Table of Contents

The history and structure of characters - looking up characters in a dictionary; the aesthetics of characters - alive on paper; writing characters; the tools of writing; how to practice; the basic strokes; some composite strokes; stroke order; the aesthetics of characters - composition; some characters have a key stroke; characters fit in imaginary squares; repeated elements are executed with variation; some characters have left and right parts; some characters have left, middle, and right parts; some characters have a top-bottom structure; framed characters; a few difficult characters; the radicals; a poem and more characters to practice - "A Thought on Still Night"; characters to practice.

About the Author

Johan Björkstén has studied and worked in China for a number of years and has taught Chinese to nonnative learners. Currently a resident of Uppsala, Sweden, he has also published a beginner's textbook of the Chinese language.