How to write Chinese characters
Introduction to Chinese handwriting
Chinese characters are made up with strokes. A basic stroke is a single calligraphic mark moving in one direction across a writing surface. There are 41 basic and compound Chinese strokes. However, they are generally categorized into eight basic types, also known as the 永字八法 (yǒngzìbāfǎ; Eight Principles of Yong). This name derives from the fact that the character 永 (yǒng) encompasses all eight of the main Chinese strokes.
Watch the videos
In the videos, you will learn six basic strokes and some new characters.
Handwriting practice
When was the last time you wrote something by hand? Writing Chinese is a fun practice for you to memorize the characters. Get your pen ready to write some Chinese characters!
Instruction:
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Download the worksheet and print it out.
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Go to this website and type into one of the characters that you have learned in the videos or in the Reading section. You will be able to see the animations of the handwriting for the character.
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Follow the animation and start writing the character for at least 3 times.
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Repeat the same steps for at least 10 characters that you have learned.
For example:
Culminating group activity
(1) Search the Chinese characters on Twitter
Instruction:
Form a team of 2-3 students. Go to twitter.com and search for the key words such as :
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Chinese characters
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Chinese handwriting
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Chinese calligraphy
What information have you found?
*Remember to summarize the results of your search and share your findings in your group first. You will need to present your group' research results in our Zoom meeting.
(2) Make some 3D Chinese characters!
Instruction:
Now that you have learned how the Chinese characters were composed and how to write Chinese characters, you can make some fun projects with your teammates. Create an artifact with some cool 3D Chinese characters through one of the CAD softwares of your interest (e.g. TinkerCAD, Sketchup Free, Autodesk CAD). For CAD softwares, I recommend TinkerCAD which is easy to start for beginners in 3D modeling. Click here for learning how to use the software.
For example, this pictures shows the 3D Chinese character of hydrogen. Be creative! I look forward to seeing your projects!
Reference:
https://studycli.org/chinese-characters/chinese-stroke-order/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroke_(CJK_character)
