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.

BOOK 4 provides useful, high frequency language and examples heard everyday on the streets of China. Part 1 gives the reader a solid basis for understanding Chinese in more different day-to-day situations, such as travelling around China, dating and everything in between.

Like BOOK 1, 2, 3 in this series, one of the unique features of this book is also the literal translation into English of common Chinese expressions and vocabulary. You can study the daily life topics in Part 1 in any order. Chinese facts and cultural information are also touched upon in Part 2 to give a better understanding of the Chinese people. Thus, Part 1 and Part 2, together with all the extra vocabulary and information in the appendix can provide a good reference resource.

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