Capturing Chinese: The New Year's Sacrifice

3.8/5 ( ratings)

Lu Xun, the father of modern Chinese literature, is an essential read for the intermediate and advanced student of Chinese. The New Year's Sacrifice is one of Lu Xun's best works from his second collection of short stories, Wondering.

Due to its complex writing system, Chinese is one of the most difficult languages in the world. Full literacy of Chinese requires a working knowledge of three to four thousand Chinese characters and breaking into reading Chinese literature is a daunting task. Capturing Chinese: Lu Xun's The New Year's Sacrifice presents one of the best works of modern Chinese literature as a comprehensive tool to help students of Chinese read Chinese literature in its original form.

Footnotes highlight the more difficult vocabulary and pinyin is provided for the entire text. There is no need to constantly consult a dictionary or to look up difficult characters by radical. Historical events, people, and places are explained throughout and illustrations recreate the scenes. The text used in this book is in simplified characters. An English translation of the story is included and helps readers gain a full understanding of the story.

* Full story unabridged in simplified Chinese  
* Pinyin for the entire text  
* Definitions for difficult vocabulary  
* Historical explanations and summaries  
* English translation  
* Illustrations throughout  
* Free MP3s read by two native speakers

Free audio files of Lu Xun's The New Year's Sacrifice are also included with the purchase of this book and are available for download from the publisher's website, CapturingChinese.com. The audio files include both a woman and male speaker.