ABSTRACT
Chinese is one of the oldest writing systems in the world. The earliest extant writing examples of Chinese date back to 3,500 years ago. Over 1.3 billion people in the world speak Chinese as a first language, mostly in the People's Republic of China (mainland China), Hong Kong and Taiwan. These three societies differ in a number of ways that may influence children's literacy development. Phonological sensitivity is an excellent marker of reading variability in Chinese, as universally found across writing systems. Visual-orthographic knowledge and copying skills are also important for Chinese reading and writing acquisition and impairment, given the high visual complexity and fairly predictable internal structure of Chinese characters. Confucianism has been deeply rooted in China since 2000 years ago when Emperor Wu Di declared it the official state philosophy. Two practical constraints impede early literacy policy implementation in China: regional development disparity and insufficient professional training.
