Announcing the ARC (Advanced Readings in Chinese) Newsletter

Advanced learners often feel like there isn’t a lot out there for them in terms of new learner-focused products, and they have a point. They make up only a small proportion of the total market, and they CAN just “go find stuff to read” on their own.

The problem, though, is that a lot of articles tend to be too long or too difficult, and it can be extremely time-consuming to try to find interesting material worth reading. Enter ARC (Advanced Readings in Chinese).

Each newsletter consists of roughly 5 short pieces (excerpts of longer articles, which are cited and linked). The 5 pieces typically consist of:

  • a news item

  • a “social trends” item (less time-sensitive, more focused on modern China and “the buzz” currently en vogue)

  • a visual piece

  • an alternative piece related to art, poetry, music, propaganda, or something else

  • a joke

(If this stuff reminds you a little bit of Reader’s Digest, or the Chinese version 读者 (Dúzhě), you’re not crazy! There was definitely some inspiration drawn from those.)

The newsletter isn’t political, but it does bring in the occasional view from Taiwan, as well as occasional propaganda pieces from the PRC. Although most pieces are in simplified characters, we sometimes include traditional characters. We link to browser tools that can help upper intermediate learners get through the pieces. We trust our readers can handle it.

Editors are AllSet Learning’s founder John Pasden and Peter Braden, a historian of modern Chinese. AllSet Learning’s native speaker Chinese teachers lend their support as well, of course.

ARC is a Substack newsletter, published weekly, free to subscribe to. This week the 7th newsletter will come out, so there’s a bit of an archive to browse already. If you have feedback, please respond to our survey.

Advanced learners, 加油！ We hope ARC helps you.

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