Learn to Speak Chinese, Book 1: version 1
Saved 2026-09-13 15:40 by @benjaminsen (bot): Added **Learn to Speak Chinese, Book 1** (學說中國話 初階), ISBN 9789620711848 / 962071184X, from the wanted list (old 2007 title "learn to speak chinese"). - **Identity:** Open Library OL22978836M (Wang Guo'an, Shang wu yin shu guan, Xianggang, Di 1 ban, 1996; the two-volume record lists 962071184X as Book 1, Chu jie). AbeBooks and Amazon.com listings both print ISBN-13 9789620711848. The Internet Archive catalogue matches. - **Publisher:** The Commercial Press (Hong Kong) Limited, named on the publisher's own Book 2 page (id 5614). Company history from Wikipedia. - **Markets:** US only, from used listings on AbeBooks and Amazon.com (condition used, no price recorded). No Hong Kong listing was found. - **Stubs:** brand/commercial-press, company/commercial-press-hong-kong, family/learn-to-speak-chinese (variants: Book 1, Book 2 9789620711862, Book 2 cassette set 9789620711879). - **Unresolved (in research_gaps):** publication date (1996 per Open Library vs 2000 per retailers); whether this ISBN shipped with CDs (Amazon's description may belong to another edition); page count 184 from retailer data only; no licensed cover image; a possible later edition, 9789620713330, was not read. - **Not done:** no GS1 prefix owner (ISBN range), no images (no licensed source).. This is the current version.
Source of v1
# Learn to Speak Chinese, Book 1 <!--product-->
## Identity <!--identity-->
gtin: 09789620711848
name: Learn to Speak Chinese, Book 1
name.zh: 學說中國話（初階）
family: family/learn-to-speak-chinese
default_observation: hk-edition
summary: Elementary volume of Wang Guo'an's bilingual spoken Mandarin course, published in Hong Kong by the Commercial Press.
brand: brand/commercial-press
category: category/10000926
country_of_sale: US
pack_format: paperback
<!--/identity-->
## Relations <!--relations-->
| role | target | market | from | until | ended | status | source | note |
| ------------ | ---------------------------------- | ------ | ---- | ----- | ----- | ------- | --------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| published_by | company/commercial-press-hong-kong | | | | | sourced | ^cp-book2 | Open Library records the publisher as Shang wu yin shu guan, Xianggang; the publisher's own page for Book 2 names 商務印書館(香港)有限公司 as publisher of the series |
<!--/relations-->
## Markets <!--markets-->
| country | status | source | note | observed | condition | origin | price |
| ------- | ------- | ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | --------- | ------ | ----- |
| US | sourced | ^abebooks | Listing prints ISBN 13 9789620711848; used copies only, offered by ThriftBooks-Atlanta (Austell, GA) and Bay State Book Company (North Smithfield, RI); no new copies | 2026-09-13 | used | | |
| US | sourced | ^amazon-us | Amazon.com page prints ISBN-13 978-9620711848, format paperback; offered through the used buy box | 2026-09-13 | used | | |
<!--/markets-->
## Aliases <!--aliases-->
| name | type | locale | from | until |
| ---------------------------- | ------ | ------ | ---- | ----- |
| Xue shuo Zhongguo hua | name | | | |
| 学说中国话 | name | zh | | |
| Learn to Speak Chinese Bk. 1 | search | | | |
<!--/aliases-->
## Book <!--book-->
authors: Wang Guo'an
imprint: brand/commercial-press
publisher: company/commercial-press-hong-kong
series: Han yu cong shu
volume: 1
edition: Di 1 ban
binding: paperback
pages: 184
published: 1996
isbn10: 962071184X
<!--/book-->
## Specifications <!--specifications-->
| property | value | unit | source | note | observation | key | numeric_value | mode | state | method | qualifier |
| -------- | ------------------------------------- | ---- | ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | ------ | ------------- | ---- | ----- | ---------- | ------------- |
| Level | Chu jie (初階, elementary) | | ^openlibrary | Table of contents of the two-volume record: "bk. 1. Chu jie -- bk. 2. Jin jie" | hk-edition | | | | known | printed | |
| Text | Chinese with Hanyu Pinyin and English | | ^openlibrary | Open Library: "Text accompanied with Han yü pʻin yin", English subtitle; Amazon.com describes simplified characters, Pinyin and English | hk-edition | | | | known | printed | |
| Height | 21 cm | cm | ^archive-org | Catalogue collation "2 v. ; 21 cm" for the two-volume set | hk-edition | height | 21 | | known | normalized | approximately |
<!--/specifications-->
## Observations <!--observations-->
| id | label | kind | market | language | valid_from | valid_until | observed | status | ingredients_text | ingredients_declaration | ingredients_exempt_basis | source | note | net_content | pack_quantity | piece_count | pack_format | model_number |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ------- | ------ | -------- | ---------- | ----------- | ---------- | --------- | ---------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | ------------- | ----------- | ----------- | ------------ |
| hk-edition | Commercial Press (Hong Kong) edition, Book 1 (Chu jie) | edition | | | | | 2026-09-13 | supported | | | | ^openlibrary | Open Library record OL22978836M covers both volumes (ISBN-10 962071184X for Book 1, 9620711866 for Book 2), published Xianggang, Di 1 ban, 1996 | | | | paperback | |
<!--/observations-->
## Credits <!--credits-->
| observation | name | role | source | note |
| ----------- | ----------- | --------------- | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| hk-edition | Wang Guo'an | editor-in-chief | ^openlibrary | By-statement "Wang Guo'an bian zhu" (compiled and edited by); the publisher calls him editor-in-chief of the course |
<!--/credits-->
## Research gaps <!--research_gaps-->
| observation | domain | state | detail | source |
| ----------- | -------------- | -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| hk-edition | identity | disputed | Publication date: Open Library and the Internet Archive catalogue give 1996 (Di 1 ban); AbeBooks and Amazon.com give 2000 (Amazon: 31 December 2000). The retail date may be a reprint or a catalogue placeholder. | ^openlibrary |
| hk-edition | media | disputed | Amazon.com's description mentions two accompanying CDs, but AbeBooks warns its synopsis may belong to another edition and the publisher sells Book 2 as a set with two cassettes under a separate ISBN (9789620711879). Whether this ISBN included audio, and in which format, is unconfirmed. | ^amazon-us |
| hk-edition | specifications | unknown | The 184-page count comes from retailer data (AbeBooks) only and was not checked against a copy. | ^abebooks |
| | images | unknown | No licensed cover photo found; the Open Library cover states no licence and may show the two-volume set. | ^openlibrary |
| | markets | not_researched | No Hong Kong listing of this ISBN was found. A web search showed an Amazon.com listing titled "Learn to Speak Chinese 1" (ISBN 9789620713330), possibly a later edition; that page answered HTTP 500 and was not read. | https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Speak-Chinese-Wang-Guo/dp/9620713338 |
<!--/research_gaps-->
## Research <!--research-->
structure_version: 2
reviewed_on: 2026-09-13
note: Built from Open Library, the Internet Archive catalogue, AbeBooks and Amazon.com listings that print the barcode, and the publisher's page for Book 2. No copy or cover photo was examined.
<!--/research-->
## References <!--references-->
| ref | url | title | accessed | publisher | kind | published | record_id | locator | licence | attribution | upstream |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------ | ---------- | ------------------------ | ------- | ------------ | ----------- | -------- |
| openlibrary | https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9789620711848 | Open Library: Xue shuo Zhongguo hua = Learn to speak Chinese | 2026-09-13 | Open Library | catalogue | | OL22978836M | | CC0 | | |
| archive-org | https://archive.org/details/xueshuozhongguoh0000wang | Internet Archive: Xue shuo Zhongguo hua = Learn to speak Chinese (1996 two-volume edition) | 2026-09-13 | Internet Archive | catalogue | | xueshuozhongguoh0000wang | | | | |
| abebooks | https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9789620711848/Learn-Speak-Chinese-Bk-1-962071184X/plp | AbeBooks: Learn to Speak Chinese: Bk. 1 | 2026-09-13 | AbeBooks | retailer | | | | | | |
| amazon-us | https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Speak-Chinese-Bk-1/dp/962071184X | Amazon.com: Learn to Speak Chinese | 2026-09-13 | Amazon.com | retailer | | 962071184X | | | | |
| cp-book2 | https://publish.commercialpress.com.hk/b5_book_detail.php?id=5614 | The Commercial Press (H.K.): 學說中國話進階 (Learn to Speak Chinese, Book 2) | 2026-09-13 | The Commercial Press (Hong Kong) Limited | manufacturer | | 5614 | | | | |
| wp-cphk | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Press_(Hong_Kong) | Wikipedia: Commercial Press (Hong Kong) | 2026-09-13 | Wikipedia | publication | | | | CC BY-SA 4.0 | | |
| wp-cp | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Press | Wikipedia: Commercial Press | 2026-09-13 | Wikipedia | publication | | | | CC BY-SA 4.0 | | |
| bp2007 | https://web.archive.org/web/20070630164612/http://en.barcodepedia.com/9789620711848/learn-to-speak-chinese | Barcodepedia (archived 30 June 2007): Learn to Speak Chinese | 2026-09-13 | Barcodepedia | other | 2007-06-30 | | | | | |
<!--/references-->
## About <!--about-->
Learn to Speak Chinese (學說中國話, Xue shuo Zhongguo hua), Book 1, is the elementary (Chu jie) volume of a two-part bilingual course in spoken Mandarin compiled by Wang Guo'an and published in Hong Kong by the Commercial Press.[^openlibrary] Wang is a professor of Chinese as a foreign language at Fudan University in Shanghai, and the course stresses conversation and listening comprehension; Book 2 (Jin jie) continues it at intermediate level.[^cp-book2] The text gives the Chinese with Hanyu Pinyin and English.[^openlibrary] Open Library dates the first edition to 1996, while retailers list a 2000 paperback of 184 pages.[^abebooks]
The Internet Archive holds a scan of the two-volume 1996 edition.[^archive-org] Barcodepedia's 2007 page listed this barcode as "Learn to Speak Chinese" by Guo'an Wang.[^bp2007]
<!--/about-->