To identify possible changes in the social functions of the Chinese educational system, content analyses were performed on selected national, Chinese language, primary school reading textbooks (First Edition, February 1978, Beijing People's Educational Press, Vols. I and II). Frequency of reference to each of the 10 regulations for children in primary school was tabulated. Additionally, informational, political, and behavioral content was investigated. Findings were compared with those of previous studies of reading textbooks used before the Cultural Revolution. Texts used after the Cultural Revolution demonstrated a clear and significant change from political to informational themes, but the magnitude of the change was found to be diminished when the content of exercise books was taken into consideration. To see if indicators could be found of the Chinese people's high regard for the elderly, mentions of old age in volumes I and II were tabulated. The elderly were mentioned far less frequently than were younger persons, children, pupils, and teachers, but when it occurred such mention was neutral or positive in manner. It is concluded that while the intellectual dimension now has become more important than previously, the political dimension retains a high priority. (RH)