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has learned, he will for the most part avoid the confusing classical pronunciation, and most of the characters he learns will be equally useful later on in the classical. After a few months of the colloquial character he will want to add some easy Wenli and simple Mandarin style, leaving the old high classical to the last. No matter what methods may be used, two psychological principles will be found useful. These are the principles of association and use.

The principle of association means that each new character is to be connected in the mind of the learner with something that is already known. If each separate character is learned as an unrelated unit, it is an almost impossible memory feat to memorize the four or five thousand characters needed. Having learned two or three hundred characters without making use of this principle of association, the student may fail to realize that each new character learned makes easier the learning of still others by enlarging his system of associations. Discouragement and despair at this stage have cut short the language study of many a student after the battle has been half won. The building up of a system of associations depends largerly on the analysis of characters into radicals and primitives discussed above (p. vii to viii).

The principle of use simply means that it takes time and persistence and repetition to learn written Chinese. There are, however, some methods of drill that are more economical than others. It is important, for instance, to put the drill where it is needed. A list should be kept of the characters you actually know, and those at various stages of learning. Those you know quite well may perhaps safely be allowed to rest for some months; others not quite so familiar can be kept usable by a look at them once a week; those you are just beginning with need to be seen in different contexts several times the first day. Some students secure the different contexts by having the separate characters written on cards which may be shuffled so that the characters come in random order; others write the characters in squares on a sheet of paper and secure variety by reading up, then down, then across to the left, across to the right, and diagonally. Others may secure variety by wide rapid reading skipping new characters for the time being, merely finding and identifying old friends on the way. Whatever method is used, however, drill is essential, and if the student can make a game of it keeping track of the increase of vocabulary, it will assist him to learn more rapidly. The old Chinese method of studying out loud has a good deal to commend it also. Many find that writing the character (either with a Chinese brush or a pen or pencil) is a useful method of calling attention to details and fixing the character in one's memory. Each student will discover new devices for him-