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Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars — A1 cover

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Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars

二十四孝

Devotion to parents, tested to the extreme

Traditional Chinese folklore · Yuan dynasty · drama, philosophical

A collection of celebrated tales in which sons and daughters go to astonishing lengths to honor and care for their parents. Tender, startling, and sometimes severe, each story holds up filial love as the highest of virtues.

Available levels
A16,235 字A25,999 字B16,011 字B25,119 字B2+5,471 字C17,613 字

Peek inside — compare all six levels

Karaoke audio ✓ Illustrations ✓
These are the real reader controls — Pinyin and English toggle live, and pressing ▶ on a passage plays the audio with karaoke highlighting, exactly like the reader. Every word in the book is tappable — try the + word chips below each passage: that's exactly how words go into your spaced-repetition drill while you read.

The opening · where the story begins — the A1 version:

hěn很jiǔ久hěn很jiǔ久yǐ以qián前,zài在zhōng中guó国,yǒu有yì一běn本hěn很yǒu有míng名de的shū书。zhè这běn本shū书lǐ里miàn面yǒu有èr二shí十sì四gè个gù故shì事。měi每yí一gè个gù故shì事dōu都shì是shuō说yí一gè个rén人duì对bà爸ba爸mā妈mā妈hěn很hǎo好。zhōng中guó国rén人jué觉de得,duì对bà爸ba爸mā妈ma妈hǎo好,shì是shì世jiè界shàng上zuì最zhòng重yào要de的shì事。bǐ比chī吃fàn饭zhòng重yào要。bǐ比shuì睡jiào觉zhòng重yào要。bǐ比shén什me么dōu都zhòng重yào要。xiǎo小péng朋yǒu友men们cóng从hěn很xiǎo小de的shí时hòu候jiù就tīng听zhè这xiē些gù故shì事。…

Words you'd collect from this passage:

Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars — illustration 1 every chapter is illustrated
Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars — illustration 2

Midway through · the plot thickens — the A1 version:

tā他cháng常cháng常xiǎng想mā妈ma妈。yǒu有shí时hòu候,wǎn晚shàng上yí一gè个rén人de的shí时hòu候,tā他huì会xiǎo小shēng声de地jiào叫:"mā妈ma妈。"dàn但shì是méi没yǒu有rén人huí回dá答tā他。bà爸ba爸hòu后lái来yǒu有le了yí一gè个xīn新de的tài太tài太。xīn新mā妈ma妈shēng生le了liǎng两gè个ér儿zi子。jiā家lǐ里duō多le了sān三gè个rén人。xīn新mā妈ma妈duì对zì自jǐ己de的liǎng两gè个ér儿zi子hěn很hǎo好hěn很hǎo好。tā她gěi给tā他men们zuò做hǎo好chī吃de的。tā她gěi给tā他men们chuān穿hěn很nuǎn暖hěn很nuǎn暖de的yī衣fu服。dōng冬tiān天lái来le了,tā她zuò做le了hěn很hòu厚de的yī衣fu服。…

Words you'd collect from this passage:

Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars — illustration 3
Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars — illustration 4

Near the end · no spoilers — just the language — the A1 version:

"wáng王xiáng祥xiào笑zhe着shuō说:"shì是de的,mā妈mā妈。nǐ你chī吃le了yú鱼,jiù就huì会hǎo好de的。"xīn新mā妈ma妈chī吃le了yú鱼。yú鱼tāng汤rè热rè热de的,hěn很hǎo好hē喝。tā她hē喝le了yǐ以hòu后,jué觉de得shēn身tǐ体nuǎn暖le了。guò过le了jǐ几tiān天,tā她de的bìng病hǎo好le了hěn很duō多。xīn新mā妈ma妈kàn看zhe着wáng王xiáng祥。tā她de的xīn心lǐ里yǒu有yì一zhǒng种shuō说bù不chū出lái来de的gǎn感jué觉。tā她xiǎng想:"zhè这ge个hái孩zi子,wǒ我duì对tā他nà那me么bù不hǎo好。dàn但shì是tā他duì对wǒ我zhè这me么hǎo好。"…

Words you'd collect from this passage:

Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars — illustration 5
Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars — illustration 6
Tap a + word chip to see how collecting vocabulary works.Same engine as the full course · 6h → 30d intervals

Which level should you study?

Every version tells the full story — A1 uses only the ~1,500 most common words, C1 reads close to the original. Choose the level just beyond what you know: most of each page familiar, a few new words on every page. Pinyin and a tap on any word carry you through those.

关于这本书 · About this book

这本书是根据中国元朝郭居敬编的《二十四孝》改写的简单中文版。这本古老的书讲了二十四个儿子女儿对父母很好的故事。 Insperium Chinese 分级读物有两个目标。第一个,也是最重要的,是学习中文——用适合你水平的语言,让你的阅读一步一步进步,不让你太累。第二个目标是慢慢带你认识中国和世界的经典名著,这样你从 A1 一步一步学到 C1 的时候,也认识了每个有文化的读者都知道的重要故事。 这些书的每一个设计,都是为了让这段旅程尽可能轻松、有趣——读书就应该是读书的感觉,而不是「学习」的感觉。所以每一章都有精美的插画;所以每本书都有两个部分:Part A 在每个汉字上面都标了拼音,在你还在学习的时候陪着你;Part B 只有汉字,等你准备好了,再读一遍。 原版的小说很长。《三国演义》本来有一百多章,《红楼梦》有三十多个主要人物。我们在长度和语言难度上都做了很多简化,所以你现在就能读到这些故事。等你的中文更好的时候,原版的书还在那里等着你。 怎么使用这本书: 这本书有两个版本的故事。第一个版本(Part A)在每个汉字上面都有拼音。第二个版本(Part B)没有拼音——当你准备好了,可以试试不看拼音阅读。 在阅读之前,先看看「人物关系」和「重要词汇」这两页。这本书有插画,帮助你进入故事的世界。读完以后,你可以做后面的阅读理解题来检查你的理解。

This book is a simplified Chinese version of 'The Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars' (二十四孝), an ancient Chinese text compiled by Guo Jujing in the Yuan Dynasty (~14th century). The original contains twenty-four stories of extraordinary devotion by children to their parents. Insperium Chinese graded readers have two goals. The first and most important is language comprehension — Chinese at the right level to grow your reading step by step, without exhausting you. The second is a gradual introduction to the great classics of China and the wider world, so that as you climb from A1 to C1 you also meet the stories every educated reader knows. Everything about these books is built to make that journey as pleasant and entertaining as possible — reading should feel like reading, never like studying. That is why every chapter is fully illustrated, and why each book has two sides: Part A tells the story with pinyin above every character to carry you while you are still learning, and Part B tells it again in characters only, ready for the moment you are. The originals are large — Romance of the Three Kingdoms alone runs more than a hundred chapters, and Dream of the Red Chamber has over thirty principal characters. We have simplified them deeply, in both length and language level, so the story is reachable now. When your Chinese is ready, the originals will still be waiting. How to use this book: This book contains two versions of the story. The first version (Part A) has pinyin above every character. The second version (Part B) has no pinyin — try reading without it when you feel ready. Before you start, check the "Character Map" and "Key Vocabulary" pages. The book is illustrated throughout to help you sink into the world of the story. After reading, try the comprehension questions to check your understanding.

Key characters

Shun

shùn

舜

Shun

Main character

A gentle young farmer whose stepmother and half-brother try again and again to kill him — yet he answers every cruelty with kindness, until heaven itself takes notice and raises him from the fields to the throne of all under heaven.

Liu Heng

liú héng

刘恒

Liu Heng

Main character

The most powerful man in China — Emperor Wen of Han — who for three long years left the affairs of state to others and sat by his sick mother's bed, tasting every bitter spoonful of medicine before it touched her lips.

Wang Xiang

wáng xiáng

王祥

Wang Xiang

Main character

A boy whose cruel stepmother falls ill and craves fresh fish in the dead of winter — so he strips off his clothes and lies upon the frozen river, melting the ice with his own body until two golden carp leap out to save her.

Guo Ju

guō jù

郭巨

Guo Ju

Main character

A poor farmer who resolves to bury his own infant son so his aging mother will not go hungry — and, digging the grave, strikes a pot of gold sent by heaven, sparing them all.

Min Sun

mǐn sǔn

闵损

Min Sun

Main character

A boy whose stepmother padded his winter coat with reeds instead of cotton; when his shivering exposed her, he begged his father to forgive her — with mother here, only one son is cold.

Key vocabulary

This is what stands between you and reading this book comfortably. You won't drill all of it — mark the words you already know and they leave the queue for good, so every minute of study goes to the words that actually block your reading.

中文PinyinEnglishHSKYour list
打战dǎzhànto shiver (牙齿打战: teeth chattering)6
井jǐngwell6
在意zàiyìto care about6
端duānto carry with both hands (端起碗: picked up the bowl)6
扑pū扑通: thud6
跪guìkneel6
嘴唇zuǐchúnlips6
太太tàitaiwife5
亮liàngbright5
吹chuīblow5
This is how you curate a book course — drill it, mark it known, or ignore it.+ 321 more words — every one drillable in the app

Try the course — this is the actual drill

The course has one goal: get you reading this book at this level as fast as possible. Every word is learned in real context — sentences straight from the story, not word lists — and a proven spaced-repetition system brings each one back right before you'd forget it. Your time goes only to the words you don't know yet. Here are the book's first five — flip, grade yourself, and feel how it works.

Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars · A1

New items

生气shēngqì
重要zhòngyào
药yào
难过nánguò
决定juédìng

Session stats

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Forgot0
Success Rate0%
ProgressLEARNED 0/5

5 cards remaining

← Forgot | Space flip | → Remember

Lesson progress

LEARNED 0/5

Details

Word生气

shēngqì

get angry

appears 11× · first ~11% into the story

Round 1 of 4

Word examples

他不生气

tā bù shēng qì

He didn't get angry.

他很生气

tā hěn shēng qì

He was furious.

他不生气

tā bù shēng qì

He didn't get angry.

Flip through the book

This is a real sample of the book edition — cover, characters, key vocabulary and the opening pages with pinyin. Turn the pages and see exactly what you're getting.

Interactive edition — available now

The Insperium edition is the one that teaches you: pinyin and karaoke audio, every word tappable, the full vocabulary course, and one level or all six, as you choose.

Get the interactive edition

What's inside the book edition

  • Part A — the full story with pinyin above every character
  • Part B — the same story in characters only, for when you're ready
  • Original illustrations in every chapter
  • Key vocabulary up front + the complete word list at the back
  • Sentence patterns & grammar notes with try-it-yourself lines
  • Comprehension questions to check your understanding

Read it freely

Every level comes with pinyin and karaoke audio that highlights as you read — so you can follow along even when the grammar is new.

Master the level, not just the book

The book's vocabulary is a full spaced-repetition course. It drills only the words you don't know yet, in sentences from the story, and reviews each one right before you'd forget — the fastest route to reading this level comfortably, here and in every book after it.

Start reading Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars in Chinese

Buy one level for $4.99 or all six for $9.99 — yours to keep, no membership needed.