As a complete beginner that knows how to say 2-3 sentences, how do we get to the point where it’s possible to comprehend these sources?
edit: To expand on this, every advice resource i’ve seen on the internet has said: “forget textbooks, you need comprehensible input!” which I agree with, but how can you begin learning the language to the point at which this is possible?
On ‘getting there,’ for anyone doing the duolingo route, take a look at HelloChinese. It’s similar to Duolingo, but it has extras like writing activities, courses on learning radicals, and video content of actual native speakers saying things. That last one is huge, because it trains your ear to not expect everyone to enunciate everything as if they were on Peppa Pig.
As for the ‘graded content’, it’s got that in spades. There’s a whole library of stories and short convos graded by HSK tier.
It’s premium only though, I think, but well worth the investment.
And if you want more graded content after that, there’s an app called ‘The Chairman’s Bao’ that is just graded content, with very little guidance or direction. I don’t recommend it as a start, but once you hit HSK-1 it’s a huge confidence boost to see so much content that you can actually read without guidance.