History Quiz 2

All Chinese men were forced by the Manchu (Qing) rulers to shave the top and sides of the head and plait their hair from three braids into a queue 辫子 biàn zi dangling from the back of their heads, a continuous reminder of the rule by Manchu foreigners.

From the Han dynasty onwards (206BCE) an emperor's legitimacy depending on possessing the Mandate of Heaven. If they lost it then rebellions are justified. It represents the key concept of an Emperor serving the people and heaven, he was not a total autocrat and ruled subject to heaven's approval.

Deng Xiaoping worked with Liu Shaoqi on a mixed economy model for China in the early 1960s. When Mao unleashed the Cultural Revolution in 1966 Deng was lucky to escape with his life. He worked in a tractor factory at Xinjian, Jiangxi in 1969, keeping a very low profile. He quickly returned to power after Mao's death in 1976.

The small country of Laos officially the 'Lao People's Democratic Republic' became part of French Indo-China 1884-1953. It was never an important French possession, serving as a buffer zone between British Burma and the more important (for the French) Vietnamese region.

Deng Xiaoping spent the years 1920-26 in France learning about modern Western ideas including Communism. He acquired a love for French cuisine and playing bridge.

Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming dynasty under the reign name of Hongwu. After spending his adolescence at a Buddhist temple as a monk he joined the Red Turban rebels against the rule of the Mongols. He was born on 21st October 1328 at Fengyang, Anhui.

It is believed that the name for the country was in use before the Qin Dynasty (221-206BCE). Asian neighbors to the west would have first met people from the Qin kingdom as it was the westernmost of the kingdoms before unification.

The unifying Qin Emperor (Qin Shihuangdi) founded a massive new imperial capital city at Xianyang. After the fall of the dynasty in 206BCE the city was burnt to the ground. It is a few miles west of the modern city of Xi'an, Shaanxi

Tang Emperor Xuanzong became besotted by his son's wife Yang Guifei (or Yang Yuhuan) and lost all sound judgment in pursuit of his passion. When An Lushan rebelled in 755, the Emperor fled and was forced to watch Yang Guifei being strangled.

Muslim Arab sea traders had become a potent force in the 8th century. Guangzhou (Canton) was already an important port. At this time it was Arabs who controlled the trade in goods with China. The Chinese land army was defeated by Arabs at the Battle of Talas in 751.

Zhou Enlai (Premier 1949-76) broke off his studies in Japan to work with a student organization in Tianjin. He became editor of the Tianjin Students Union newspaper and active in the Tianjin May 4th movement organization. He met and later married Deng Yingchao who was also an activist.

The Wuhan First Yangtze Bridge, a double-deck road and rail bridge, crosses the Yangzi River at Wuhan. It was a major breakthrough as previously all traffic had to cross the river in boats, even train carriages.

The plain designs of Song celadon porcelain remain some of the most prized ceramics ever produced. Many have characteristic light green, crackled glazes in simple shapes without decoration. The high price of original celadon wares has encouraged forgers to produce 'replica' vessels that are very difficult to distinguish from the originals.

Qin Dynasty Emperor Shihuangdi standardized money back in 220BCE. Coins were made in a standard weight in the form of a round disc with a square hole. This shape of coin remained in use up to the 20th century. The hole makes it convenient to string together coins securely together.

The Chinese are very reluctant to excavate ancient tombs. Even though the Ming tombs were plundered centuries ago only the tomb of Emperor Yongle has been opened up and set out as a museum.

Sun Yatsen proclaimed the foundation of the Republic of China on 1st January 1912 with himself as first President. In a compromise to appease the fears of the Western powers, Sun Yatsen stood down to allow the favorite of the Western powers Yuan Shikai to take his place.

The Taiping Rebellion, as much as anything, marked the end of the Imperial system in China. It cost millions of human lives, with 20 to may be 50 million dead it rates above World War I in the number of fatalities. It so weakened the Qing government that it never recovered.

The Battle of Talas was an important event in the Tang dynasty. China's expansion West along the Silk Route was brought to a halt. An Abbasid army beat a Chinese army in 751CE. The change of allegiance of Karluk troops proved decisive.

History has treated Cao Cao rather unfairly, he is portrayed as brutal and selfish and the epitome of evil. This is due to the famous romantic novel ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ by Luo Guanzhong. It would seem he just happened to be on the losing side after the fall of the Han dynasty.

The hand-over took place on June 30th 1997. It is under joint Hong Kong-China administration 'two systems' for fifty years but Chinese backed appointments to the city's administration have made opposition to increasing Chinese influence difficult.