Long Is a Dragon

Children's Literature - Uma Krishnaswami

Language, of course, is only a code for communication, and once you've cracked the code, you're on your way. This is the simple premise of Goldstein's slim book on Chinese characters, their derivation and meanings and, in very elementary form, the strokes that form the basis of Chinese writing. The instructions are clearly written. The author tries to render as simply as possible what is, after all, a highly rich and complex written language. With the help of this book, a child with a brush or a pen, some clean paper and a deft wrist, can attempt to write a few simple words. The numerically inclined can try writing the characters that represent numbers 1 through 12, and even hazard some guesses as to 13, 14 and so on. The pictorial nature of the characters is well demonstrated, providing a basic introduction to an interesting subject.