Since the 17th century, Chinese lexicography has been dominated by a character classification system divided into 214 radical groups. The proposed initial three-stroke system would eliminate the need to select (or guess) the proper radical and count strokes. The aim of the system is to facilitate the use of dictionaries and provide the student with a better base for independent study. In the new system the strokes of characters are classified into five groups in the order of: (1) horizontal, (2) vertical, (3) down-left, (4) dot, and (5) turned strokes. The initial three-stroke directions of all characters are then identified by digits from the number groups and, if necessary, further sub-grouped by succeeding strokes. This new system, which will require further study and improvement, is a combination of several existing systems. In particular, it will give priority to teaching stroke recognition, proper stroke order in writing, and recognition of differences between printed forms and longhand. (RS)