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. The course will begin with a theoretical introduction about the nature of the ancient scripts and modern writing systems from historical and comparative perspectives, followed by a systematic exploration of the internal structure of Chinese script in accordance with a newly-developed framework, i.e., the three-principle theory of Chinese script, by which thousands of characters coming from the archeological materials such as jiaguwen (oracle bone inscriptions), jinwen (bronze inscriptions) and jianbowenzi (bamboo and silk scripts) 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), recognition, and adaptability to various Sinitic and Sinosphere languages, taking into consideration research in general linguistics, sociolinguistics, and heritage history. For MA(ILE) students or students with program director or course instructor's approval only.