An advanced-level study of the Chinese writing system as a quintessential embodiment and carrier of Chinese culture, covering its origin, development, classification and its orthographical and cultural characteristics. Students will learn a newly-developed framework, i.e., the three-principle theory of Chinese script, by which thousands of characters from the earliest oracle bone inscriptions to the modern form of the script can be appropriately analyzed and classified. This course also offers a critical survey of important issues related to Chinese script in modern times, including simplification, Romanization (Latinization), acquisition, recognition, and adaptability to various Sinitic and Sinosphere languages, taking into consideration research in general linguistics, sociolinguistics, heritage history, and cognitive science. Restricted to students in the MA program in International Language Education.