In recent years, China has grown to be a powerhouse in the world economy. Mandarin, Putonghua in Chinese, has always been the world’s most spoken language by sheer volume of native speakers but its value has also become especially important among foreigners and business professionals. With the ever increasing focus on international trade with China, Western interest in learning Chinese has grown exponentially.

As a Chinese native speaker fluent in English, I have been translating, interpreting and teaching for many years. I have not always been satisfied with the available books and materials for teaching Chinese to foreigners. Over the last several years I have tried, tested and perfected various lessons and techniques that apply well to Chinese studies. I have collected and now publish all of these modern techniques into books.

One of the unique features in these books is the literal translation into English of common Chinese expressions and vocabulary. For example, you can often see “lit.” with the grammar points in BOOK 1, showing the direct translation of the Chinese text. This will reinforce an understanding of sentence structure and grammar which has proven to be instrumental in helping you retain the Chinese you have already learned. Other Chinese language books do not use this approach.

In BOOK 1, Part 1 teaches the Chinese Pinyin system, the Romanization of Mandarin, often considered the foundation for learning the language. After Part 1 is completed, you can move on to Part 2 which provides an understanding of grammar points. There are useful examples to help you grasp each of the grammar points. Part 2 is arranged in such a way that any topic in this part can be studied independently.

Upon completion of this book, you will attain mastery of Chinese grammar and vocabulary.

NOTE: After you have learnt Pinyin (initials, finals and tones) in Part 1 of BOOK 1, you are ready to continue studying any books within the Modern Chinese series...BOOK 1, 2, 3 and 4.