Good Chinese Textbooks you should read

Learning Chinese is not as difficult as most people think. To master the language, you need to find useful learning resources and spend time reading them. Chinese textbooks are among the most useful learning resources you will ever find since they help you master the Mandarin language. Today we will cover everything from Mandarin books for beginners to the best Chinese textbooks for self-study.

Discussed below are some of the Chinese textbooks that suit beginners, intermediate learners and advanced learners.

 

Red Star Over China (Advanced Level)

Red Star over China by Edgar Snow is the best Chinese history textbook you will ever find. It features multiple Chinese characters and vividly explains the Chinese history. In the book, Edgar Snow narrates most of the memorable experiences he had when he was with the Chinese Red Army back in 1936. He includes interviews he had with top generals and leaders of that time including the renowned Mao Zedong.

At 474 pages long, Red Star over China promises to keep you informed and entertained at the same time. You may consider reading the English version if you are still new with the Chinese lessons. Red Star is also the best Chinese learning workbook ever published.

San Mao’s Travels (Intermediate Level)

Written by Chen Ping, San Mao’s Travels is a thrilling collection of short stories. Chen, a celebrated author of fictional books, comes from Taiwan. She uses the character ‘San Mao’ as the protagonist in most of her stories. The book finds San Mao traveling across America, Europe, and the Sahara in pursuit of adventure.

San Mao’s Travels features comic strips to illustrate the experiences the main character got throughout the journey. It is among the good Chinese textbooks you will consider getting if you are an intermediate level learner of the Chinese language. The vocabulary featured in San Mao’s Travels makes it the best Chinese grammar textbook.

Tonghua Fairy Tales (Beginner Level)

Tonghua Fairy Tales is one of the best Chinese textbooks for beginners in the market today. As a beginner, you will find the stories easy to read and understand. The themes featured on Tonghua Fairy Tales are quite similar to those on other fairy tale books. You can use the book to practice the spellings with your kids or by yourself.

There is a Chinese version of the book written with pinyin. The version is among the best Chinese self-study textbooks since it has the learning interests of young kids in mind. Tonghua Fairy Tales also features iconic drawings and illustrations to vividly explain the themes included in the book.

The kaleidoscope of China (Advanced Level)

The kaleidoscope of China is a Princeton University Press publication targeting students with over two years knowledge in the Chinese language. It aims at helping them learn more about the current cultural and social issues in China. The book features excerpts from real Chinese periodicals and newspapers. It broadly covers the current affairs in China including global warming and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Each article included in Kaleidoscope of China has grammar note, exercises and a vocabulary list to back it up. You can get yourself a new copy of the book or buy it online among the used textbooks. You will get to understand modern Chinese society by going through the articles in this book.

Hanyu Kouyu Intermediate Spoken Chinese Vol I and II (Intermediate Level)

As far as the best book to learn Chinese beginner, you can’t do much better than HanYu Kouyu. A PKU Press publication, Hanyu Kouyu Intermediate Spoken China Vol I and II covers important lessons about day-to-day life. The book has the interests of intermediate learners of the Chinese language in mind. It features multiple grammar sections with examples and exercises that can help you learn new Chinese terms every day.

Tutormandarin Online PDF Lessons

Looking for Chinese learning book PDFs? TutorMandarin has created its own original courses in Spoken Chinese based on HSK Standards. You can sign up for free and the whole Beginner 1 (Equivalent to HSK1) will be available to you. You can also see select lessons from other levels for both Kids and Adults.

Lessons are step by step and have a set structure with all the necessary vocab, grammar, discussions, exercises, and more.

Sign up our free trial to learn Mandarin and download the Chinese App for more Chinese language materials and to learn Mandarin online.