On May 8, Professor Bai Lesang, Inspector General of Chinese at the French National Ministry of Education, led a delegation to visit the Official Dress Research Institute of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) for guidance – marking a new journey in exploring international exchanges for Chinese language testing. Mr. Zhu, Chairman of the OCA Official Dress Research Institute, warmly received the delegation with his team, and both sides engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as the localized practice of international Chinese education and the international docking of Chinese teaching standards. With his five decades of international perspective in Chinese education and experience in French Chinese teaching, Professor Bai provided important insights for the institute's innovative approaches in Chinese education product development and cultural communication.

I. Breaking the "Monism": Rediscovering the "Dualism" of Chinese

At the start of the exchange, Professor Bai Lesang used his own name as an example to explain the uniqueness of Chinese in a simple yet profound way: "When French people ask which 'Le' (joy/happiness) and which 'Sang' (mulberry) are in 'Bai Lesang,' they are essentially questioning the independent meaning of each 'character' – this is precisely the 'dualism' that distinguishes Chinese from other languages in the world: both 'characters' and 'words' serve as the smallest meaningful units." He pointed out that languages like English and French are based on "monism" with "words" as the basic unit, while Chinese characters not only serve as word-formation elements but also carry independent meanings, forming a dualism system of "character → word → sentence."

II. From the "400-Character Standard" to the "Dual Teaching Method": Insights from French Experience

Discussing the French primary and secondary school Chinese curriculum that explicitly sets "400 high-frequency Chinese characters" as the basic standard, Professor Bai emphasized prioritizing core characters with strong word-formation abilities (e.g., choosing "kele" (cola) over "xuebi" (Sprite) because "bi" (azure) has a low word-formation frequency) to avoid "over-the-syllabus controversies" caused by rare characters.

As France's first full-time Inspector General of Chinese, Professor Bai's 主导 (led the development of) primary and secondary school Chinese curricula exemplifies the "dualism" practice: selecting teaching content based on "character frequency," integrating character competence into language assessment systems, and adopting an advanced standard of "400 characters → 805 characters" to match learning needs across different school systems. After being adopted by the French Ministry of Education, this standard not only resolved "over-the-syllabus" disputes but also shifted Chinese teaching from "experience-driven" to "science-driven."

"The systematic advantage of Chinese lies in the derivability of characters," Professor Bai explained. For example, learners who master high-frequency characters like " (zhōng, middle)," " (guó, country)," " (gōng, public)," and "(sī, company)" can independently understand words like " (Zhōngguó, China)" and " (gōngsī, company)," forming an efficient learning model of "using characters to drive word acquisition." In contrast, Chinese textbooks for foreign learners often lack "new character lists," forcing learners to memorize words in isolation – a less effective approach.

III. A New Starting Point for International Cooperation: When "Dress Culture" Meets "Chinese Linguistics"

Accompanied by Chairman Zhu, Professor Bai's delegation visited the institute's dress exhibition hall and underwent a tailoring measurement, expressing deep agreement with the concept of "spreading Eastern aesthetics through apparel." When discussing the institute's "Hance Test" platform, Chairman Zhu stated: "We will abandon the traditional teaching misstep of prioritizing words over characters) and draw on Professor Bai's 'dualism' to build an integrated 'character-word-sentence' learning system based on character frequency. For example, intelligent algorithms will screen high-frequency characters, and scenario-based courses will be designed around dress-related vocabulary (e.g., 'huafu' (traditional Chinese clothing), 'cixiu' (embroidery), 'sichou' (silk)), allowing non-native learners to master Chinese by understanding the ideographic nature of characters."

Professor Bai praised the institute's international positioning: "Setting up the company in Singapore instead of mainland China reflects a commitment to 'de-ideologization' – a key principle in international Chinese education: prioritizing scientific laws over cultural self-expression. France's experience shows that when the value of characters is recognized, the difficulty of learning Chinese will greatly decrease, and its logic and beauty can truly be understood worldwide."

IV. Outlook: From "Conceptual Resonance" to "Pragmatic Collaboration"

At the end of the exchange, Chairman Zhu extended a cooperation invitation on behalf of the institute, and both sides agreed to explore future collaborations in Chinese language fields. The OCA Official Dress Research Institute will tailor a traditional Chinese suit for Professor Bai as a gesture of respect for this "cultural envoy" dedicated to Chinese education. As Chairman Zhu said: "Today's exchange is not just a collision of educational ideas but also a return to the intrinsic value of Chinese – when we respect its uniqueness, the world can truly enter the 'interlines' of the language."

With the rising global demand for Chinese learning, the collaboration between the OCA Official Dress Research Institute and Professor Bai's team may 开辟 (pave) an innovative path for international Chinese education combining "linguistic science + cultural experience," making Chinese a "meaning-bridging language" connecting different civilizations.

V. Introduction to Hance Test (HCT)

The International Chinese Testing System (HCT) is an international Chinese proficiency testing system designed to evaluate the Chinese language abilities of non-native learners. Widely adopted by universities and study-abroad programs in Chinese-speaking countries, HCT scores are required for admission applications.