A bit of this course…
This course is designed to introduce the basics of Mandarin Chinese. We’ll start by learning Pinyin (Chinese phonetics and romanization) and practice using simple sentences. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to introduce yourself, talk about your family, express preferences, count from 1 to 100, among a few other everyday topics.
In about ten years, we can absolutely discuss continental philosophy or the greatest fictions in Chinese, but for now we’re keeping things friendly and grounded in reality. All study materials will be provided.
Your instructor
Chien Tsai has extensive experience teaching Mandarin Chinese to adult learners. His academic background and research span comparative literature and Chinese as well as Sinophone cinema, and his teaching favors clarity, accessibility, and a sharp eye for cultural nuance. These days, he is digging into the rich fault line between the Homeric epics and ancient Chinese philosophy, examining how each tradition imagines what we loosely call “the soul.”
Selected Publications: Book Review, A Passage to China, Sinophone Studies