A n Introduction to Chinese Proverbs and Their Origins are integrated materials for intermediate and advanced students of Chinese. It is designed to improve students' listening skills. It also broadens their cultural understanding. The material for this project is derived from idiomatic expressions used in modern spoken Chinese called chéngyu or yùyán. Each chéngyu alludes to a particular source narrative preserved and savored by the Chinese as an encapsulation of unique and significant comments upon life and society. Fifteen source narratives have been selected and rewritten for presentation. The selection emphasizes fundamental cultural values of traditional Chinese society. The materials reflect the insights of China's best scholars and writers over the century.

A n Introduction to Chinese Proverbs and Their Origins consists of two components: software and text. The former is designed for listening comprehension. The stories are rewritten in colloquial Chinese and are narrated by a native Chinese speaker. The presentation is further enhanced by the multimedia environment of the computer platform. The stories are digitized for immediate playback by the user. Appropriate graphics are also incorporated to enhance the effectiveness of the presentation. Exercises are designed specifically for each story. For the purpose of oral comprehension, there is no written text for students to read, and writing of characters is not required. In the text portion, the original classical Chinese version is presented alongside the modern colloquial Chinese version. All Chinese text appears in both traditional and simplified forms and there is a pinyin version for all stories at the end of the text. Each story has an annotated vocabulary list and appropriate exercises.

The materials are supplementary in nature and allow for a high degree of integration into any language curriculum. The material can be used to enhance listening skills. In addition, they can also provide the user with important and fundamental cultural knowledge that can form the basis of other communicative activities, such as student-generated dialogues illustrating the use of these fables and classroom discussions about Chinese culture. Furthermore, since the original, classical Chinese versions of the texts are presented, the material can be used as an introduction to the study of classical Chinese.

System Requirements: In order to view the slide shows and hear the audio on this website, you must have QuickTime 4.0. If your computer does not have QuickTime, please download the software. Website Instructions: 1. Listen to the audio in its entirety. Try to obtain a sense of the meaning of the narrative. Use the illustrations to help in comprehension. There is no written text to assist in comprehension. 2. Playback any portion of the narrative for clarification or comprehension. This can be done as many times as necessary. 3. Answer the four or five multiple choice questions on the exercise page linked to each fable.

 

Credits: The preparation of this project was generously funded by a special gift contributed by Mrs. Elizabeth Tu Hoffman and her husband Rowe Hoffman. I would like to express my deepest appreciation for their support and encouragement. This project would not have succeeded without institutional support and the help of many people. I would like to thank Wellesley College for the wonderful technological resources provided. I am grateful to Kenneth B. Freundlich, Manager/Advisor of Technology Applications, for his excellent technical support and advice. Special thanks goes to Annie Yang and Marlowe Shaeffer, students of Wellesley College, for their technological skills and many hours of designing, recording and editing of the computer software. Special gratitude to Mr. Lín Shèngyuán for his wonderful illustrations in this project.