Princess Iron Fan

Films derived from famous Chinese literature are a good source to learn about Chinese culture, conversation, and idioms. They can be appreciated by students for the art and can be used in practicing narration skills.

However, students need to learn how to narrate a story with guidance. This set of materials provides such guidance. First, students are introduced to the main characters in the film and learn about the relationships between these main characters. Then, they learn about how to talk about the major events in the plot. Students are also provided with a summary of the story. With these practice exercises, students will be ready to narrate the film.

There are two reasons why this film was chosen to be taught to intermediate level students. The first is that this story is a memorable part of the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West, written during the Ming dynasty.

Princess Iron Fan was the first animated movie ever produced in Chinese. Along with the movie, vocabulary lists in Simplified and Traditional Chinese, along with grammar notes and summaries are included. These materials can also be used for self-learning.

Prof. Chao also compiled a study manual for two other films: To Live (活著) directed by Zhang Yimou (張藝謀) and Spring Festival (過年), directed by Huang Jianzhong (黃健中). Each manual has a script, glossary, sentence patterns, and exercises. They can be used for intermediate and advanced level students. These materials are available upon request through Prof. Chao.

For more information regarding the use of films in teaching Chinese and project-based ideas, please contact Prof. Der-lin Chao.