Stories from China is a series of extensive reading textbooks compiled by local Chinese language teachers for intermediate/advanced Chinese students or self-learners.

 

This series introduces Chinese culture to foreigners and improves their Chinese reading skills while teaching Chinese culture. The textbooks use stories to present vividly and specifically the glorious traditional Chinese cultural points that foreigners are interested in.

 

This series is divided into 10 volumes, including volumes of history, geography, folk customs, myths and legends, traditional culture, traditional festivals, arts, Chinese language, literature, celebrities, etc. Each volume uses 10 stories to discuss a cultural topic.

 

The volume of history includes ten aspects, namely Chinese dynasties, the unification of China by the First Qin Emperor, terracotta warriors and horses, the Great Wall, the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Monk Tang’s pilgrimage for the Buddhist scriptures, the Four Great Inventions, the Silk Road, the stories about Marco Polo, Zheng He travelling to the West Ocean. Besides these, it also provides such cultural tips as the Four Classics in Chinese literature, the ancient Chinese philosophers, Chairman Mao Zedong’s poems, poems of the Tang Dynasty, Monk Tang translating Buddhist scriptures, pills of immortality, religions in China, the relationship between Italian food and Chinese food, etc.  

Liu Meiru received her master and PhD degrees in Chinese Studies from Portland State University of America. Being the Professor of Chinese Language and Culture and the Dean of the Confucius Institute at Portland State University, Prof. Liu has more than 30 years of Chinese language teaching and Chinese culture promotion experience and has written many Chinese textbooks for foreigners.

 

Lu Lina received her master degree in Cultural Communication and PhD degree in Education from Portland State University of America. She is now the President of Chinese Language Teachers Association of the Oregon State. She has been teaching Chinese and the comparative studies of Chinese and American culture in many American and Canadian universities since 1986.