Threshold of Chinese Culture, a series of general teaching materials on Chinese culture designed for overseas Chinese learners, is suitable for overseas learners who are preparing for exams such as HSK, IB or AP, or enthusiasts who have a strong interest in Chinese culture. Threshold of Chinese Culture (vol. 1 and vol. 2) consists of four units, totally 16 lessons, with each unit named after a Chinese character, “美”(beauty), “智”(wisdom), “礼”(etiquette) and “和”(harmony). Starting with the first unit “美” and ending with the fourth unit “和”, the four Chinese characters take learners on a journey through Chinese culture from the shallow to the deep, as well as from the outside to the inside. The content, all-embracing but not opaque, covers geography and landscape, architectural design, painting and porcelain, literature and music, clothing, food, housing and transportation, ancient technology, etiquette and rituals, and Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. In addition to providing an in-depth reading experience, we have also designed a large number of cross-cultural comparisons and exercises, hoping to seek commonalities while preserving differences in mutual understanding, and to cultivate learners’ global perspective and mindset. As a cultural textbook, the whole book includes texts in both Chinese and English in order to lower the reading threshold.
Except for the paper materials, Threshold of Chinese Culture comes with an online learning applet, which includes not only teaching materials, videos, animations, games, atlases and other resources related to the material, but also learning micro-lessons specifically produced for the book. Delivered by real teachers, the 5-to-8-minute-long micro-lessons also include the refinement and supplementation of the content of the paper textbook, which can deepen the learners’ secondary understanding of cultural knowledge.
《中国文化入门》是一套为海外学习者设计的中国文化通识型教材。无论是准备参加HSK、IB还是AP中文等考试的海外学习者,还是对中国文化报以浓厚兴趣的爱好者,都可以使用本教材。《中国文化入门》(上、下)共四个单元16课。每个单元名都是一个汉字,分别是“美、智、礼、和”。从第一单元“美”开始,到第四单元“和”结束,四个汉字带领学习者完成一趟由浅入深、由表及里的中国文化旅程。内容涉及地理山水、建筑设计、书画瓷器、文学音乐、衣食住行、古代科技、礼仪制度及儒释道思想等多个方面,包罗万象却并不艰涩难懂。在提供不断深入的阅读体验中,我们也设计了大量跨国文化对比的内容和习题,希望在相互理解中,求同存异,培养起学习者全球化的视野与胸怀。作为文化教材,为了降低阅读门槛,本书全文做了中英对照。
除了纸质材料,《中国文化入门》还配有在线学习小程序。在这个小程序上,除了与教材相关的教学课件、视频、动画、游戏、图集等资源,还有专门为该书摄制的学习微课(付费)。学习微课由教师真人讲授,时长为5-8分钟,除了包含每课的知识点,也对纸质教材进行了内容的提炼和补充,可以加深学习者对文化知识的二次理解。
Paperback, Simplified Characters and English 200-202 pages/book, 11.3”x8.3"