ABSTRACT
The author discusses how her childhood world of literacy merged texts, characters, and myths from East and West into an integrated worldview for her. Later, while attending school, she was introduced to normative writing in Chinese and English. These created conflicts for her. She observes that these conflicts arose from the different literacy education she received and also the different cultural backgrounds and thinking patterns to which she was introduced. She noticed that in Western writing conventions, writers put forward the thesis statement in a straightforward way and summarize their opinions frequently in order to help the reader keep up with their thoughts. They avoided any digression to prevent any misunderstanding from the reader’s side. This style differed from Chinese writing as she had learned it. The writer communicates in an indirect way, the meaning is intertwined, and the text enables multiple interpretations. The Chinese writer expects the reader to explore the meaning on his/her own and to raise as many interpretations as possible. The more profound the implications, the better the writing. As she proceeds with her writing development, she resolves to merge the strengths of both traditions in her literacy practice.
