- This online course has 6 aspects:
• Recognition - learn to read cursive—both modern and historical!
• Writing - learn to write 150+ common characters in cursive!
• Deciphering - learn the principles of how cursive forms are created, so you can decipher them yourself!
• Self-teaching - you'll know exactly how to continue learning cursive on your own, to whatever level you want!
• Culture/appreciation - learn about (and read!) some of the most famous calligraphers and their works
• Simplified characters - many simplified characters were created from cursive forms. Understanding how this works makes it easier to see the logic of simplified characters!
Learn to read and write Chinese cursive
A crash course to help you read cursive, both modern and historical—and to write it yourself!
Self-paced online course with 16+ hours of video lessons (plus Q&A sessions!), just $299 $199 using discount code 'cursive' at checkout!
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Rated 4.8/5 by 1000's of Chinese learners
Student Testimonials (from our other courses)
Jim
USA
Margreet
Netherlands (living in NZ)
Susan
Taiwan (living in Australia)
Randy
USA (living in China)
Chris
USA (living in Finland)
Anand
India
Practical
Most native speakers write in cursive on a daily basis, so you WILL encounter handwritten Chinese. So why not learn to read it? It's not nearly as hard as you may think! Learning to read and write a few hundred characters, plus the principles of cursive writing in Chinese, will unlock a whole world to you that you couldn't access before!
Cultural
Learn to read the cursive writing you'll find on Chinese paintings and famous works of calligraphy. In this course you'll learn the principles of cursive that have been in use for the last 2000 years, so you'll not only be able to read modern handwriting, you'll be able to read and appreciate famous works of calligraphy too!
Lifetime Access
The course is entirely self-paced, and like all of our courses, you'll still be able to access all of the materials after you're finished. No need to stress about time—you can go through the lessons on your own time, and ask us for help whenever you need it!
- Curriculum
- About this course
- FAQs
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Lesson 1A: History and Types of Cursive Script
- Lesson 1B: Cursive Form Explanations
- Lesson 2A: Principles of Cursive I: Readability and Abbreviation
- Lesson 2B: Cursive Form Explanations
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Lesson 3A: Principles of Cursive II: Connectedness, Reusability, and Flexibility
- Lesson 3B: Cursive Form Explanations
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Lesson 4A: Principles of Cursive III: Uniqueness and Context
- Lesson 4B: Cursive Form Explanations
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Lesson 5A: Famous works of semi-cursive: 王羲之《蘭亭序》、蘇軾《寒食帖》、米芾《張季明帖》
- Lesson 5B: Cursive Form Explanations
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Lesson 6A: Famous works of cursive: 王羲之《十七帖》、智永《真草千字文》、韓道亨《草訣哥》
- Lesson 6B: Cursive Form Explanations
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Lesson 7A: Character Simplification—How It Works
- Lesson 7B: Cursive Form Explanations
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Lesson 8A: Next Steps: How to Continue Your Study of Cursive
- Lesson 8B: Cursive Form Explanations
- Each lesson also comes with some reading exercises so you can practice reading cursive, as well as 20 super common characters for you to learn how to write in cursive!
This course is self paced! You get access to all of the lectures and Q&A sessions we did in the previous live cohort of the course, plus I'll continue doing regular live "office hours" Q&A sessions via Zoom. Exams will be given at the end of each unit, and a passing score at the end earns you a Certificate of Completion, which will serve as fulfillment of prerequisites for future courses!
This is an 8-lesson crash course in reading and writing cursive. You'll not only learn to read and write some of the most common characters in cursive (both semi-cursive 行書/行书 and full cursive 草書/草书), you'll also learn the principles which govern how cursive characters can be formed. This way, you'll be able to decipher unfamiliar cursive characters you come across!
By the end of the course, you'll not only be able to read and write some of the most common characters in cursive yourself, you'll also have the tools and knowledge to continue learning cursive, to whatever level you want to reach!
In each lesson, you'll be assigned a few sentences to read, containins varying amounts of cursive. I'll explain all of the cursive forms, and also teach practical and cultural knowledge about cursive. You'll also have 20 characters to learn how to write in each lesson, and by the end you'll be able to write over 150 very common characters in cursive. You'll also learn about famous calligraphers and their work, as well as how a lot of simplified characters were created by "straightening out" cursive forms. At the end of the course, I'll give you practical advice for how to continue learning cursive if you'd like—you'll have the skills and knowledge to continue progressing on your own if you want!
Can I go at my own pace? Will I be able to access the course after I've finished it?
Yes! You get lifetime access, so we'll keep everything available online so that you can go through it at your own pace and review it whenever you want to!
How much Chinese do I need to know to take this course?
We'll be focusing on very common characters—this is the most efficient way to learn cursive for non-natives! Even native speakers don't generally write everything in cursive! They'll write most things in semi-cursive, and some characters in cursive. By focusing on the most common characters, you'll get the most bang for your buck! You'll be able to figure out unfamiliar cursive forms that you encounter in daily life, and you'll also be able to write by hand more quickly because you'll know how to write the most common characters in cursive (aka shorthand)!
So, if you know about 300 characters, you'll be ready for the course!
How long does the course take to complete?
There are 8 lessons, and we recommend doing one lesson per week.
How much time will it require per lesson?
There are two lectures for each lesson, and each is about an hour. You'll also need to devote some time each day to learning to write a few characters in cursive (4-5 per day).
We also did live "office hour" sessions for each lesson on Zoom, and all of those are recorded so you can watch them. There's a lot of great discussion, so we recommend watching the Q&A sessions! We'll also continue to do occasional live Q&A sessions.
There's also a discussion forum, so you can get your questions answered and interact with other students.
Will I need anything (apps, etc.) in order to take the course?
There's a free app for iOS, Android, and web browser, which you'll need to use during the course. The interface is in Chinese, but I'll teach you how to use it for the purpose of the course.
I also provide you with an Anki deck (Anki is a free "smart flashcards" program) to help you learn to recognize and write common characters in cursive.
Nothing else is required, but I will be giving some book recommendations along the way!
Can I study at my own pace?
Yes! I originally taught it as a live course, but it's now converted into a self-paced course.
Remember, you get lifetime access to the course, so you can take your time, rewatch lessons, etc.
What does "lifetime access" mean?
In practical terms, it means the course materials will be available online for as long as Outlier is in business. If we do ever go out of business or otherwise need to remove the course for any reason, we'll make the material available for you to download for a period of at least 6 months.
Can I get a refund if I decide the course isn't for me?
Yes! Our usual 30 day no questions asked money back guarantee applies to this course just like it does to all of our products. If you decide you don't like the course for whatever reason, just reach out by then and I'll be happy to refund you.
Will there be assignments or homework?
You'll need to set aside time each lesson to work through several short passages written in cursive. It's also best to spend some time (probably 10-15 minutes) each day reviewing cursive forms you've learned and learning to write new characters in cursive, with the Anki deck provided.
There will be a final exam after the course is finished.
Can we collaborate with other students or form study groups?
Definitely! There are over 150 students in the course community, so there are plenty of people of all backgrounds and interests that you can interact with. And sure, working together is no problem!
Your Instructor
John Renfroe
Co-founder, Outlier Linguistics
Before co-founding Outlier, John studied Linguistics and Paleography in the Graduate Institute of Chinese at National Taiwan Normal University. He co-founded and later ran the Taipei Classical Chinese Reading Group, a weekly reading group consisting mostly of graduate Sinology students from western universities. He also taught classical Chinese to members of the group who had no previous instruction in the language. His coursework and research focused on excavated Warring States bamboo texts, historical Chinese character morphology, and the Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字 and its commentaries and criticism.
Sign up now!
Self-paced online course with 16+ hours of video lessons (plus Q&A sessions!), just $299 $199 using discount code 'cursive' at checkout!
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Rated 4.8/5 by hundreds of Chinese learners