Recommended books
Recommended books for very advanced learners of Mandarin Chinese (HSK 6)
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Pick the perfect books for you
Congratulations! You have reached the very top level of knowledge down the learning path of Mandarin Chinese. These are the books that we consider to be very useful and interesting for you given the cultural topics that they present such as modern Chinese literature and society as well as contemporary films.
We want to let you know that we invested time researching the marketplace for the best Mandarin Chinese textbooks and other printed materials, so you don’t have to. Just scroll, read and pick the ones you like or need the most.
Before you start browsing, know that for a complete and solid foundation in Mandarin Chinese, we recommend that you pair your printed or other online learning resources with our Online Mandarin Chinese Dictionary for HSK for the simple reason that it is the only online dictionary that you will ever need to learn Chinese both thoroughly and quickly.
Enjoy your Mandarin Chinese learning journey and feel free to return to us anytime; our doors are always open.
HSK Standard Course Level 6A covers 2250 words (of Levels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6a) and language points required by the HSK Level 6 test. The book is illustrated with photos that match the test’s style and is printed in full colour.
This course is developed for students who want to learn all aspects of the Chinese language. You will get a lot of practice in listening, speaking, reading and writing. This course also matches the HSK test in all aspects, from the content and form to the levels. So students can attend the HSK level 6 test after finishing this course.
There are 20 lessons in this course. The topics are as follows:
Unit 1 生 shēng 活 huó 点 diǎn 滴 dī Moments of Life
Lesson 1 孩子 háizi 给 gěi 我们 wǒmen 的 de 启示 qǐshì An epiphany from the children
Lesson 2 父母 fù mǔ 之 zhī 爱 ài Love of parents
Lesson 3 一 yī 盒 hé 月饼 yuè bǐng A box of moon cakes
Lesson 4 完美 wánměi 的 de 胜利 shènglì A perfect victory
Unit 2 不 bù 干 gān 平 Píng 庸 yōng Unwilling to be mediocre
Lesson 5 学 xué 一 yī 门 Mén 外 wài 语 yǔ 需 xū 要 yāo 理 lǐ 由 yóu 吗 mǎ Do we need a reason to learn a foreign language
Lesson 6 当 dāng 好 hǎo 职场 zhí chǎng 插 chā 班 Bān 生 shēng Be a good transfer student in a workplace
Lesson 7 我 wǒ 的 de 人 rén 生 shēng 我 wǒ 做 zuò 主 zhǔ I’m the master of my own life
Lesson 8 遇见 yù jiàn 原 yuán 来 lái 的 de 我 wǒ Meeting the old me
Unit 3 多 duō 彩 cǎi 社 shè 会 huì Colorful society
Lesson 9 不 bù 用 yòng 手 shǒu 机 Jī 的 de 日 Rì 子 zǐ A day without a cell phone
Lesson 10 全 Quán 球 qiú 化 huā 视 shì 野 yě 中 Zhōng 的 de 中国 Zhōngguó 美食 měi shí Chinese food in the global context
Lesson 11 我 wǒ 不 bù 在 zài 时 shí ，猫 māo 在 zài 干 gān 什么 shénme What do the cats do when I’m not home
Lesson 12 我们 wǒmen 都 dōu 爱 ài 白 Bái 噪 zào 音 yīn We all love white noise
Unit 4 走 zǒu 遍 biàn 天 tiān 下 xià Traveling around the world
Lesson 13 从 Cóng 旅游 lǚyóu 指 zhǐ 南 Nán 看 kān 世 Shì 事 shì 变 biàn 迁 qiān How travel guides reflect the changes in the world
Lesson 14 背 bēi 着 zhāo 电 diàn 饭 fàn 锅 guō 拍 pāi 北极 běijí Photographing the North Pole carrying an electric cooker on the back
Lesson 15 山 Shān 脉 mài 上 shǎng 的 de 雕刻 diāokè Sculptures on the mountain range
Lesson 16 徐 xú 健 jiàn 和 hé 她 tā 的 de 野 yě 生 shēng 动 dòng 物 wù 摄 shè 影 yǐng 师 Shī 们 men Xu Jian and his team of wildlife photographers
Unit 5 美 Měi 丽 Lí 家 jiā 园 Yuán Our beautiful world
Lesson 17 小 xiǎo 动 dòng 物 wù 眼 yǎn 中 Zhōng 的 de 慢 màn 世 Shì 界 jiè The slow world in small animals’ eyes
Lesson 18 神奇 shénqí 的 de 丝瓜 sī guā The magical towel gourd
Lesson 19 无 wú 阳 yáng 光 guāng 的 de 深 shēn 海 Hǎi 世 Shì 界 jiè The deep sea without sunshine
- 2500 words
- Native audio pronunciation
- Dictionary pop-up
- Etymology
- Write it!
- 12500 Sentence examples with audio
HSK Standard Course Level 6B covers 2500 words (of Levels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) and language points required by the HSK Level 6 test. The book is illustrated with photos that match the test’s style and is printed in full colour.
This course is developed for students who want to learn all aspects of the Chinese language. You will get a lot of practice in listening, speaking, reading and writing. This course also matches the HSK test in all aspects, from the content and form to the levels. So students can attend the HSK level 6 test after finishing this course.
There are 20 lessons in this course. The topics are as follows:
Unit 6 趣 qù 味 wèi 世 Shì 界 jiè The fun world
Lesson 21 未来 wèilái 商店 shāngdiàn Future shops
Lesson 22 2050年 Nián 的 de 汽 qì 车 Chē 什么 shénme 样 yàng What will cars be like in 2050
Lesson 23 大 dà 数据 shùjù 时 shí 代 dài The big data era
Lesson 24 体 tǐ 育 yù 明 Míng 星 xīng 们 men 的 de 离 lí 奇 jī 遭遇 zāoyù Sports stars’ strange experiences
Unit 7 经 Jīng 典 diǎn 阅 yuè 读 dòu Reading the classics
Lesson 25 草 cǎo 船 chuán 借 jiè 箭 jiàn Borrowing arrows with thatched boats
Lesson 26 奇异 qí yì 的 de 灯光 dēng guāng The extraordinary light
Lesson 27 完 wán 璧 bì 归 Guī 赵 zhào Returning the jade intact to the State of Zhao
Lesson 28 高 Gāo 山 Shān 流 liú 水 Shuǐ 遇 Yù 知 zhī 音 yīn The sincere friendship between Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi
Unit 8 人 rén 体 tǐ 探 tàn 秘 mì Exploring the human body
Lesson 29 “笑 xiào ” 的 de 备 bèi 忘 wàng 录 Lù A memorandum of laughing
Lesson 30 你 nǐ 睡 shuì 好 hǎo 了 le 吗 mǎ Did you sleep well?
Lesson 31 运动 yùndòng 的 de 学问 xuéwèn Knowledge of physical activity
Lesson 32 有 yǒu 时 shí ，不 bù 妨 fáng 悲 bēi 伤 shāng Sometimes it’s good to be sad
Unit 9 古 Gǔ 今 jīn 博 bó 览 lǎn Reading extensively
Lesson 33 怀 Huái 念 niàn 慢 màn 生 shēng 活 huó Cherishing the memory of slow life
Lesson 34 为 wéi 文 Wén 物 wù 而 ér 生 shēng 的 de 人 rén A person who was born for cultural relics
Lesson 35 走近 zǒu jìn 木 Mù 版 bǎn 年 Nián 画 huà Approaching the woodblock New Year Pictures
Lesson 36 中国 Zhōngguó 古代 gǔdài 书院 shū yuàn The ancient Chinese academies
Unit 10 热 rè 点 diǎn 追 duī 踪 zōng Tracing the hot topics
Lesson 37 警察 jǐngchá 的 de 故事 gùshì Stories of the policemen
Lesson 38 慧 huì 眼 yǎn 捕捉 bǔzhuō 商机 shāng jī Having an insight into business opportunities.
Lesson 39 互联 hù lián 网 wǎng 时 shí 代 dài 的 de 生活 shēnghuó Life in the Internet era
Lesson 40 人 rén 类 lèi 超 chāo 能 Néng 力 Lì 会 huì 改 gǎi 变 biàn 世 Shì 界 jiè 纪 Jǐ 录 Lù 吗 mǎ Will superman’s powers change the world records?
- 2500 words
- Native audio pronunciation
- Dictionary pop-up
- Etymology
- Write it!
- 12500 Sentence examples with audio
The Routledge Advanced Chinese Multimedia Course: Crossing Cultural Boundaries is an innovative multimedia course for advanced students of Chinese. Written by a team of highly experienced instructors, the book offers advanced learners the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge of Chinese through a wide range of activities designed to build up both excellent language skills and cultural literacy.
Divided into four thematic units covering popular culture, social change, cultural traditions, and politics and history, with each unit presenting three individual lessons, the volume provides students with a structured course which efficiently supports the transition from an intermediate to an advanced level. The many different texts featured throughout the lessons present interesting and accurate information about contemporary China and introduce students to useful vocabulary, speech patterns, and idiosyncratic language usage.
Key features include:
- Lively and detailed discussions of grammatical points and sentence patterns
- Engaging exercises for developing grammatical concepts and insight into the character writing system
- Systematic review of earlier material to ensure consolidation of learning
- Coverage of diverse and culturally relevant topics such as online dating, changing views of marriage, food culture, Confucianism and democracy in China.
- Extensive cultural and historical notes providing background to the subjects presented
- Complementary downloadable resources to enhance listening skills.
- Free companion website (http://duke.edu/web/chinesesoc) offering a wealth of video content forming the basis of many of the listening activities linked to topics within the book.
Extensively revised and updated throughout, this new edition includes new material and activities on synonyms and substantial improvements to the “composition”, “Focus on characters” and “Language practicum” sections.
The improved Instructor’s Resource Manual, which includes activity tips, additional exercises, answer keys and the traditional character texts, is available at http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415841337
Mastering Advanced Modern Chinese through the Classics is a textbook to teach those who wish to achieve an advanced or native proficiency and cultural competence in modern Chinese, as well as to experience the beauty of Classical Chinese literature.
Collecting representative works containing vibrant views of Chinese culture from different dynasties.
This book is focused on how the
- grammatical patterns
- vocabulary and
- idioms that are found in Classical Chinese are relevant in the modern adaptation of the language, and how
- the accumulated traditional values and
- beliefs found there still shape the thinking and lifestyle of modern society.
Online resources including
- audio
- answer keys and
- instructor aids will be part of the teaching package.
A revised one-volume edition of the popular upper-level Chinese language textbook
Since its first publication in 1999, Literature and Society has been widely used in Chinese-language classes at major universities and language institutions. In this completely revised edition, designed for upper-level students, this classic textbook continues to explore a variety of contemporary Chinese social issues through the study of Chinese literary works and essays.
This new edition condenses and consolidates the original two-volume set into one convenient volume. The first section, “Literature,” includes essays, short stories, and a play, and features a range of writers: Lu Xun, Lin Yutang, Liang Shiqiu, Wang Li, Xie Bingying, and Wang Meng. The second section, “Society,” includes essays by Fei Xiaotong, Ma Yinchu, Wu Han, Liang Sicheng, and Chen Hengzhe.
Literature and Society remains an innovative way for students to sharpen their Chinese language abilities while learning more about important areas of Chinese culture.
The selections delve into such subjects as population issues, ethics, marriage, the lives of intellectuals, and challenges faced by minorities in China.
Each selection begins with a brief introduction about the author and concludes with discussion questions.
The simplified character text and corresponding vocabulary words face each other on adjacent pages, and the traditional character text follows at the end of each lesson.
- Completely revised edition
- Original two-volume set now consolidated into one convenient volume
- Selections of literary works and essays explore contemporary Chinese social issues
- Each selection begins with an introduction to the author and concludes with discussion questions
- Simplified character text and corresponding vocabulary sit on facing pages
- Traditional character text appears at the end of each lesson
Advanced Modern Chinese: Learning through Contemporary Film aims to develop advanced-level Chinese students’ language skills through movies and broaden their knowledge about China, while also developing their appreciation of the artistic characteristics of film.
This textbook is based on the principles of content-based instruction and ACTFL Foreign Language Proficiency Guidelines for the “advanced” level. The authors carefully selected ten movies, of which eight were released after 2015, by filmmakers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United States. Rich themes are covered in this book and placed in ascending order from easy to difficult. The authors provide an informative movie critique in each lesson, followed by exercises on new words and grammar, pre-class preparation questions, in-depth classroom discussion points and after-class exercises on reading and writing. The authors also provide commentary on film cinematography covering topics such as film type, lens type, sound, editing and light in order to allow students to explore and analyze the artistic characteristics of film more systematically.
This textbook is specially designed for advanced-level Chinese students to learn Chinese through movies.