Advanced (4th year+) level textbooks..what are you using?

[venture160]

Just wondering what people are using out there in their 4th year college level Chinese class, or at an advanced level of self study like myself （高级）. For my one Chinese class that meets twice a week I am using: (my school does not have 4th year, its a 1 on 1 class with our schools Chinese professor)

中国知识分子的自省

中国的危机与希望

社会与文学

these three books are by Princeton and I think are fairly good. Mostly 20's-50's literature and essays from great chinese thinkers.

In my spare time I am spending about 2 hours or so a day on

高级汉语口语（提高编）(Already studied last semester, using it to review)，

高级汉语口语II册，

高级媒体阅读，

高级汉语精度，

高级商业汉语

在商言商(Already studied last semester, using it to review, published by Cheng and Tsui)

[gato]

At your level, reading magazine articles, I think, is a good way to go. Check out 《财经》 which is the leading business/current affairs magazine in China:

http://www.caijing.com.cn/

[venture160]

Yea I make sure to read 财经 cover to cover whenever a new one comes out. Did read last issues article title 谁的鲁能？ Really fascinating, I heard the 山东 company tried to buy up all the copies in order to avoid bad PR!!!

Are there any other magazines you would reccomend that have a fairly high level of writing, but maybe less business focused? music, movies, lifestyle, society etc.

Thanks for your help!

[gato]

You are doing better than me. I haven't been as diligent, and since I subscribe to 《财经》, my copies of unread issues are stacking up.

For a more lifestyle/society-oriented magazine, you might want to check out《三联生活周刊》. A Chinese friend recommended it to me, though I have only browsed through it in bookstores.

http://www.lifeweek.com.cn/

The website doesn't seem to be compatible with Firefox but works with Internet Explorer.

[venture160]

When I worked in Beijing doing government/commerce stuff this fall, 财经 was seen as the premier source for muckracking, it even reported the ChenLiangYu scandal before anyone else.

[venture160]

Is there anything in China equivalent to say, the new york times magzine?

[gato]

财经 was seen as the premier source for muckracking, it even reported the ChenLiangYu scandal before anyone else.

I think it's only partly muckraking in the American because it is a government-owned magazine, after all, like every other major publication in China. The article on Chen Liangyu and the Shanghai social insurance fund scandal, for example, probably borrows heavily from central government investigative reports. That was my impression when I read the Chen article. Its tone was prosecutorial and bureaucratic. It gave no extenuating circumstances I can remember to give Chen Liangyu any benefit of the doubt. It had way too many details of investments by the Shanghai government and related entities for one to believe that a mere PRC reporter could have dug all that up.

Then there are the Caijing articles that I think are truly muckraking like this one about the forced relocation of farmers in Jiangsu. It reads much more like one written by a reporters. There are quotes from the affected farmers. It's also more balanced. Even though the tone of the article suggests that the author is against the forced relocations, the article does present some arguments for the other side.

http://www.caijing.com.cn/cns/jjqj/other/2006/11/26/1913554.html

江苏：“农民集中居住”得失

《财经》杂志/总173期 2006-11-26 21:54:37

As for why 《财经》 can be so daring in its exposes, I think it's because it's a national magazine based in Beijing supported by the central government (Wen and Hu might even read it). Reporting on local corruption potentially helps to strengthen the central government. The exposure of financial malpractice is also consistent with the party's goal of "rule of law" and a "regulated market economy". Note both of those things require a heavy government role. Nevertheless, many of the scandals do involve some powerful people, so generally the magazine articles come on the heel of central government investigations. I recall the phrase "government investigations have almost concluded" in a number of articles, and that of course gives a sense of the sources for the details in the articles.

[venture160]

Have you ever read 南方周刊？ I picked up a copy once and read a few articles and it didn't seem that bad, although their online version is in .jpg version and hard to read... no good for me right now, I am not in China.

[kudra]

Just wondering what people are using out there in their 4th year college level Chinese class

see this thread for a list of texts classified by year and school.

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