This paper analyses elementary school Chinese language textbooks for teaching reading and writing in primary grades in the People's Republic of China. The paper begins by examining the characteristics of the Chinese written language, particularly how the reforms of written Chinese in China since the 1950s have affected instructional materials. Methods used to teach reading and writing and popularize standard Chinese or Mandarin are examined through a content analysis of 38 children's books and 12 teachers' manuals for teaching the Chinese language. The paper concludes that children learn to speak Mandarin as they learn to read and write, and that the same materials are used to teach reading, writing, listening, speaking, and handwriting through a multi-modal approach. The paper notes that two methods for teaching Chinese characters are used: the Contextual Teaching approach and the Concentrated Drill method. (Two tables of Chinese characters, 1 table of data, and 27 footnotes are included; a list of the manuals and texts studied is attached.) (RS)