Language of the Dragon: A Classical Chinese Reader

by Gregory Chiang

In this popular textbook for learners of classical Chinese, Chiang offers a systematic and clear analysis of classical Chinese (wenyan) grammar, using 20 readings from texts of the Spring and Autumn, Warring States, Qin, and early Han periods. The texts are written in modern Chinese, and each reading draws connections between the modern and classical forms of the language. Written exercises are included. As a prerequisite for this course, students should have studied at least three years of modern Chinese. The text is in traditional Chinese characters and English. A vocabulary glossary by pinyin and four in-depth grammar-oriented appendices are also included.

496 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1999

Reviews

[Jonathan Mckay · Rating 2 out of 5]

不如看百度百科。这本书当中的描述偶尔让我糊涂，也没有描述最难的部分。如果你有起码现代汉语的了解，你可以看一眼目录来选择项看得课文，然后去网络找到更好的描述。

In the age before pleco, 百度百科, and 百度, I can see how this book would have been a godsend. But the fact is that almost every selection in the book has a more cogent and thorough explanation on 百度。 The translations, given in English and 繁体字 are of spotty quality, and the sections that I often had the most difficulty translating into 现代汉语，lacked explanations completely. The selections, unlike the first book, do not seem to go in order of difficulty.

It's sort of like reading an encyclopedia before Wikipedia was invented, so if you're into that sort of thing, this would be a good book for learning ancient Chinese.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great text, informative text of selections of classical Chinese compiled by Chiang. I used it in a second semester of college level classical Chinese and two three years after the fact still find myself leafing back to earlier sections. The book highlights many of the gems of classical Chinese language for beginners.