Reading and Writing Chinese has been the best-selling standard reference text for foreign students and teachers of Chinese for the last 25 years. Now completely revised with modern (simplified) characters, it draws on the lessons learned from the use of the book in classrooms to provide a convenient and up-to-date introduction to the Chinese writing system. Materials are organized in units of progressive difficulty and complexity, with clear definitions of the individual characters presented in a logical and systematical sequence.

For each of the basic 1,067 characters, the pronunciation and core meanings are given, along with examples of its use in common compounds and a stroke-order diagram showing how to write it correctly. Memorization tips and cross-references to look-alike characters are also provided. Charts of modern and traditional radicals, necessary to look up words in comprehensive Chinese dictionaries, are printed inside the front and back covers.