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self, but will probably find that the two principles of association and use or drill are essential parts of any really successful method of learning Chinese characters.

To write Chinese as a good Chinese penman writes it is a fine art, and is an ambition of doubtful utility for the ordinary Western student of the language. If the student wishes to undertake it, probably the best way is to secure copybooks with the characters outlined which the student must practice filling in with brush and ink. It is not, however, essential to write with a brush or to write beautifully in order to write Chinese. It is important to learn the proper order of strokes in writing, as otherwise hastily written characters will be illegible. While it is not likely that the student will learn to write as many characters as he can read, it is a real help in remembering the character to learn to write it. With the simpler modern styles of letter writing, it is by no means impossible for the Western student to learn to write simple letters, and this does much to make one independent of teachers.

The common square characters used in this Dictionary (kăi cê 楷字) are in the style ordinarily used both in printing and writing, though often with slight modifications due to haste or carelessness. Special ancient forms such as the seal characters (diông cê 篆字) can be deferred until the advanced student is able to study them through the medium of Chinese books on the subject. The two kinds of writing which are most apt to trouble the Western student reading letters or documents are the running hand (chō̤ cê 草字) and the abbreviated forms (siêu sia 小寫). If the proper order of strokes is observed, many of the so-called chō̤ cê are easily understood, as merely the result of hurried writing where less essential movements of the pen drop out. Others seem to deliberately eliminate all but the main outline of the character. Most of the abbreviated forms which are in common use have been included in this Dictionary. They should be learned the same as other characters. As they are usually used only for complicated characters they are very useful and save much time. A few of the more common forms are appended, showing three different ways of writing each character. The first column shows the printed form. The second shows the running hand of a good Chinese penman, though it must be said that individuals differ considerably in writing this form. The third form given is the abbreviated form. If the students will learn to recognize the forms here given and gradually add others as he meets them, an ordinary Chinese letter will soon have no terrors for him.