Radical Expressions:52 Thousand-Year-Old Chinese Characters That Are Surprisingly Relevant Today（《汉字会说话》） 平装汉语世界当代中国丛书

穿越千年的52个汉字与我们的现代生活息息相关
地道英文讲解汉字源流、用法；
鲜活的中国故事介绍当代中国

《汉字会说话》由资深汉语教学专家，波士顿大学黄伟嘉教授主笔。中外编写团队用地道的英文讲述汉字源流、用法，结合时事、历史，传播经典中国故事。
不同于一般汉字学习图书，该书把汉字放在鲜活的中国故事中，联系话题相关社会时事和文化潮流，如“年度汉字”一样，以高度的概括性，反映当下中国社会不同领域的最新发展。
例如：“创”与目前的创新、创业潮；从“观”切入，从古代“观象授时”到中国天文观测最前沿；从“兽”字切入，从把动物视为一种资源，到动物保护意识的觉醒；从“闲”字切入，欣赏古人的生活情趣，呼吁人们慢下来，回归对生活本身和传统的关注；从“喜”字切入，讲述古人闻鼓声则喜的简单快乐，到娱乐爆炸对现代人的冲击。
该书主要针对汉语学习者，但文章的可读性强，对中国文化感兴趣的一般读者也能体会到阅读的乐趣。
In this age of modern distractions, we may wish to remind ourselves of simpler times with the Chinese character for “happy,” or xi, which originally resembled an audience delighted by drumbeats. Evolving from scratches made on animal bones over 3,000 years ago, Chinese characters are imprinted with the marks of ancient beliefs, events, and figures that defined China’s history. Learning Chinese characters is a chance to dive deep into Chinese culture. Still vibrant, and ever-changing with the times, Chinese characters present a window to a civilization’s past, a mirror to its present, and a bridge to its future.


 

《汉语世界》杂志(www.theworldofchinese.com)是商务印书馆主办的英文双月刊杂志，有14年英文报道中国社会、文化和语言的经验。杂志以长篇、深度报道为特色，栏目内容涵盖时事、人物、文化潮流、当代文学、艺术、语言等，话题丰富，是海外读者了解当代中国的窗口，也是从国际化视角出发，讲述中国故事的典范。
The World of Chinese is a bimonthly English-language magazine dedicated to Chinese culture, views, news, and society. Published by The Commercial Press, the magazine features in-depth reporting, photography, award-winning design, never-before-seen fiction, and interviews with Chinese opinion-shapers and newsmakers. China is a story: We tell it.

《汉字会说话》全书共收录52个汉字，分为山川风物、世道法理、人情世故、知识探索和娱乐休闲等5章。每篇讲解一个汉字，介绍汉字的源流、演变、相关成语、俗语和用法。全书采用现代简洁的设计与装帧。
该书用地道且不失幽默的英文讲述汉字相关的历史、趣闻和传说。正文之外，附加字形演变的展示，从甲骨文到楷书，体现汉字之美。另外，还有笔划书写分解示范和练习区域。除汉字学习之外，该书围绕相关话题，介绍传统文化和当代中国，引发思考与讨论。对于汉语学习者和对中国有兴趣的海外读者都有广泛的吸引力。
   This book is a collection of 52 Chinese characters explained: The history and legends associated with the character offer readers intriguing perspectives of Chinese culture. Quotes and idioms formed by the character are insightful and fun to use in daily conversation. Furthermore, evolution of characters is explained from pictogram scripts to modern, simplified forms, as well as the modern usage of characters, the common phrases they form, and example sentences guide you through application. Strokes are broken down for each character by correct strokeorder, with space to practice handwriting.