Johan Björkstén

This is a fantastic book for students of Chinese, Japanese, or any other language using Chinese characters. It covers a lot of fundamentals that are often left out in language textbooks and classes (especially Japanese classes!). In particular, its guide to the general theory of stroke order is invaluable.

The book seems to be primarily aimed at a beginning student, but it would also be helpful to an advanced student who knows a lot of individual characters but not how to extrapolate from show more those to a more general idea of how characters work. show less

A book aimed at non-Chinese who have more than a pragmatic interest in Chinese handwriting, this book teaches you the beauty of calligraphy, and promises to deal with the different types of handwriting. Unfortunately, it doesn't go into enough detail. It's a beginner's book, and as such it is a good read. Lots of radicals and common characters are explained in a writer's context, which makes further study a lot easier.

A book aimed at non-Chinese who have more than a pragmatic interest in Chinese handwriting, this book teaches you the beauty of calligraphy, and promises to deal with the different types of handwriting. Unfortunately, it doesn't go into enough detail. It's a beginner's book, and as such it is a good read. Lots of radicals and common characters are explained in a writer's context, which makes further study a lot easier.

Interesting history of Chinese Calligraphy with examples. A nice summary