UC Berkeley takes novel approach to Sanguosha
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China Daily, August 4, 2012
Yoka Games, a Beijing-based developer, reported that sales of its popular version of Sanguosha totaled 20 million yuan ($3 million) in 2009. The figure rose to 100 million yuan in 2010.
Chou spent part of last summer in a study program at Peking University, where he met Ng, a fellow Chinese-American.
"He revealed to me his interest in Sanguosha," Chou said of Ng. "He also mentioned that, like me, he lacked the necessary skills in written Chinese to play Sanguosha."
But Ng told his new friend that he planned to buy a deck of Sanguosha cards and figure out a way to translate the game into English.
Back at Berkeley, Ng bought the cards and found a website that translated the game rules and role descriptions. The two young men were soon inviting American friends to learn the game.
As Chou played, familiar names would pop up again and again, rekindling his interest in the Three Kingdoms era. But he also noticed that Ng's friends, who had no prior knowledge of the era, were soon remembering the names of the characters and learning about them.
"My Sanguosha sessions made me see the game as a fun and engaging way to introduce people to the Three Kingdoms period," Chou said.
He brought up the idea for the course with Katherine Pan, a friend from high school, who suggested Berring as their faculty sponsor.
Sanguosha, the course, will be able to accommodate only 30 students once it begins on Aug 30. As of Wednesday, the university's online description of the course had been viewed more than 11,500 times.
Hu Guang, a teaching consultant with Tiandao Education, a Chinese company that advises on implementing Chinese study programs abroad, said the creative approach of the course design could inspire students.
Some native Chinese students at Berkeley, however, see the course as designed for non-heritage learners, those who didn't grow up exposed to the Chinese language at home or in their communities.
"Chinese students don't take it too seriously," a Berkeley sophomore from China surnamed Lei said. "It isn't a required course, just an easy option for Chinese students who want to kill time and get the two units."
"It's pure entertainment, so I didn't see any need to take the course," said Allison Huo, a Chinese undergraduate.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)