Twenty Lectures on Chinese Culture: Exercise Book

by Linda Hsia, Parker Po-Fei Huang, Howard H. Chao, et al.

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300001282
• ISBN13: 9780300001280
• Release Date: September 1967
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.2" x 10.7"

Customer Reviews

still some value after all these years

This is still a worthwhile book for someone at the mid- to upper intermediate level in their study of Mandarin. It is true that the lectures are somewhat flavored by the political affiliations of the authors (at the time of publication the Nationalist side of things pretty much dominated Chinese language education in this country) but the lectures are interesting and cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from Chinese geography, history (ancient and modern), literature, art and religion, to name just a few. A learner can definitely get a great deal of satisfaction by working through this course and being exposed to a different political point of view also has some usefulness in terms of understanding mid to late 20th century Chinese history. Still, some work to make the book 21st-century friendly wouldn't be a bad idea. Certainly much more attractive fonts for Chinese characters are available now, simplified characters should be given in the vocabularies along with their traditional counterparts, and the anachronism that is the Yale system of Romanization should be put to bed- for good. Learners who have made it to the level where they can work with this book shouldn't have to be saddled with an outdated system of transcription. And just for good measure, how about recording the lectures on CD? Just asking.

When Yale ruled the world...

Ah yes, the classic text. I simply think that there could never be a better tool for learning than this gem. This would explain its continued use for so many years. Although by today's standards, it may be a bit rusty, but if there were a better book to educate we intermediate students on the basics of Chinese life, I would certainly like to see it. The authors may lean slightly Nationalist and slightly Confucian, but this is fine with me. The only complaint I have is the use of the eyesore known as Yale romanization, but I can get over it. Excellent text!