Introduction. Introduction 5

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1 Introduction This book aims to help you in learning the Chinese characters that appear in the corresponding units and sessions of Book 1. You should try to work through each session of this book either after you have finished the corresponding session in Book 1 or at the same time as studying Book 1. Each session in this book consists of writing and grammar exercises designed to develop your ability to recognise and write characters. To help you work on some of the character exercises, you will need a dictionary, indicated by this icon:. At the end of each session, you will find a table showing the key characters and a break-down of all the strokes used to write the characters in the right order, together with the pinyin spellings and English meanings. Your learning will be supported throughout the book by notes giving advice on various aspects of Chinese characters. A summary table outlining the main topics and key learning points is provided at the beginning of each unit. The key at the back of this book contains answers to the exercises. There is also an appendix listing 80 common head components. A head component is part of a Chinese character which helps to categorise it. For example, (she), (mother), (younger sister) and (elder sister) all contain the woman () head component. Introduction 5

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3 <Insert in Unit page image space the character for the number 1, taken from CiS original files (CiS1 p.18)> Unit1 7

4 Summary The table below shows the topics and key learning points covered in each session of this unit. Unit 1 Session 1 Nǐ hǎo Hello Stroke types Stroke combinations Stroke order Chinese calligraphy Session 2 Wǒ jiào Wáng Jīng My name is Wang Jing The evolution of Chinese characters Family names and given names Session 3 Wŏ shì yīngguórén I am British Pictographic characters Country names Converting sentences into questions Session 4 Zhè shì Wáng lăoshī This is teacher Wang Simplified characters Professions and forms of address 8 Practice Book 1

5 Session 1 Nǐ hǎo Hello In this session, you will learn the basic stroke types used in forming Chinese characters and how to put them together in the correct order. Exercise 1.1 Read the explanation below of the basic stroke types in Chinese and then copy the strokes into the following table. diăn héng shù zhé tí gōu piě nà Stroke types Chinese characters are made up of strokes. A character can consist of any number of strokes, from one to about twenty. A stroke is a single unbroken line, which can be made up of one or more individual stroke types. There are eight basic stroke types, which are listed below, along with several key variations. You will learn other variations of each stroke type as you go through the course. diǎn héng a horizontal stroke from left to right shù a vertical stroke from top to bottom zhé tí gōu piě nà a simple dot from right to bottom left or from left to bottom right a bending stroke, from left to right first and then turning downwards a diagonal stroke from bottom left to top right a hook, usually continued from another stroke a diagonal stroke, falling from top right to bottom left a diagonal stroke, falling from top left to bottom right Unit 1 Session 1 9

6 Exercise 1.2 The character for I/me contains five of the above stroke types. Can you identify them? Exercise 1.3 Look at the seven characters in the grid below. Above each one is a diagram showing how the character is put together, stroke by stroke. Count the number of strokes used to form each character. The first one has been done for you. 5 strokes sì four nĭ you (singular) hăo good ma [question particle] bù not zài again jiàn to see 10 Practice Book 1

7 Stroke combinations There are many possible combinations of the basic stroke types in Exercise 1.1, and you will pick these up as you go along. For example, in writing, you will need to produce the following two combinations: Horizontal plus vertical as one stroke (this stroke is used in writing and, for example) Vertical plus horizontal plus vertical hook as one stroke (this stroke is used in writing, for example) Exercise 1.4 Read through the note below about stroke order. Then go back to the grid in Exercise 1.3 and, in the spaces provided, practise tracing and then writing the characters in the right stroke order. Use the gridlines to help you write the characters in the centre of each box and to keep them a consistent shape and size. Stroke order When writing Chinese characters, there are some basic rules to follow about which strokes to put down in which order. Writing characters in the right stroke order helps you to memorise them. It also allows you to see similarities between characters and helps you to visualise how each character is drawn. Knowing the total number of strokes of each character will also be useful to you later on when using a dictionary, as Chinese characters are indexed according to their stroke count. On the other hand, it does not matter too much if sometimes you do not follow the correct stroke order when writing characters. Chinese people do not always follow the right stroke order. The most important thing is that you end up with the right character. Here are the five basic rules regarding stroke order in Chinese characters: 1 First left, then right 2 First top, then bottom 3 First left-falling, then right-falling 4 First horizontal, then vertical 5 First outside, then inside, before the last sealing stroke Example Unit 1 Session 1 11

8 Exercise 1.5 The following are the key characters introduced in this session. Test yourself to see if you are able to write the pinyin and English meaning on the left of each character without looking them up. The first one has been done for you. Check your answers against the list of key characters at the end of the session. nĭ you 12 Practice Book 1

9 Exercise 1.6 Practise writing the characters in the spaces provided in the grid above. Concentrate on trying to follow the stroke-order rules, but don t worry if you make a few mistakes. You can go to the list of key characters at the end of this session to check the correct stroke order for each. Exercise 1.7 Choose the appropriate character from the box to fill in the blanks in the five expressions below Exercise 1.8 Write down the five completed expressions from Exercise 1.7 in pinyin and translate them into English. The first one has been done for you. 1 Nĭ hăo! Hello Unit 1 Session 1 13

10 [This is a picture of a calligraphy brush dipped into an ink well, with some examples of calligraphy in the background.] Chinese calligraphy Chinese calligraphy is considered a form of art. This is how Nĭ hăo ma? (Are you well?) and zàijiàn (goodbye) look when drawn by brush in two of the many calligraphy styles: The four essential tools of a calligrapher are the brush, paper, ink and ink stone, together known as the four treasures of the study ( wén fáng sì băo). Brushes are made from animal hair that is bundled together and attached to bamboo reeds, or sometimes to rarer materials such as sandalwood, glass, ivory, silver and gold. The Chinese use hair from wolves, sheep, rabbits, deer, foxes and mice depending on how delicate or bold the type of writing. The paper should have a fine texture and be slightly absorbent. It is traditionally made from elm bark, as well as rice, bamboo, hemp and mulberry. The ink is made from the soot of pinewood or oil smoke and a gum substance and it comes in the form of sticks, which must be rubbed with water on an ink stone until the desired consistency is achieved. Both the ink sticks and the ink stones (made either of stone or pottery) are often highly decorative and prized as art objects in themselves. 14 Practice Book 1

11 Key characters The table below gives the stroke order, together with the pinyin spelling and English meaning, of all the key characters introduced in this session. yī èr sān sì wŭ liù qī bā jiŭ shí bù hăo hěn one two three four five six seven eight nine ten not good very jiàn to see ma [question particle] nĭ you (singular) nín you (singular, polite) wŏ xiè zài I; me thank again Unit 1 Session 1 15

12 Session 2 Wŏ jiào Wáng Jīng My name is Wang Jing In this session, you will learn about the evolution of Chinese characters and practise writing some of the key characters used in greetings and introductions. Exercise 2.1 The chart below shows the evolution of two Chinese characters. Find their current form among the characters listed in Exercise 2.2 and copy them into the evolution chart, along with their meanings in English. Evolution Current form, meaning Practice Book 1

13 The evolution of Chinese characters Archaeological discoveries indicate that Chinese scripts date back to more than 3500 years ago. The earliest characters etched on to pottery, or carved on to turtle shells and bones, on to bronze utensils or bamboo slips (cut and dried strips of bamboo) are usually stylised pictures of physical objects, composed of horizontal, vertical or curving lines. Chinese characters changed many times during their evolution, as is illustrated below by the character for horse ( mǎ). Its current form is the simplified character, used since the 1950s. jiăgŭ wén Oracle-bone script 1600 BC 1046 BC jīn wén Bronze script 1400 BC 220 AD dà zhuàn Large-seal script 1046 BC 256 BC xiăo zhuàn Small-seal script 221 BC 206 BC lì shū Clerical script 206 BC 265 AD kăi shū Regular script Since 220 AD xíng shū Running script Since 265 AD căo shū Cursive script Since 48 AD jiăntĭ zì Simplified character Since the 1950s Unit 1 Session 2 17

14 Exercise 2.2 Count the number of strokes used to form the seven characters in the grid below. The first one has been done for you. Then trace and practise writing the characters, following the correct stroke order. Again, try to write the characters in the centre of the boxes and keep the various strokes in proportion. 3 strokes xiăo little shén [part of what ] me [part of what ] wáng king fāng place jiào to call yě also 18 Practice Book 1

15 Exercise 2.3 In the grid below are the other key characters introduced in this session. Test yourself to see if you can fill in the pinyin and the English meaning next to each character. Then practise writing the characters in the boxes provided. You can check the correct stroke order, as well as the corresponding pinyin and English translations, in the list of key characters at the end of the session. tā he; him Unit 1 Session 2 19

16 Exercise 2.4 Turn the following affirmative sentences into negative ones by inserting bù into the right place within the sentence, as shown in the example. Example Exercise 2.5 Complete the following dialogues by filling in the blanks with the appropriate word or particle from the box below. xìng yě bù duì ne shénme 1 Nín guì? Wǒ xìng Lǐ. 2 Nǐ jiào míngzi? Wǒ jiào Lǐ Xiǎoyīng. 3 Tā xìng Wáng ma?, tā xìng Lǐ. 4 Wǒ xìng Lǐ. Nín guì xìng? Wǒ xìng Lǐ. 5 Wǒ jiào Fāng Guólún, nǐ? Wǒ jiào Lǐ Guì. 6 Tā jiào Wáng Jīng ma?, tā jiào Wáng Jīng. 20 Practice Book 1

17 Exercise 2.6 Complete the Chinese translations of the following English sentences by inserting an appropriate character into each gap. 1 What s your honourable surname? 2 My name is Wang Ying. 3 What s his name? 4 Her surname is also Li. 5 Are you Fang Guolun? 6 What is your name? Exercise 2.7 Wang Jing () met Jet Li ( Lĭ Liánjié) at a party, but he mistakenly thought Jet Li was Bruce Lee ( Lĭ Xiăolóng). Rearrange the following conversation into sequence. The first and fifth lines are in the correct order. Lĭ Liánjié 1 Nín hǎo! Wǒ jiào Wáng Jīng. Nín guì xìng? 2 Lǐ Liánjié. 3 Bù, wǒ bú jiào Lǐ Xiǎolóng. 4 Nǐ jiào Lǐ Xiǎolóng ma? 5 Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? 6 Nín hǎo, Lǐ Liánjié. 7 Nín hǎo, Wáng Jīng. 8 Wǒ xìng Lǐ. Unit 1 Session 2 21

18 Key characters duì correct; yes fāng place; [a surname] guì honourable; expensive guó country jiào to call, to be called jīng capital lĭ [a surname] lún ethics; human relations me [part of what ] míng name ne [particle] shén [part of what ] tā tā he; him she; her wáng king; [a surname] xiăo little, small xìng surname; to be surnamed yě also, too yīng hero; Britain zì character 22 Practice Book 1