Abstract: This research paper approached the distinction between the functions of two hemispheres in the cognition of the script, phonologic, and semantics of Chinese characters.The first experiment adopted the same "Chinese character pairs"stimulus material,three groups of subjects participated in the script identity matching,phonological identity matching, and semantic categorization matching. As a result,both the response time and the rate of correct response indicated that the cognition of the script,phonologic, and semantic categorization all had something to do with the two hemispheres which demonstrated that“both-hemisphere effect" existed in Chinese character cognition. The second experiment adopted the approach of "Chinese character-Graph"meaning conformity judgement to further examine "both-hemisphere effect"in the cognition of semanatics. The result of the experiment agreed with the first experiment.The author considered that "both-hemisphere effect "in the cognition of Chinese characters is essentially related to the characteristics of the Chinese character itself.

Key words: Chinese character cognition, response time, both-hemisphere effect, hemispheres