"After a meteoric rise, China today is one of the world's most powerful nations. Just a century ago, it was a crumbling empire, with literacy reserved for the elite few. In Kingdom of Characters, Jing Tsu argues that China's greatest and most daunting challenge was a linguistic one. Just as important as China's technological and industrial advances and political maneuvers was the century-long fight to make the Chinese language-with its many dialects...

This book explores 52 Chinese characters from their ancient roots to modern usage. Each chapter contains explanations of the history and legends associated with the character, offering intriguing perspective on Chinese culture; quotes and idioms formed by the character that are insightful and fun to use in daily conversations; and strokes broken down by order, with space to practice handwriting.