The Comparative Study On Illustrations In Zhongwen And Hanyu

As more advanced research on the subject of teaching Chinese as a foreign language and Chinese textbooks, illustrations are indispensable and integrated parts of teaching contents to facilitate students'study. It is therefore important and necessary to carry out a comprehensive statistical study and research on some typical illustrations used in textbooks.Based on the respective characteristics of text illustrations and practice illustrations, this paper complies statistics of the quantities of illustrations in textbooks of Zhongwen (Mandarin Chinese Language) and Hanyu ((Mandarin Chinese Language)). It also analyzes the states of illustrations of these two textbooks, and finds the similarities and divergences in respect of illustrations'configuration. From Volume 1 to Volume 12 of the two textbooks, the proportions of illustrations indicate a declining trend in general, which conform to the development of pupils'thinking style. From aspect of quantities and proportion, both "text illustrations B" and "practice illustrations B" are dominant in those textbooks, especially "practice illustration B", which are mainly positioned on the fringe serving as embellishment and foils, as well as explaining and illustrating function. Compared with Zhongwen, four types of illustrations in Zhongwen are more internally coordinated. However, with regard to the diversity and entertainment of a language practice set, the proportion of "practice illustration A" in Hanyu is more reasonably set than that in Zhongwen.The articles with common headings or contents in both textbooks are about 30. Through comparative analysis, the illustration configuration in Zhongwen not only conform with consistency, prominence and compatibility principles, but also emphasize on the portray of characters and scenes, which makes illustrations interact with the text in a best manner. However, the prominence and compatibility of the illustrations in Hanyu need to be improved and perfected.This paper will come up with some suggestions on improvements against the present flaws of the illustrations in these two textbooks:(1). Increase the quantities of "text illustration A" and "practice illustration A" appropriately; (2). Enrich illustration forms; (3). Elaborate advantages of real objects'pictures, and use photos appropriately; (4). Utilize supporting clues of the illustrations; (5). Be aware of the application scope of illustrations (single image, pair image and image group, ect.), as well as the quantities applied; (6). Improve flawed illustrations; (7). Draw illustrations to better understand the contents of the texts.The following strategies in Chinese illustration teaching could be adopted:(1). Learn to observe carefully, and master the substance of illustrations; (2). Combine illustrations with texts, and understanding the meaning of illustrations; (3). Conform with the teaching principle of observing objects and the combination of illustrations and objects; (4). Make good use of multimedia, enrich illustrations'meanings and demonstrate its artistic conception.