Zhong Hua Zi Jing is Chinese teaching material promoted nationwide and overseas for the purpose of “fast literacy and early reading”, which covers Level 4 Chinese characters specified in the HSK exam outline. Its content includes knowledge of fifty major categories, including astronomy, geography, human relations, history, and the like. Therefore, this study is based on Xu Tongqiang’s sinogram-based theory. This paper proposes a teaching plan using the Zhong Hua Zi Jing in teaching Chinese as a foreign language in order to achieves positive results in vocabulary and Chinese character learning. A survey was first conducted on Korean students in years three and four of the Chinese language major to demonstrate their level of understanding of Chinese characters included in Zhong Hua Zi Jing, and to elucidate the level of understanding of Chinese characters Zhong Hua Zi Jing. Then, the necessity and specific solutions of using Zhong Hua Zi Jing to teach vocabulary mainly based on Chinese characters was explored.

Countries in the Chinese character cultural sphere share the Chinese Zodiac that assigns twelve animals to each year a person is born based on the order of arrival, so-called Tti. The twelve animals reflect the psychological characteristics of human life and are regarded as more special than other animals. Thus, the animals are used in idiomatic expressions as a vehicle to more properly describe human feelings and thought. This study therefore analyzed the semantic features of the twelve animals to explore the Chinese perception about the animals. The study result can be summarized as below: The representative semantic features of the twelve animals are as follows: [Villain], [Thief], [Misdeed], [Harmful], and [Heinous] for Rat; [Big] for Ox; [Villain], [Ferocious], [Cruel], [Heinous], [Foe], [Causing Fear], [Causing Risk], [Harmful], [Aggressor], and [Predator] for Tiger; [Agile] and [Quick] for Rabbit; [Emperor], [King], [High Status], [Authority], and [General] for Dragon; [Villain], [Aggressor], [Greedy], [Cunning], [Heinous], and [Vicious] for Snake; [War] and [Military] for Horse; [Weak], [Sacrifice], and [Dangerous Situation] for Sheep; [Nominal] for Monkey; [Small], [Slight], [Trifling], and [Useless] for Rooster; [Shabby], [Vulgar], [Bad], and [Foolish] for Dog; and [Shabby], [Vulgar], and [Wicked] for Pig. The negative semantic features were dominant in all animals except the dragon, which is consistent with a tendency that the animals are generally used to emphasize the negative aspects of a person. The semantic features of the animals are also presented in various domains of action, psychology, personality, morality, size, episode, speed, status, position, geographical features, attitude, shape, living, means, situation, etc.