ABOUT THE SPEAKER
ShaoLan Hsueh - Technologist, entrepreneur
ShaoLan want to help people understand China's culture and language, and to bridge the gap between East and West.

Why you should listen

ShaoLan is an entrepreneur, angel investor, geek, writer, traveller and dreamer. She is the founder and creator of Chineasy, which she launched after her TED Talk in Long Beach, California in 2013.

In just over three years, she has built Chineasy into one of the most popular methods of learning Chinese across the Internet with several hundred thousand fellow learners. Her first book, Chineasy, The New Way to Read Chinese, was launched in March 2014 and has been translated into 18 languages. Her next book, Chineasy Everyday, was launched in March 2016.

ShaoLan is a tech entrepreneur with extensive business experience. At the age of 22, while studying for her MBA, she wrote four best-selling books on software in Taiwan, and her books were bundled by Microsoft. She co-founded pAsia, one of the major players on Internet in Asia in 1990’s. After a second masters degree at the University of Cambridge, she began Caravel Capital in 2005 to advise young tech companies.

Chineasy represents a return for ShaoLan to her artistic upbringing and in many ways a design project. This project is the culmination of her life’s journey through the East and West. Her aim is to help people to understand China, Chinese culture, its language and to bridge the gap between East and West. Her next step is to help Chinese children to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of their own language. 

 

More profile about the speaker
ShaoLan Hsueh | Speaker | TED.com
TED2013

ShaoLan: Learn to read Chinese ... with ease!

薛晓岚:轻松学习阅读汉字!

Filmed:
4,781,742 views

对于外国人来说,学说汉语是一件困难的任务,但是学习阅读这些优美复杂的书面汉字可会容易些。薛晓岚通过简单的课堂,教导學生认识汉字背後理念和其意思,由简单的字根组成到复杂的概念。她管这方法叫“Chineasy”。
- Technologist, entrepreneur
ShaoLan want to help people understand China's culture and language, and to bridge the gap between East and West. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
Growing生长 up in Taiwan台湾
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我在台湾长大。
00:14
as the daughter女儿 of a calligrapher书法家,
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作为一位书法家的女儿,
00:16
one of my most treasured memories回忆
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我最珍贵的记忆之一
00:18
was my mother母亲 showing展示 me the beauty美女, the shape形状
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是妈妈为我展示了
00:21
and the form形成 of Chinese中文 characters人物.
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汉字的形意之美。
00:24
Ever since以来 then, I was fascinated入迷
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从那时起,
00:27
by this incredible难以置信 language语言.
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我开始着迷于这美妙的语言。
00:29
But to an outsider局外人, it seems似乎 to be
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但对于门外汉来说,
00:32
as impenetrable费解的 as the Great Wall of China中国.
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汉字就跟中国的长城一样
高不可攀。
00:35
Over the past过去 few少数 years年份, I've been wondering想知道
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过去几年,我一直思考
00:38
if I can break打破 down this wall,
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如何能够攻克这堵墙,
00:40
so anyone任何人 who wants to understand理解 and appreciate欣赏
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让那些要理解和欣赏
00:42
the beauty美女 of this sophisticated复杂的 language语言 could do so.
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这复杂语言优雅地方的人,
可以这样做。
00:46
I started开始 thinking思维 about how a new, fast快速 method方法
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我开始思考,如何创造一种新的、
快速的方法,
00:51
of learning学习 Chinese中文 might威力 be useful有用.
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有助于学习汉字。
00:54
Since以来 the age年龄 of five, I started开始 to learn学习 how to draw
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从五岁起,我开始学习
00:58
every一切 single stroke行程 for each character字符
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如何按照正确顺序、一笔一划的
01:01
in the correct正确 sequence序列.
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书写每个汉字。
01:03
I learned学到了 new characters人物 every一切 day
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在十五年期间,
01:05
during the course课程 of the next下一个 15 years年份.
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我每天都学习新的汉字。
01:08
Since以来 we only have five minutes分钟,
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因为我们只有五分钟时间,
01:10
it's better that we have a fast快速 and simpler简单 way.
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最好有一个更简易便捷的学习方式。
01:14
A Chinese中文 scholar学者 would understand理解 20,000 characters人物.
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一位中文学者认识二万个汉字,
01:17
You only need 1,000 to understand理解 the basic基本 literacy读写能力.
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你只需认识一千个汉字,
就可看懂简单的文学作品。
01:22
The top最佳 200 will allow允许 you to comprehend理解
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认识顶部二百个汉字,
01:26
40 percent百分 of basic基本 literature文学 --
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让你看明白百分之四十的基本文献——
01:29
enough足够 to read road signs迹象, restaurant餐厅 menus菜单,
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足以读懂路标、餐厅菜单、
01:32
to understand理解 the basic基本 idea理念 of the web卷筒纸 pages网页
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以了解中文网页的基本想法
01:35
or the newspapers报纸.
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或报纸内容。
01:37
Today今天 I'm going to start开始 with eight
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今天我用八个汉字
01:39
to show显示 you how the method方法 works作品.
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来展示这个方法如何有效。
01:41
You are ready准备?
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大家准备好了吗?
01:43
Open打开 your mouth as wide as possible可能
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把你的嘴张得越大越好,
01:46
until直到 it's square广场.
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直到变成正方形。
01:48
You get a mouth.
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这就是一个“口“字。
01:50
This is a person going for a walk步行.
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这是一个人正在散步。
01:53
Person.
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“人”字。
01:57
If the shape形状 of the fire is a person
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“火”字的形状就是
01:59
with two arms武器 on both sides双方,
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一个人在两边有两只胳膊,
02:02
as if she was yelling大呼小叫 frantically疯狂,
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好像她正在大喊大叫:
02:04
"Help! I'm on fire!" --
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“救命啊!我着火了!” ——
02:07
This symbol符号 actually其实 is originally本来 from the shape形状 of the flame火焰,
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实际上,这符号最初
来自于火苗的形状,
02:11
but I like to think that way. Whichever任何 works作品 for you.
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但是我喜欢那方法。
大家随便选。
02:15
This is a tree.
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这是一棵树木。
02:18
Tree.
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"木"。
02:20
This is a mountain.
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这是一座"山"。
02:24
The sun太阳.
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"日"。
02:29
The moon月亮.
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"月"。
02:34
The symbol符号 of the door
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“門”的符号
02:36
looks容貌 like a pair of saloon轿车 doors in the wild野生 west西.
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就像狂野西部片里轿车上的一对门。
02:41
I call these eight characters人物 radicals自由基.
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我称这八个字为基本字,
02:45
They are the building建造 blocks
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它们是一堆组件,
02:47
for you to create创建 lots more characters人物.
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以创造出很多其他的字。
02:51
A person.
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一个“人”。
02:53
If someone有人 walks散步 behind背后, that is "to follow跟随."
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如果另一个人走在后面,
意思就是“跟随”。
02:57
As the old saying goes,
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有句谚语,
02:59
two is company公司, three is a crowd人群.
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二人为从,三人为众。
03:03
If a person stretched拉伸 their arms武器 wide,
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如果有个人打开双臂,
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this person is saying, "It was this big."
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这个人说:「它有这么大。」
03:10
The person inside the mouth, the person is trapped被困.
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把“人”放在“口”里,这个人被困住了。
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He's a prisoner囚犯, just like Jonah约拿 inside the whale.
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他就变成了"囚"徒,
就像约拿被困在鲸鱼肚子里。
03:20
One tree is a tree. Two trees树木 together一起, we have the woods树木.
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一棵树是"木"。
两棵树在一起,就是“树林”。
03:24
Three trees树木 together一起, we create创建 the forest森林.
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三棵树在一起,就是“森林”。
03:27
Put a plank underneath the tree, we have the foundation基础.
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把一块木板放在树下面,
我们就有了“基本”。
03:31
Put a mouth on the top最佳 of the tree, that's "idiot白痴." (Laughter笑声)
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把一张嘴放在树上,那是“呆子”。
(笑声)
03:35
Easy简单 to remember记得,
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记起来非常容易,
03:37
since以来 a talking tree is pretty漂亮 idiotic.
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因为一棵会说话的树
是很呆傻的事情。
03:42
Remember记得 fire?
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还记得“火”吗?
03:44
Two fires火灾 together一起, I get really hot.
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两团“火”在一起,就变得非常“炎热”了。
03:47
Three fires火灾 together一起, that's a lot of flames火焰.
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三团“火”在一起,就是“焱”,
非常多的火焰。
03:50
Set the fire underneath the two trees树木, it's burning燃烧.
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把火放在两棵树下,
就会“焚烧”。
03:54
For us, the sun太阳 is the source资源 of prosperity繁荣.
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对于我们来说,
太阳是一切生机的来源。
03:58
Two suns太阳 together一起, prosperous繁荣.
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两个太阳在一起,就是“昌”盛。
04:00
Three together一起, that's sparkles火花.
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三个太阳在一起,
那就“闪闪发光亮晶晶”。
04:02
Put the sun太阳 and the moon月亮 shining闪亮的 together一起,
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当太阳和月亮在一起闪耀时,
04:04
it's brightness亮度.
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那就是“光明”。
04:05
It also means手段 tomorrow明天, after a day and a night.
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一个白天一个夜晚之后,就是"明天"。
04:10
The sun太阳 is coming未来 up above以上 the horizon地平线. Sunrise日出.
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太阳正从地平线上升起。“旦”。
04:14
A door. Put a plank inside the door,
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一扇“门”。在门里放块木板,
04:17
it's a door bolt螺栓.
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就是“门闩”。
04:19
Put a mouth inside the door, asking questions问题.
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把一张嘴放在门里,就是“问”。
04:22
Knock knock. Is anyone任何人 home?
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“砰砰”,有人在家吗?
04:26
This person is sneaking鬼鬼祟祟 out of a door,
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这人正要溜出门口,
04:28
escaping逃逸, evading回避.
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“躲闪”,“逃避”。
04:31
On the left, we have a woman女人.
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左边,我们有一个女人。
04:33
Two women妇女 together一起, they have an argument论据.
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两个女人在一起,准会有场争论。
04:36
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
04:38
Three women妇女 together一起, be careful小心, it's adultery通奸.
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三个女人在一起,要小心,就是通"姦"。
04:44
So we have gone走了 through通过 almost几乎 30 characters人物.
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我们已经学了差不多三十个汉字,
04:48
By using运用 this method方法, the first eight radicals自由基
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通过这个方法,这八个基本字
04:51
will allow允许 you to build建立 32.
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可以衍生出三十二个汉字,
04:53
The next下一个 group of eight characters人物
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下一组的八个汉字
04:55
will build建立 an extra额外 32.
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又会衍生出另外32个汉字。
04:57
So with very little effort功夫,
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所以,大家很轻松地
04:59
you will be able能够 to learn学习 a couple一对 hundred characters人物,
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就可学到几百个汉字,
05:02
which哪一个 is the same相同 as a Chinese中文 eight-year-old八岁.
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这相当于八岁中国孩子的汉语程度。
05:04
So after we know the characters人物, we start开始 building建造 phrases短语.
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在学过了这些字后,我们开始学习造词组。
05:08
For example, the mountain and the fire together一起,
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比如,把“山”和“火”放在一起,
05:10
we have fire mountain. It's a volcano火山.
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我们有“火山”。这是“火山”。
05:13
We know Japan日本 is the land土地 of the rising升起 sun太阳.
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我们知道日本是太阳升起的地方。
05:17
This is a sun太阳 placed放置 with the origin起源,
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这里把太阳和原点放在一起,
05:20
because Japan日本 lies to the east of China中国.
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因为日本位于中国的东面。
05:23
So a sun太阳, origin起源 together一起, we build建立 Japan日本.
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所以把太阳和原点放在一起,就是“日本”。
05:27
A person behind背后 Japan日本, what do we get?
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在“日本”后面加个“人”,我们得到什么?
05:30
A Japanese日本 person.
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“日本人”。
05:33
The character字符 on the left is two mountains
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左边的字有两座山,
05:36
stacked堆叠 on top最佳 of each other.
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上下叠在一起。
05:38
In ancient China中国, that means手段 in exile流亡,
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在古代中国,这意味着流亡,
05:41
because Chinese中文 emperors皇帝, they put their political政治 enemies敌人
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因为中国的皇帝把政敌
05:44
in exile流亡 beyond mountains.
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流放到大山之外。
05:46
Nowadays如今, exile流亡 has turned转身 into getting得到 out.
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现今,“流放”变成了“走出去”。
05:51
A mouth which哪一个 tells告诉 you where to get out
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一个“口”字告诉你从哪里出去,
05:54
is an exit出口.
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就是“出口”。
05:56
This is a slide滑动 to remind提醒 me that I should stop talking
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这张幻灯片提醒我,该结束演讲了,
05:59
and get off of the stage阶段. Thank you.
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并走下台。谢谢。
06:01
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Wei Zeng
Reviewed by William Choi

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
ShaoLan Hsueh - Technologist, entrepreneur
ShaoLan want to help people understand China's culture and language, and to bridge the gap between East and West.

Why you should listen

ShaoLan is an entrepreneur, angel investor, geek, writer, traveller and dreamer. She is the founder and creator of Chineasy, which she launched after her TED Talk in Long Beach, California in 2013.

In just over three years, she has built Chineasy into one of the most popular methods of learning Chinese across the Internet with several hundred thousand fellow learners. Her first book, Chineasy, The New Way to Read Chinese, was launched in March 2014 and has been translated into 18 languages. Her next book, Chineasy Everyday, was launched in March 2016.

ShaoLan is a tech entrepreneur with extensive business experience. At the age of 22, while studying for her MBA, she wrote four best-selling books on software in Taiwan, and her books were bundled by Microsoft. She co-founded pAsia, one of the major players on Internet in Asia in 1990’s. After a second masters degree at the University of Cambridge, she began Caravel Capital in 2005 to advise young tech companies.

Chineasy represents a return for ShaoLan to her artistic upbringing and in many ways a design project. This project is the culmination of her life’s journey through the East and West. Her aim is to help people to understand China, Chinese culture, its language and to bridge the gap between East and West. Her next step is to help Chinese children to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of their own language. 

 

More profile about the speaker
ShaoLan Hsueh | Speaker | TED.com