Stages 0 · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4
Chinese
Characters make sense, sentences have a skeleton, and every text is a writer's choices.
Seeds
CN-1
Characters make sense
CN-2
A sentence has a skeleton
CN-3
A text is what the writer chose
CN-4
Reading needs evidence
CN-5
Sound and rhythm
Stages
0
Early Start
What is this sound?
1
Observe and Say
Why does this character look like this?
- Build a character: meaning part + sound part In a meaning–sound character, the radical tells you the area of meaning and the phonetic hints at the sound: 青 + 氵/日/目/讠/忄 gives 清 晴 睛 请 情. Try it
- Sentence blocks: find the skeleton Remove the describing words and a sentence still stands on 'who + does what (+ what)'; add them back and it says more, not something else. Try it
- Radical families: what the left side means A meaning radical names a category, often in an older form: 月 in 肚 脸 腿 is flesh (肉), not the moon; 王 in 玩 珠 球 is jade (玉); 衤 is clothing but 礻 is worship. Try it
- One character, two sounds: let the sentence decide Many characters have more than one reading, and each reading goes with its own meaning: 长 is cháng in 长江 (long) but zhǎng in 长大 (grow); the words around it tell you which. Try it
2
Models and Patterns
Why did the writer write it this way?
- Tap the beat of a Tang poem A five-character line is read in beats 2 + 3 (often 2 + 2 + 1 or 2 + 1 + 2) and a seven-character line 4 + 3 (2 + 2 + 3); in 绝句 and 律诗 the rhyme falls at the end of the even-numbered lines, and line 1 may rhyme too. Try it
- Reorder and cut: writing is choosing Moving or cutting one paragraph changes what the reader feels first and what they remember; what a writer leaves out is a choice too. Try it
- Move a comma, change the meaning Punctuation is part of the meaning: it decides where the pauses fall, who is speaking and what is asked, so the same characters can say opposite things. Try it
- Pick the comparison: what does the reader see? A metaphor lends the reader features of a familiar thing: call the moon a 白玉盘 (jade plate) and they see round and bright, call it a boat and they see a thin curve; choosing what to compare to is choosing what the reader notices. Try it
3
Structure and Evidence
How do you prove your reading?
- How a word's meaning moves through time Meanings drift: in classical Chinese 走 meant 'run' and 去 meant 'leave', so read an old text with the old meaning, and let the context prove it. Try it
- Map an argument: claim, reasons, evidence An argument is a claim held up by reasons, and each reason needs evidence; a reason with nothing under it does not hold the claim up. Try it
- Explain a thing: numbers, comparison or analogy Listing numbers makes a fact exact, comparing with something known makes the size graspable, and an analogy makes it vivid but only roughly right; a writer picks the method by what the reader needs. Try it
4
Ideas we expect to meet
- Every character is a separate picture you just have to memorise.
- A character has only one meaning.
- Figures of speech are just decoration.
- The longer the essay, the better.