Authentic Chinese is a comprehensive series of textbooks for teaching Chinese to high school students in grades 9-12 in North America (primarily in the United States), designed to develop students' comprehensive language skills in Chinese. There are four levels in the set, matching the four grade levels, and each level comes with the textbook, workbook, task workbook, and character book, as well as compiled and organized electronic versions of supplementary exercises and resources for free download.
This is the first textbook in the set. The textbook adopts a task-based teaching method, with topics of interest to high school students and real-life corpus, starting from scratch and progressing step by step to improve students' overall language skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating. The ten lessons and topics are organized according to six general themes: contemporary life, family and community, personal and community identity, aesthetics and art, science and technology, and global challenges. The real China is presented through a rich variety of authentic materials and includes numerous photographs and images to help learners experience and imagine the new landscape of an evolving China. The text is followed by a reading ladder, Chinese morsels, Chinese character challenges, and a culture corner to develop students' literacy skills and enhance their understanding of Chinese characters and Chinese culture.
The textbooks are designed to simulate and develop themes and activities that are relevant to real-life situations, interesting, and inspiring for learning to make learning process more engaging, communicative and, most importantly, authentic.

Miao-Fen Tseng was the founding director of the Institute of World Languages at the University of Virginia, professor of Chinese at the University of Virginia, director of the Virginia StarTalk Chinese Language Teacher/Student Institute, AP Chinese Language Advisor, AP Chinese Language Program Advisor/Senior Reviewer, founder/president of the Virginia Chinese Language Teachers Association. Director of StarTalk Chinese Teacher Training and Student Programs, Director of the National Chinese Language Teachers Association, Board Member of StarTalk Online Teaching Preparatory Committee, AP Chinese Advisor to the College Board, Senior Academic Advisor and Reviewer of AP Chinese Curriculum Review, Reviewer of K-16 Chinese Language Program and Teacher Training Program.

The North American branch of Beijing Language and Culture University Press has worked with Professor Miao-Fen Tseng's team at the University of Virginia for three years to create this AP Chinese curriculum Authentic Chinese , which is based entirely on real-life materials, to present a real and comprehensive view of China through a rich variety of authentic materials; to build a strong vertical progression system from Level 1 to AP Chinese through six themes: contemporary life, family and community, personal and community identity, aesthetics and art, science and technology, and global challenges. The curriculum centers around students' genuine interest in everyday experiences, allowing them to develop a deep appreciation for learning and communicating in Chinese. The task-based language teaching and course design integrate communicative goals directly into the classroom, transforming the learning mode of language acquisition. It can be said that "Authentic Chinese" is a highly innovative textbook that draws upon years of research and proven success in practice. It provides an engaging, communicative, and authentic learning experience, making it a truly creative educational resource.

It is recommended that Book 1 of the textbook be used for one year at the high school level and two years at the middle school level. In addition, it is recommended that teachers continually ask students questions about different aspects of their learning and create a strong Chinese learning community through joint efforts.