Dynamic Source · Publisher

Classic stories, retold for language learners, at six levels

Dynamic Source publishes the Insperium graded readers. The same story at every level; only the language gets richer. A beginner reads the A1 book and an advanced reader reads the C1 book.

33
titles in the series
6
levels, A1 to C1
198
illustrated editions
Journey to the WestThe OdysseyLegend of the White Snake

The series

See all 33 →
Romance of the Three KingdomsJourney to the WestDream of the Red ChamberWater MarginLegend of the White SnakeStrange Tales from a Chinese StudioThe Butterfly LoversClassic of Mountains and SeasYue Fei LegendsTwenty-Four Filial ExemplarsThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnAround the World in Eighty DaysA Christmas CarolThe Count of Monte CristoDon QuixoteGulliver's TravelsThe IliadThe Invisible ManJekyll & HydeJourney to the Center of the EarthThe Lost WorldMoby DickThe OdysseyRobinson CrusoeSherlock Holmes: A Study in ScarletSherlock Holmes: The Sign of the FourThe Time MachineTom SawyerTreasure IslandThe Picture of Dorian GrayAlice's Adventures in WonderlandThe Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow
One title, six levels

Pick the level, keep the story

Every title is written at six CEFR levels. An A1 book is about 5,200 Chinese characters; a C1 book about 6,100. The cover shows the level as a coloured band, a badge and the series number.

The Odyssey · 奥德赛 (A1)
The Odyssey · 奥德赛
A1 · Beginner

Beginner. The whole story in the simplest language, with pinyin over every character.

Catalogue

Insperium Chinese · 33 titles

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
#01 · Chinese classics
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Heroes and warlords battle for an empire
Luo Guanzhong, 14th century
Journey to the West
#02 · Chinese classics
Journey to the West
A monkey king escorts a monk to enlightenment
Wu Cheng'en, 16th century
Dream of the Red Chamber
#03 · Chinese classics
Dream of the Red Chamber
A great house and the love that ruins it
Cao Xueqin, 18th century
Water Margin
#04 · Chinese classics
Water Margin
One hundred and eight outlaws rise against tyranny
Shi Nai'an, 14th century
Legend of the White Snake
#05 · Chinese classics
Legend of the White Snake
A snake spirit's love defies heaven
Traditional Chinese folklore, Tang dynasty
Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio
#06 · Chinese classics
Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio
Ghosts, foxes, and lovers from beyond
Pu Songling, 17th century
The Butterfly Lovers
#07 · Chinese classics
The Butterfly Lovers
Two lovers reborn as a single pair of butterflies
Traditional Chinese folklore, Eastern Jin dynasty
Classic of Mountains and Seas
#08 · Chinese classics
Classic of Mountains and Seas
Gods, beasts, and rivers of the old world
Anonymous (compiled), c. 4th century BC
Yue Fei Legends
#09 · Chinese classics
Yue Fei Legends
A loyal general betrayed by his own court
Traditional Chinese folklore, Song dynasty
Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars
#10 · Chinese classics
Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars
Devotion to parents, tested to the extreme
Traditional Chinese folklore, Yuan dynasty
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
#11 · World classics
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
A runaway boy and a raft down the river
Mark Twain, 1884
Around the World in Eighty Days
#12 · World classics
Around the World in Eighty Days
A gentleman's wager to circle the globe
Jules Verne, 1872
A Christmas Carol
#13 · World classics
A Christmas Carol
A miser's ghostly night of reckoning
Charles Dickens, 1843
The Count of Monte Cristo
#14 · World classics
The Count of Monte Cristo
A wronged man returns as fate itself
Alexandre Dumas, 1844
Don Quixote
#15 · World classics
Don Quixote
A dreamer who tilts at windmills
Miguel de Cervantes, 1605
Gulliver's Travels
#16 · World classics
Gulliver's Travels
A shipwrecked traveler among giants and tiny men
Jonathan Swift, 1726
The Iliad
#17 · World classics
The Iliad
Rage, honor, and the fall of a city
Homer, c. 8th century BC
The Invisible Man
#18 · World classics
The Invisible Man
A scientist erases himself and his sanity
H. G. Wells, 1897
Jekyll & Hyde
#19 · World classics
Jekyll & Hyde
One man, two natures, no escape
Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886
Journey to the Center of the Earth
#20 · World classics
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Down a volcano into a hidden world
Jules Verne, 1864
The Lost World
#21 · World classics
The Lost World
Dinosaurs still walk a hidden plateau
Arthur Conan Doyle, 1912
Moby Dick
#22 · World classics
Moby Dick
A captain's vengeance against a white whale
Herman Melville, 1851
The Odyssey
#23 · World classics
The Odyssey
A hero's ten-year voyage home
Homer, c. 8th century BC
Robinson Crusoe
#24 · World classics
Robinson Crusoe
One man alone against a deserted island
Daniel Defoe, 1719
Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet
#25 · World classics
Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet
A consulting detective's first recorded case
Arthur Conan Doyle, 1887
Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of the Four
#26 · World classics
Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of the Four
A stolen treasure and a broken promise
Arthur Conan Doyle, 1890
The Time Machine
#27 · World classics
The Time Machine
A traveler journeys to the end of time
H. G. Wells, 1895
Tom Sawyer
#28 · World classics
Tom Sawyer
A mischievous boy and a small-town summer
Mark Twain, 1876
Treasure Island
#29 · World classics
Treasure Island
X marks a map and a deadly fortune
Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883
The Picture of Dorian Gray
#30 · World classics
The Picture of Dorian Gray
A portrait ages while its master sins
Oscar Wilde, 1890
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
#31 · World classics
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Down the rabbit hole into glorious nonsense
Lewis Carroll, 1865
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
#32 · World classics
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
A cyclone whisks a girl to a magic land
L. Frank Baum, 1900
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
#33 · World classics
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
A headless horseman rides at midnight
Washington Irving, 1820

Covers shown at level A1. Each title page on getinsperium.com includes a look-inside sample with audio. Coming soon: print editions.

Inside a book

Pinyin first, then characters only

Part A has pinyin over every character, English after each section and about 20 full-colour illustrations. Part B is the same story in characters only, for when you are ready to read without help. Character names carry a dotted underline so beginners can tell names from words.

  1. 01Cover
  2. 02About this book
  3. 03Main characters, with portraits
  4. 04Key vocabulary
  5. 05Part A: the story with pinyin and illustrations
  6. 06Part B: the story in Chinese characters only
  7. 07Sentence patterns
  8. 08Full vocabulary list
  9. 09Comprehension questions
  10. 10Cultural context
Ebook
EPUB editions

Produced for every title. The shop is closed while the books are completed.

Print
Coming soon

Print and Amazon editions are planned. Notify me →

Free
Character sheets

Every character in a book ordered by frequency, with pinyin and meaning. Download →

Video
Read-along

The whole A1 book read aloud with karaoke subtitles. YouTube @Insperium_Chinese

About

Dynamic Source publishes Insperium

Dynamic Source Holdings Limited is a publisher based in Hong Kong. Our Insperium Chinese imprint retells famous stories for language learners: ten Chinese classics and twenty-three world classics, each written at six levels.

Every edition is illustrated in the style of a 19th-century book, in oils with a muted palette. The books are carefully edited, and a native-speaker review is under way, book by book.

Learners can continue with the Insperium Chinese course at getinsperium.com.

Publisher
Dynamic Source Holdings Limited
Imprint
Insperium Chinese
Place of publication
Hong Kong
ISBN
Publisher prefix: [to be assigned]
For schools & bookshops

Class sets and wholesale

Tell us which titles and levels you need. Placeholder form: to be confirmed.