Writing and Literacy in Early China

Writing and Literacy in Early China
Author: Feng Li
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2012-05-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0295804505

The emergence and spread of literacy in ancient human society an important topic for all who study the ancient world, and the development of written Chinese is of particular interest, as modern Chinese orthography preserves logographic principles shared by its most ancient forms, making it unique among all present-day writing systems. In the past three decades, the discovery of previously unknown texts dating to the third century BCE and earlier, as well as older versions of known texts, has revolutionized the study of early Chinese writing. The long-term continuity and stability of the Chinese written language allow for this detailed study of the role literacy played in early civilization. The contributors to Writing and Literacy in Early China inquire into modes of manuscript production, the purposes for which texts were produced, and the ways in which they were actually used. By carefully evaluating current evidence and offering groundbreaking new interpretations, the book illuminates the nature of literacy for scribes and readers.

Perspectives on Teaching and Learning English Literacy in China

Perspectives on Teaching and Learning English Literacy in China
Author: Jiening Ruan
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2012-11-29
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9400749945

This is one of two volumes by the same editors that explore historical, philosophical, and cultural perspectives on literacy in China. This volume focuses on English literacy in China, while the other volume is on Chinese literacy. In modern day China, English has enjoyed an increasingly important status in education, but not without challenges. The essays in this volume provide a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary look at changes in English literacy practices and literacy instruction in China from the first English school in the 19th century to recent curriculum reform efforts to modernize English instruction from basic education through higher education. Together, the essays address a wide array of topics, including early childhood English education, uses of information technology to teach English, and teaching English to Chinese minority students. This work is essential reading for those who want to expand their understanding of English literacy education in China.

Media Literacy Education in China

Media Literacy Education in China
Author: Chi-Kim Cheung
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2016-01-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 981100045X

The Chinese government has long kept tight control on both traditional and new media to prevent potential challenges to its authority. But, for better or worse, China has now reached a stage where it is difficult to exercise political hegemony through laws and regulations and the control of the mass media. China has become a global superpower and in 2011 surpassed Japan as the world’s second largest economy, second only to the USA. China’s entertainment industry is also flourishing, and the market is large enough to attract foreign investors that either view China as an important market or are interested in Chinese capital. Today, more children in China watch television than in any other country in the world, and Internet usage is also increasing, making the implementation of media literacy education an important issue. This book presents the prevailing perspectives on media literacy education in China and describes how the current curriculum reform for implementing media literacy education is being developed. It will not only stimulate debate and further research, but will also influence policy decisions regarding media literacy education in China.

The Power of Words

The Power of Words
Author: Glen Peterson
Publisher: UBC Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2011-11-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0774842016

This book is a social and political history of the struggle for literacy in rural China from 1949 until 1994. It aims to show how China's revolutionary leaders conceived and promoted literacy in the countryside and how villagers made use of the literacy education and schools they were offered. Rather than focusing narrowly on educational issues alone, Peterson examines the larger significance of P.R.C. literacy efforts by situating the literacy movement within the broad context of major themes and issues in the social and political history of post-1949 China. Following the recent trend toward regional and local history, this book focuses on the linguistically diverse, socially complex, and politically awkward southeastern coastal province of Guangdong. As well, Peterson conducted interviews with local officials and teachers in several Guangdong counties in 1988 and 1989.

Writing and Literacy in Chinese, Korean and Japanese

Writing and Literacy in Chinese, Korean and Japanese
Author: Insup Taylor
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 428
Release: 1995-01-01
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027217947

Chinese, Japanese, South (and North) Koreans in East Asia have a long, intertwined and distinguished cultural history and have achieved, or are in the process of achieving, spectacular economic success. Together, these three peoples make up one quarter of the world population.They use a variety of unique and fascinating writing systems: logographic Chinese characters of ancient origin, as well as phonetic systems of syllabaries and alphabets. The book describes, often in comparison with English, how the Chinese, Korean and Japanese writing systems originated and developed; how each relates to its spoken language; how it is learned or taught; how it can be computerized; and how it relates to the past and present literacy, education, and culture of its users.Intimately familiar with the three East Asian cultures, Insup Taylor with the assistance of Martin Taylor, has written an accessible and highly readable book. Writing and Literacy in Chinese, Korean and Japanese is intended for academic readers (students in East Asian Studies, linguistics, education, psychology) as well as for the general public (parents, business, government). Readers of the book will learn about the interrelated cultural histories of China, Korea and Japan, but mainly about the various writing systems, some exotic, some familar, some simple, some complex, but all fascinating.

The Figurative Works of Chen Hongshou (1599-1652)

The Figurative Works of Chen Hongshou (1599-1652)
Author: Tamara Heimarck Bentley
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2012
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9780754666721

Despite the importance of Chen Hongshou (1599-1652) as an artist and scholar of the late Ming period, until now no full length study in English has focused on his work. Author Tamara H. Bentley takes a broadly interdisciplinary approach, treating Chen's oeuvre in relation to literary themes and economic changes, and linking these larger concerns to visual analyses. In so doing, Bentley sheds new light not only on Chen, but also on an important cultural moment in the first half of the seventeenth century, when Chinese scholar artists began to direct their work towards anonymous public markets.

Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters

Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters
Author: Alison Matthews
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2011-12-20
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 146290128X

This user-friendly book is aimed at helping students of Mandarin Chinese learn and remember Chinese characters. At last--there is a truly effective and enjoyable way to learn Chinese characters! This book helps students to learn and remember both the meanings and the pronunciations of over 800 characters. This otherwise daunting task is made easier by the use of techniques based on the psychology of learning and memory. key principles include the use of visual imagery, the visualization of short "stories," and the systematic building up of more complicated characters from basic building blocks. Although Learning Chinese Characters is primarily a book for serious learners of Mandarin Chinese, it can be used by anyone with interest in Chinese characters, without any prior knowledge of Chinese. It can be used alongside (or after, or even before) a course in the Chinese language. All characters are simplified (as in mainland China), but traditional characters are also given, when available. Key features: Specially designed pictures and stories are used in a structured way to make the learning process more enjoyable and effective, reducing the need for rote learning to the absolute minimum. The emphasis throughout is on learning and remembering the meanings and pronunciations of the characters. Tips are also included on learning techniques and how to avoid common problems. Characters are introduced in a logical sequence, which also gives priority to learning the most common characters first. Modern, simplified characters are used, with pronunciations given in pinyin. Key information is given for each character, including radical, stroke-count, traditional form, compounds, and guidance on writing the character. This is a practical guide with a clear, concise and appealing layout, and it is well-indexed with easy lookup methods. The 800 Chinese characters and 1,033 compounds specified for the original HSK Level A proficiency test are covered.

Educational Practices in China, Korea, and the United States

Educational Practices in China, Korea, and the United States
Author: Chuang Wang
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2020-03-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1641138785

This book is written by a diverse cohort of both of American educators, including professors, teachers, school counselors, and school administrators from pre-K to college levels. Most of the contributors come from disciplinary areas of English as a second language and school administration. With the pressure of Common Core State Standards Initiative, American educators are now shifting their focus to standards-based instruction. Meanwhile, Chinese educators are moving away from national standards and developing state level curriculum and instruction to meet specific needs of the students in local provinces. There is also a debate about whether or not to use the National College Entrance Examination as the only test for college admission. Some provinces (e.g., Zhejiang and Hubei) are administering their own college entrance examinations. The book outlines the sociocultural roots of education in the three countries, linking the tradition and philosophical orientations to each country's own history of education. Furthermore, the book compares and contrasts the curriculum, especially the teaching of English as a second/foreign language, in three countries. This book examines the stress of students, physical education, various pedagogical styles in foreign language education as well as instructional texts and cross-cultural dialogue between teachers. Additionally, the book explores factors that influence parent's involvement and women's educational and career aspirations. Lastly, the book presents modern technologies such as smart learning technologies and online learning platforms not only to facilitate future educational systems but also to promote international exchanges. The chapters of the book are thematically diverse, but they help to provide inspirations for educators both in American and Asian countries. The findings offer alternative practical lenses for educational community to seek for some "middle ground" between Chinese, South Korea and American education. The intended audience for this book is graduate students, teachers, administrators, and professionals in education.

Reading Development in Chinese Children

Reading Development in Chinese Children
Author: Catherine McBride-Chang
Publisher: Praeger
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2003-12-30
Genre: Education
ISBN:

This text reviews both similarities and unique cultural, linguistic, and script differences of Chinese relative to alphabetic reading, and even across Chinese regions. Chinese reading acquisition relies upon children's strongly developing analytic skills, as highlighted here. These 16 chapters present state-of-the-art research on diverse aspects of Chinese children's reading development. This edited volume presents research on Chinese children's reading development across Chinese societies. Authors from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan, among others, present the latest findings on how Chinese children learn to read. Reading acquisition in Chinese involves some parameters typically not encountered in some other orthographies, such as English. For example, Chinese readers in different regions might speak different, mutually unintelligible languages, be taught to read with or without the aid of a phonetic coding system, and learn different scripts. This book both implicitly and explicitly considers these and other contextual issues in relation to developmental and cognitive factors involved in Chinese literacy acquisition. One of the clearest themes to emerge from this volume is that, across regions, Chinese children, despite lack of explicit teaching of phonetic or semantic character components, learn to read largely by integrating visible print-sound and print-meaning connections. Rather than learning to read Chinese characters by rote, as is sometimes mistakenly believed, these children are analytic learners. Chapters in this book also cover such topics as Chinese children's reading comprehension, cognitive characteristics of good and poor readers, and reading strategies of bilingual and biscriptal readers. This book is a useful reference for anyone interested in understanding either developing or skilled reading of Chinese or for those interested in literacy learning across cultures.