Ping-gam Go reveals the meaning of Chinese characters by means of their ancestral forms. He unveils the mystery of Chinese writing by providing and describing the historical pictograph for each character, thus aiding the reader to identify, learn and memorize Chinese characters. The reader will discover that it takes little effort and imagination to understand the most common and widely used characters. Go provides a full-color photo survey of San Francisco’s Chinatown and a dictionary of 288 Chinese characters.

• Character finder, divided into simple, intermediate, and complex categories.
• Dictionary of 288 characters, containing Mandarin and Cantonese pronunciation, ancestral pictograph, traditional Chinese character, definition, with cross references to the Chinatown photo section.
• As a means to teach some of the most common Chinese characters, Mr. Go provides a full-color photographic survey of a walking tour through San Francisco Chinatown, complete with full explanations of the signs.
• Dozens of practice exercises to help you memorize the meanings of the signs in Chinatown.
• Flashcards for the 288 characters provided in the dictionary section of the book.
• Flashcards for 41 of the most prevalent characters found on a Chinese restaurant menu.
• Alphabetical and subject indexes to dictionary entries.

This compact book is perfect for anyone interested in learning the Chinese language. It is suitable for young students learning in after-school Chinese programs to seasoned tourists traveling abroad.

Content is identical to the third edition except for the new cover and foreword by the author's daughter.