The model characters were written by Yan Ruimin, keen pedagogue and expert on fountain pen calligraphy. I am grateful for all the late nights on which he shared his expertise with this Swedish novice, as well as for his patience with my incessant changes in the manuscript and the resulting new calligraphic work.
Cecilia Lindqvist spotted uncountable errors in drafts of the manuscript and contributed many ideas on the teaching of characters. Without her generous help this book would not exist in its present form.