As one of Professor Lu
Jianji’s two reference books on Chinese characters for foreign learners, this
book is on reading Chinese characters (and the other is on writing Chinese
characters). Altogether more than 3,600 characters are included in this book,
covering all the characters in various CFL syllabuses and standards. In terms
of the structure, this book puts the characters into two categories
(simple-component characters and compound characters) and ten lists (list of
pictographic simple-component characters, list of self-explanatory
simple-component characters, list of associative simple-component characters,
list of other simple-component characters, list 1 of pictophonetic compound
characters, list 2 of pictophonetic compound characters, list of pictographic
compound characters, list of self-explanatory compound characters, list of
associative compound characters, and list of other compound characters). Each
character is provided with a set of information, including pinyin, the complex
form, the ancient form, whether it can serve as a radical, the semantic and
phonetic components, origin, and meaning. This is a systematic, standard,
practical and convenient book through which foreigners can learn the etymology
and original meaning of more than 3,600 Chinese characters. By understanding
Chinese characters they can recognize and master them, building confidence for
learning characters and getting prepared for learning words. This is also a
reference book for CFL teachers to teach Chinese characters.
Lu Jianji, professor
in Beijing Language and Culture University, has been engaged in teaching
Chinese as a foreign language since 1960. Professor Lu served as the president
and editor in chief of Beijing Language and Culture University Press during
1984-1995. Lu is now a special-term professor of Chinese as a foreign language
in many universities, including the Renmin University of China, a CFL textbook
consultant for The Commercial Press, and an expert reviewer of CFL academic
journals. His research focuses on applied linguistics, especially language
teaching theories such as interlanguage, Chinese-English comparison and CFL
teaching history. His works include textbooks and dictionaries such as Modern Chinese Beginner’s Course, The Commercial Press Chinese Learning
Dictionary, etc.