Chinese Stories for Language Learners: A Treasury of Proverbs and Folktales in Bilingual Chinese and English (Online Audio Recordings Included)

by Vivian Ling, Peng Wang, Yang Xi (Illustrator)

Overview

The highly anticipated next book in Tuttle's Stories for Language Learners series is here!

This book presents 22 classic Chinese proverbs and the traditional tales behind them. The stories are bilingual, with the Chinese and English versions presented on facing pages. Each includes an explanation of how the proverb is used today, cultural notes, vocabulary and discussion questions. Audio recordings of the tales read by native speakers are included—giving students a chance to improve their pronunciation and comprehension.

Some of the proverbs featured in this collection include:

• "Painting the Eyes on the Dragon"
  Based on the story of a famous court painter in 6th century China who painted dragons, this proverb refers to the finishing touches needed to bring a work of art or literature to life. In a discussion, it refers to the final statements used to clinch the argument.
• "Waiting for Rabbits by a Tree Stump"
  Based on an ancient folktale about a foolish farmer who sees a rabbit kill itself in front of him by running into a tree stump, then gives up tilling his field to wait for more rabbits by the stump. This saying is applied to people who wait passively for luck to strike again. It also refers to impractical people who stick to one way of doing things only because it has worked for them once in the past.
• "Pure Water Has No Fish; Perfect People Have No Friends"
  Many versions of this historical tale exist. The one told here is about a 2nd century AD official sent to govern a far-flung outpost on the Silk Road who is fastidious in applying strict rules and thereby causes the local people to rebel against him. In the professional world, it is used to refer to people who do not like to work with an overly strict supervisor or colleague.

Whether being used in a classroom or for self-study, Chinese Stories for Language Learners provides an educational and entertaining way for intermediate Mandarin learners to expand their vocabulary and understanding of the language.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804852784
Publisher:	Tuttle Publishing
Publication date:	03/23/2021
Series:	Stories for Language Learners
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	348,789
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Vivian Ling was born in wartime China and educated in the U.S. She taught for 24 years at Oberlin College before moving overseas to direct study-abroad Chinese language programs, most notably the Inter-UniversityProgram for Chinese Language Studies at National Taiwan Universityin Taipei and Tsinghua Universityin Beijing. Her last position was Director of the Chinese Flagship program at Indiana University. She has authored and edited Chinese language textbooks, dictionaries, books on modern Chinese literature and, most recently, The Field of Chinese Language Education in the U.S.: A Retrospective of the 20th Century. She lives in Washington DC.

Peng Wang has been on the faculty at Georgetown Universitysince 2002, teaching various Chinese language courses including Business Chinese and Chinese for Heritage Learners. Previously, she was the chief instructor at the Inter-UniversityProgram for Chinese Language Studies at Tsinghua University, as well as a visiting faculty at Oberlin College and Brown University.

Yang Xi is an up-and-coming artist and illustrator in China. She is currently a Master of Arts candidate at the Nanjing Art Institute College of Fine Arts. Her distinctive style can be characterized as amalgamation of classical and contemporary, Chinese and Western.

Table of Contents

Why We Wrote This Book 7

The Literary Origins of the Stories in this Book 9

An Alphabetical List of the Chinese Sayings 12

1 Marking a Boat to Locate a Lost Sword 14

Modern Wives and Traditional Husbands

2 Learning the Handan Walk 20

China Opens to the World

3 Like a Frog at the Bottom of a Well 28

A Country Boy Becomes a Scholar

4 The Bamboo Painter with Real Bamboo in His Heart 36

Why Risk Failure?

5 Painting the Eyes on a Dragon 44

The Importance of Book Titles

6 The Great Teacher Who Provided Equal Opportunities for His Students 54

Need-blind College Admissions

7 The Fox Who Uses the Tiger's Prowess 64

Madame Mao: A Paper Tiger

8 Trust Old Horses to Know the Way 74

China Calls Back an "Old Horse Who Knows the Way" for US-China Trade Talks

9 Waiting for Rabbits by a Tree Stump 84

Waiting at Starbucks for a Mate

10 When the City Gate Burns, Fish in the Moat Suffer Disaster 94

The Collateral Damage of a Divorce

11 The Old Frontiersman Who Lost His Horse 104

Missing an Ill-Fated Flight

12 Pure Water Has No Fish; Scrupulous People Have No Friends 116

Learning to be a Friend of "Perfect" People

13 Bo Le Recognizes a Superb Horse 128

Recruiting Superb Language Teachers

14 Planning Lies with Man, But Success Lies with Heaven 140

Chasing Your Dreams

15 Azure Blue Is from Indigo But Surpasses Indigo 152

Leonardo Da Vinci and Maya Lin

16 Choosing Between Fish and Bear Paws 164

Juggling Career and Family Life

17 An Imposter in the Orchestra 178

A College Admissions Scandal

18 People Cannot Be Judged by Their Appearance; Oceans Cannot Be Measured with a Bucket 188

Laszlo the Janitor

19 Uprooting Sprouts to Help Them Grow 202

Cultivating Musical Talent

20 Keep the Mountain Green So You'll Have Firewood to Bum 214

Arising from the Ashes of War

21 Covering One's Ears to Steal a Bell 228

The Massacre at Wounded Knee

22 The Underdog Who Changed History 242

A Life Transformed by Education

About the Authors/Illustrator 256