Early One Spring

Adapted from the movie and screenplay of the same name by director Xie Tieli, this intermediate-advanced Chinese language film guide/reader helps students make the difficult transition from the simplified and fully explicated language of the textbook to the unglossed world of Chinese print culture. The authors have expanded on the traditional film guide by embedding the transcript of the film's dialog in a narrative. Designed especially with the growing numbers of heritage speakers in mind, this expanded screenplay format models for students a more formal, abstract level of language, with an emphasis on techniques of sustained description and narration. The screenplay format also provides added flexibility: while designed for use in conjunction with the film, the text may also stand alone as a short story reader. This screenplay, based on a May Fourth Movement short story by Rou Shi, offers an engaging introduction to modern Chinese literature, articulating many of the significant cultural issues facing China to this day.