I Can Read That: A Traveler's Introduction to Chinese Characters

by Julie Sussman

English, Chinese

Genres: Language, Nonfiction

161 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1994

Reviews

[Ki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sitting at a dinner party once, and was talking with this woman about the Chinese language. I learned some written Chinese by studying the Tao texts, basically taking one character at a time, and tracking it down to its root. I come to learn the woman is Julie Sussman, and she wrote this book.

I learned that she did not learn to read Chinese herself. In fact, she somewhat avoided it so that she could use her impressive powers to teach it ... to people that knew nothing.

She was managing to keep herself in a state of being the student, and the teacher, at the same time. Impressive.

She gave me an autographed copy, although in fact I already owned a copy. It is a great FIRST book for casual interest in Chinese for travelers.

[David Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun read which will teach you some 75 Chinese characters. It's a great reference book to take along on a trip to China as you will encounter many of these symbols on signs there. I have given it to a couple of nieces and nephews when the have visited China, and I used it myself while traveling in Beijing, Hong Kong and Yunnan province.