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Online Reading (Non-downloadable): Read China Inside Out with Only 300 Chinese Characters

Author：Helen Xiaoyan Wu, Qi Xin, Zheng Yetian

  • Medium：eBooks
  • ISBN： 9781625753540
  • Page Count： 305
  • Size：285 × 210 mm
  • Pub Date：2025-04
  • Annotation Language：English
  • Course：Listening,Reading ,Chinese Characters,Vocabulary
  • Target Audience(Age)：Middle School,College ,Adults
  • Target Audience(Language)：Elementary ,Pre-Intermediate,Intermediate ,Advanced
  • Price：
  • Category： eBook

Read China Inside Out with Only 300 Chinese Characters follows the 300 Chinese characters in Band 1; however, it is not limited to the scope of 500 words and grammar points in the same band. This reader adheres to the principle of "fewer new characters, numerous words and phrases, as well as long speeches and stories", believing that such reading material is one of the most effective pedagogical tools in international Chinese education. This reader boldly breaks through the convention by using the 300 characters into a variety of words and phrases and creating vivid works with about ten thousand characters in each lesson, three of which even go beyond such a length. Altogether, there are eight lessons in this book. From the Confucian teachings in the Spring and Autumn Period (770–221 BCE), Fifty-two Disease Prescriptions–the earliest known medical prescription collection in China, as well as “Heavenly Questions” and “Nine Songs” by Qu Yuan (around 343–278 BCE), to “The Han Triumph” by Liu Bang (256 or 247–195 BCE), Lessons Before an Army (Horses) by Zhuge Liang (181–234), private advisors from Shaoxing of the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1636–1912) dynasties, down to the present-day virtual world and neologisms, they are all reflected in our reader within the range of 300 characters. In addition to telling stories about China, this reader includes Canadian features, East Asian cultures, African families, and aspects of the Middle East. Bound with the 300 Chinese characters in Band 1, the texts may not have profound messages, but they encompass multicultural diversity inside and outside China, social trends, and the current national conditions. Long speeches with mini-commentaries and few words with deep meaning are seen everywhere.


Helen Xiaoyan Wu, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the tri-campus University of Toronto, Canada. She founded multi-stream Chinese courses, bilingual courses in Chinese and English, and the English and Chinese Translation program at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC). Dr. Wu served as the Associate Chair of the Department of Language Studies at UTSC and the Director of Chinese Language Studies in the Department of East Asian Studies at the St. George campus. Adhering to the principle of “fewer characters, more words, and longer texts,” she has developed creative works for pedagogical use and published relevant research papers. She has co-authored three Chinese language and Chinese Canadian literature textbooks, as well as a book entitled Research in International Chinese Education.


Qi Xin, an associate professor at Northeast Normal University, was the Chinese Director at the Confucius Institute, Seneca College, Canada, from 2018 to 2023. In addition to managing two projects provided by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, affiliated with China’s Ministry of Education, she has edited books such as Intercultural Communication and Intercultural Communication Reader for Primary and Secondary School English Teachers, and co-authored Research in International Chinese Education.


Zheng Yetian, a lecturer at Changchun Normal University, has participated in two projects provided by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation affiliated with China’s Ministry of Education, hosted three provincial level projects, co-authored two textbooks, and guided students to win multiple awards in provincial competitions.

Read China Inside Out with Only 300 Chinese Characters is a three-in-one book with pinyin romanization, Chinese in simplified characters, and English translation. The authors created this reader on the basis of  the 300 Chinese characters in Level 1 (the Elementary Level), Band 1, of the Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education. Given the small amount of Chinese characters, this reader contains many Chinese and international cultural insights from the past to the present. The richness of language, where characters are formed into words, words into phrases, and phrases into sentences, is fully realized in this reader.
This reader is recommended for the following: a) Those who have already had a solid mastery of the 300 Chinese characters in Level 1, Band 1, of the Standards such as heritage Chinese students who often have good listening and speaking skills but need to improve literacy and reading skills. b) Those who have reached the Intermediate and Advanced Levels set by the Standards. This reader contains many Chinese and international cultural insights from the past to the present. To study more and learn more, and learn more and study more is exactly the purpose that the authors would like to achieve. c) Those who would like to improve their Chinese and English bilingual competence and study the translation of the two languages.
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