THIS IS A BEGINNING-LEVEL COURSE IN WRITTEN CHINESE THAT EMPLOYS A REVOLUTIONARY NEW METHOD DESIGNED TO HAVE YOU QUICKLY READING AND WRITING SIMPLE, CONNECTED CHINESE SENTENCES. Along with its sister book _Basic Spoken Chinese_ and their accompanying workbooks, _Basic Written Chinese_ offers a complete introductory course to the written Chinese language. As a native English speaker, working hard to learn Chinese characters is not enough; you have to work smart in order to learn this very different language efficiently. No matter why you've chosen to learn Chinese—for business, travel, cultural studies or another goal—the _Basic Chinese_ approach of two separate but integrated tracks in spoken and written Chinese will help you learn this language most efficiently and successfully. _Basic Written Chinese_ is designed so it can be used in a class with an instructor or by independent learners working on their own. * _Basic Written Chinese_ systematically introduces 288 of the highest frequency characters (in both their simplified and traditional forms) and over 700 common words written with them in context in sentences and a variety of reading passages to help you master basic Chinese reading and writing. This method will greatly improve your abilities to read Chinese and write Chinese * The structure of each new character is explained in detail to make the learning of characters easier, and "look-alike" characters are compared and contrasted. * Many lessons include character differentiation drills and some lessons include realia such as name cards, street signs, or email messages. * Each lesson introduces 6 new characters and a number of words that are written using them. By dividing the leaning into small tasks, you maintain a sense of accomplishment rather than getting bogged down. * You'll experience both printed and handwritten forms of characters, as well as several different printed fonts. The downloadable audio features: * Over 6 hours of audio by several native Mandarin speakers. * Recordings of all reading selections. * Recordings of all new characters and new vocabulary. Available separately, _Basic Written Chinese Practice Essentials_ is the companion workbook for _Basic Written Chinese_. This practical guide includes a broad range of drills and exercises designed to dramatically enhance your proficiency in reading and writing Chinese. While designed for use with the companion textbook, it can be used together with any Chinese textbook or teaching program to hone your Chinese reading and writing language skills.