinary (fan 121 ) 18 :*:fll=l 109 97 madam (fu ren ) ) ) ~A 3 ) ) 104 24 90 ) 4 pregnant (da du zi) 115 ( pnnce wang z1.3) 97 princess (gong zhu ) 141 93 ) 140 public (da zhong public (gong ) 141 ) 18 ) to publish (chu pin quality (pin 3 ) 44 23 INDEX 189 ~ quantity of flowers (duo ~I queen (nu wang ) D,~/0~ question indicator (ma 5JJ.i~ quiet month for business ) 139 79 ) 4 (dan yue ) ~ rain (yu *~ rain shower (da yu ~** rainforest (yu lin ) ~7]< • 3 ) ) rainwater (yu shui ) rank odour (shan) /Jls :IJD )fil to reach (da ) to refuel (jia 1* rest @] 71' ==- rich (fu :l\:J51:l\:F ~ JII rich household (da hu ) QQ shout (xuan ) 95 fltlt± shrine (shen she 127 ~ 113 ~a 71 92 rough (cu) 126 2 ~IJ round trip (lai hui SJL~ to row Chua) 07]< safe (ping an Dffl saliva (kou shui Ill 7]< to scare (hu ) ± scenery (shan shu i t1t scholar (shi a to seek (zhao ) El1~ self (j i -~~ self-confidence (zi xin 1:!1 Jq]=f to sell (mai sentence (ju IX sentence (ju zi) 89 ) 145 3 72 ) 64 73 ) 117 ) 3 ) 4 ) ) serene (an xiang PT m1tff 1l seven (qi ) sequence (ci ) 1 several (han ji INDEX *·•·• f'01 - n ) ) ) Jlfffjc ~ IJ'\ ~A.!~ A t± ± ± =f ra~/IEl E3 130 ) ) 144 tO sit (ZUO 115 ) to sit at (zuo zai six (liu 143 ) 4 115 ) 82 ) stze d a xtao 3) ( 133 57 skin (fu) sky (tian ) small (xiao 20 132 ) society (she soil (tu 143 ) 114 ) soldier (shi son (zi 69 4 116 ) 96 ) space/room (jian ) 67 sparkles (jing ) 53 ~7]< spit (kou mo 1N spring water (quan shui tJ\ 3R/ state (zhou ) *s to stroll (guang ) 73 ) I to steal (pa ) 73 113 39 ) lll sunrise (dan 109 )f to surround (wei 131 =- ~ sweat (han ) 1.37 ll)J to talk (yan ) 137 ftliE: talkative (dao ) 149 ~ tall/length (chang ) 143 Jru5§ tea (cha ) 83 + tear (lei 52 ) 53 ) 22 ) 145 108 89 2 ten (shi ) 102 stupid (beh 80 13 1.39 to sneak out (shan ren ) aa 05* 23 sun (ri 102 ~~ 1::; 190 37 ) •• " " ••• -, , -~ " " " , ~ ••, - , , , ,., , .,,, • o• •• , ,., , 104 80 ) 40 ) 95 60 ) *IT 120 ) roof (mian'2) *@]/*@] sheep (yang 133 shield (gan 142 ) river (j i ang ~ l\.IJ'\ 54 95 23 ) river ( chuan ~) )I ~ sharp (jian ) /'\ 139 shell (bei 38 right (you 1 ) (shan dong) ~!.!n c:t l3ia *I Ill * 94 121 (xiu ) to reveal (shi Ill Shandong Province .J- you ) to return (hui m~Jll~ 77 72 several days (j i tian 85 129 ) 99 ) 83 •• • , , , " " " f'01 , - r •• -.• •, ,., ~- " "" • •• • ooo • •• • • •, • , , , , , , ,., - • • • • • •, n ~ " ' " , ,., . oo , ,-, , • • ,.,, ,, , " " " -~ ••• • " " 0 - -o o " oo o ••• _, ,.-,., • • • , , , - , .,., """ • " " " " " -, , """ " " " • • • l'o o •• • •O "' • ·•·• • • • on ••• " """ " " " " ' " , - roo • •• • Oo • - • ••" h1 f'O • o this (zhe4) 113 *.F.l - this month (ben3 yue4) 59 ~ I three (sanl) 82 I e!§ thunder (lei2) 119 to tie together (kun3) m *s woods (lin2) 33 work (gongl) 60 worker (gongl ren2) 61 A.rs~/ A.Il3J world (ren2 jianl) 69 102 ~ to wrap up (baol) 136 tiger (hu3) 64 1¥ year (nian2) 145 today (ben3 ri4) 59 IJ.!~ years (sui4) 107 tomorrow (ming2 ri4) 59 :tlfa'g yes (hao3 de) 137 too big (tai4 da4) 19 Yk you (ru3) 71 too much (tai4) 19 ~ younger sister (mei4) 48 to transform (hua4) 151 tree (mu4) 32 twins (zil) 97 two (er4) 82 !lull two mountains (shenl) 43 to argue (chao3 jia3) 164-65 ~1± ~~ unrestrained (zi4 zai4) 115 J.ttl~ bird (niao3) 160 USA (mei3 guo2) 79 tD button (kou4) 163 utensil (qi4) 27 frai~Ni cat (maol) 161 villain (xiao3 ren2) 133 qtct chirp (zil zil ) 167 volcano (huo3 shanl) 45 ,, , ,~ duck (yal) 160 walking (chuo4) 112 ~ the end (zhongl) 179 water (shui3) 70 m~ grandfather (zu3 fu4) 160 weak (ruo4) 122 ,~/."9.1 horse (ma3) 177 weapon (gel) 124 B.A.!~ A hunter (lie4 ren2) 161 ~ wel l distributed (yun2) 137 a+!ft!Jl miaow (miao3 miao3) 166 lit whirlwind (biaol) 126 nJll nJll quqck (gua3 gua3) 167 white (bai2) 62 T- son/boy (zi3) 160 whole (quan2) 79 ~ weapon (gel) 174 Whole-heartedly (quan2 xinl) 87 ~R wolf (lang2) 161 wide expqnse of Wqter 71 /~ I=El ml B~ S ** * 1t * H~~~/~@! s IJ\A X Ill ' L 7.}< ~ ~ ~ 'G'/it.'G' ~ )g3 (miao3) ~ wine (jiu3) 123 ~ wine vessel (you3) 123 & "9: winter (dongl) 147 wizard (wul) 60 P: A lll*P: A./ lll*"tl: A woman (nu3) 46 woman (nu3 ren2) 49 woman from Shandong 54 A Peter and the Wolf Province (shanl dongl nu3 ren2) INDEX 191 Acknowledgments The entire Chineasy project started out of a desire to teach my own children, MuLan (~.ll) and MuAn (~~)to read and appreciate the Chinese language and culture and a personal curiosity to see if I could tackle the enormous task of deciphering the Chinese language of my childhood Thanks to Bruno Giussani and Chris Ande.rson I was given the opportunity to share my private project on the global TED stage with a much larger audience than I ever intended, and I wish to thank Gary Sheinwald, Daria Pescador and Robert Leslie for their endless encouragement, constructive criticism and support during the four-month preparation leading up to my T ED talk To execute the project I enlisted the help of Crispin Jameson and his Brave New World team, who have done a beautiful job Throughout this process I also had the great pleasure of working with Noma Bar, whose fascinating illustrations have made my Chinese characters come to life Isabella Schoepfer's assistance as project manager has been vital I also want to thank Dimple Nathwani who has be.en looking after me for the past six years! I very quickly realized that Chineasy was taking on a life of its own, and as more people have come on board the project has grown even bigger The endless discussions with Crispin and Noma, designers Darren Perry and Carissa Chan and my research assistant, Vanessa Lu ( 81~1Ji!) about each illustration and every single design detail have become my daily routine and I still bring my 'homework' back to MuLan and MuAn for their 'approval ' It sometimes feels like standing in front of a pair of critical judges! I would also like to thank Judith Greenbury, who is the reason why I first chose to write a Chineasy book She is turning 90 years old in February 2014 and I want to make sure that I wish her a happy birthday here Throughout the whole project a number of people have continued to help and support me: Myron Scholes, Susan Bird, Lulu Wang, Bi ll Gross, Chase Jarvis, Tim Ferriss, Stefan Sagmeister, Phi lip Rowley and the Woo family- to all of you, thank you And last but not least, Lucas Dietrich of Thames & Hudson gave me the opportunity to serve those who are willing to go on this incredible journey with me I left home at the age of 14, and have run around the world to try to understand myself, and my place in the world, ever since I have looked for meaning and answers while walking barefoot through the Colombian Amazon, while sleeping in the Botswana desert listening to lions and hyenas, and while pushing myself to the limits of my endurance in some of the harshest, and coldest, climates in the world After all the searching and fuss I finally realized that the answer to my question could be found where I started- home I hope my calligrapher mothe.r Lin FangZi C~*~T-) and ceramic artist father Hsueh RuiFang ( liflliij]5=) can finally stop worrying about me, their rebellious daughter, now that I have found my place, and as I raise my own rebellious children I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I II + I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I tl I I I I [...]... to learn how to read Chinese blocks to make Chineasy possible, but it is my characters - Chineasy And you know what? It works childhood and my children that have inspired me to make Chineasy a reality I am proud to share Chineasy' s goal is to allow people to learn to read Chineasy with all who want to learn and appreciate Chinese easily by recognizing characters through the beauty of the Chinese language... as no surprise to me that recent years have seen a cultural trend With very little effort, students can quickly learn of Eastern migration by both young people and to read several hundred Chinese characters and business-minded individuals Everyone is starting phrases, and gain a deeper understanding of the to pay more attention to China, Taiwan, Japan, historical and cultural references of the vocabulary... references of the vocabulary South Korea and other Asian countries as they Even though there are tens of thousands of become increasingly popular tourist destinations Chinese characters, only a few hundred are actually and increasingly important as cultural , financial necessary to comprehend basic Chinese literature, and industrial hubs and to begin to delve into Chinese culture and art ·-····· ... Calligrapher's Daughter I was born in Taipei, Taiwan, the daughter of a Call me optimistic, but I see the melding of these calligrapher and a ceramic artist, so I grew up two cultures, East and West, as being instr:ument.al immersed in art and with a deep appreciation of in creating a more culturally literate world I also the beauty of the Chinese language Speaking and writing Chinese is an integral... Chinese language simple illustrations The magical power of the Chineasy method is that, by learning one small set of building blocks (see p 10), students can build Why Chineasy? many new characters and phrases Master a few China is home to ancient traditions, breathtaking sets of building blocks, and your learning can be artwork and what is currently one of the world's accelerated to a whole new level... by of the characters When I began to teach my demystifying the Chinese language, which acts as British-born children Chinese, I realized just how a barrier to so many people- my children included! challenging its characters are for a native English speaker It was like torture for my children! So Chineasy is hugely personal to me I have done I spent many years looking for a fun and easy many different... make a compound character (e.g ~'burning hot', see p 29) Two or more independent characters can be placed next to one another to make phrases (e.g ~~'blazing', seep 30) In compounds, a whole new character is created; in phrases, the placement of characters next to one another gives a new meaning to the collection of characters This principle of building blocks is what makes Chineasy so easy! o •• a o... quality to cause to return (xu an 1) ~ quality (pin 3 IBl ) to return (hu?) A mouth emits sound Imagine that each mouth This character is a This character is a Two mouths emit even more sound! This is a rare character, so use it to show is an opinion The quality of something is judged by what people say about it combination of 'mouth' and 'big' It also means 'because of' and 'reason' combination of a. .. construction, and traditionally foundations which is greater than a tree or a wood When used as an adjective, this character means 'dense', just like a thick cluster of trees surname were made of wood This chC~racter also means 'origin' This character is a combination of 'tree' and two 'person' building blocks In ancient China, 'to come' was represented by a character based on wheat, which had been brought to. .. Great Wall of Chinese Being of Taiwanese descent while raising my children in the UK has made me acutely aware of The Chinese language has long been considered the differences, but also the similarities, between the most difficult major language to learn, largely Eastern and Western cultures The ultimate goal on account of the vast number and complexity of Chineasy is to help bridge the cultural gap