This paper contends that many of the difficulties students of Chinese have in reading comprehension are directly related to their level of understanding of Chinese language and culture, and that these difficulties could be alleviated by providing students with knowledge about the value system, social customs, formation of Chinese characters and words, and Chinese discourse patterns. Based on an analysis of Chinese lexicon, sentence structure, and discourse, strategies to help students develop reading comprehension are suggested. Examples are offered from textbooks widely used in college and university Chinese language instruction in the United States. (Contains 14 references.) (MSE)