Written Chinese can call upon about 40,000 characters, many of which originated some 6,000 years ago as little pictures of everyday objects used by the ancients to communicate with one another. To convey more abstract ideas or concepts, the Chinese stylized and combined their pictographs. For instance, the character for "man"-a straight back above two strong legs-becomes, with the addition of a head and shoulders and arms held sternly akimbo, the character for "official." This book, modeled after a classic compilation of the Chinese language done in the 18th century, introduces readers to the 214 root pictographs or symbols upon which this writing system, whose rich complexities hold a wealth of cultural meaning, is based. These key characters, called radicals, are all delightfully presented in this volume, with their graphic development traced stage-by-stage to the present representation, where even now (in many of them) one can easily make out what was originally pictured-with the author’s guidance. Centuries ago, when the Japanese took up writing, they also adopted these symbols, though they gave them different names in their own spoken language. Each of the 214 classic radicals is charmingly explored by the author, both for its etymology and for what it reveals about Chinese history and culture. Chinese characters are marvels of graphic design, and this book even shows the proper way to write each radical, stroke by stroke. Finally, there are also samples of each radical combined with other radicals and character elements to demonstrate how new characters are formed-some 8,000 have been added to the language since the eighteenth century. With all its expertly executed calligraphic illustrations and fascinating commentary, this book serves as an excellent introduction to Chinese writing and its milieu.

• 关于产品：
• ● 正版保障：本网站隶属于中国国际图书贸易集团公司，确保所有图书都是100%正版。
• ● 环保纸张：进口图书大多使用的都是环保轻型张，颜色偏黄，重量比较轻。
• ● 毛边版：即书翻页的地方，故意做成了参差不齐的样子，一般为精装版，更具收藏价值。
• 
  关于退换货：
• 由于预订产品的特殊性，采购订单正式发订后，买方不得无故取消全部或部分产品的订购。
• 由于进口图书的特殊性，发生以下情况的，请直接拒收货物，由快递返回：
• ● 外包装破损/发错货/少发货/图书外观破损/图书配件不全（例如：光盘等）
  并请在工作日通过电话400-008-1110联系我们。
• 签收后，如发生以下情况，请在签收后的5个工作日内联系客服办理退换货：
• ● 缺页/错页/错印/脱线
• 
  关于发货时间：
• 一般情况下：
• ●【现货】 下单后48小时内由北京（库房）发出快递。
• ●【预订】【预售】下单后国外发货，到货时间预计5-8周左右，店铺默认中通快递，如需顺丰快递邮费到付。
• ● 需要开具发票的客户，发货时间可能在上述基础上再延后1-2个工作日（紧急发票需求，请联系010-68433105/3213）；
• ● 如遇其他特殊原因，对发货时间有影响的，我们会第一时间在网站公告，敬请留意。
• 
  关于到货时间：
• 由于进口图书入境入库后，都是委托第三方快递发货，所以我们只能保证在规定时间内发出，但无法为您保证确切的到货时间。
• ● 主要城市一般2-4天
• ● 偏远地区一般4-7天
• 
  关于接听咨询电话的时间：
• 010-68433105/3213正常接听咨询电话的时间为：周一至周五上午8：30～下午5：00，周六、日及法定节假日休息，将无法接听来电，敬请谅解。
• 其它时间您也可以通过邮件联系我们：customer@readgo.cn,工作日会优先处理。
• 
  关于快递：
• ● 已付款订单：主要由中通、宅急送负责派送，订单进度查询请拨打010-68433105/3213。