A Sketch of Chinese History is a brief summary of the major events that have shaped the China of today from its beginnings to the overthrow of the dynastic system in 1911. The primary object of this book is to familiarize students with the terms and patterns used in spoken and written discussions of current affairs. Secondarily it gives the student a command of some of the basic facts of Chinese history and culture. In actual use it has been found to be good preparation for newspaper-level-Chinese. They style is primarily pai-hau (bai-hua). Many years of use at Yale University has demonstrated that this text can be used as a transition from the vernacular style to the modern language of print. Many different kinds of exercises are included in this book and so it has also been used successfully as a spoken language textbook.
