Traditions Quiz 1

Starter level quiz all about Chinese traditions
1. Dowager Empress Cixi was very fond of which dog breed?
Pug
Pekingese
Chow
dog, han dynasty, pottery
A pottery dog from the Chinese Han Dynasty. Image by Gary Lee Todd available under a Creative Commons License

2. Which plant is mentioned in the Buddhist mantra 'Om mani padme hum'?
plum
lotus
chrysanthemum
Buddhism , Mount Emei, Sichuan, elephant
Golden palace at the top of Mount Emei, Sichaun with the world's highest status of Pǔxián Púsà 賢菩薩.

3. The musical intrument called a 'pipa' is a type of what?
lute
horn
drum
music, guzheng
Guzheng is a traditional Chinese musical instrument belonging to the zither family of string instruments

4. Which would you NOT expect to find in a Chinese garden?
lawn
bamboo
bridge
chinoiserie, chinese bridge, garden
Chinese bridge. Apremont Gardens, France. Image by Parc floral available under a Creative Commons License

5. Which astrological animal heads the sequence of twelve?
tiger
rat
snake
Hong Kong, zodiac, sculpture
The Garden of the Chinese Zodiac features twelve carved animals in the gardens of Kowloon Walled City Park, Hong Kong

6. Where might you find a man riding a hen?
in a Lion dance
on a roof
in a Chinese chess set

7. An ink stone is used for what?
create solid marks
paperweight
grinding ink
imperial inscription, vermillion,  calligraphy, Emperor Qianlong
Part of a memorandum from a high official with a vermillion ink note added by Emperor Qianlong.

8. What is Dimsum?
tofu blocks
stuffed boiled dough
snake meat
Guangdong, Shenzhen, food, shop
A store at Shenzhen Baoan Xixiang market, Guangdong. 2014 Copyright © Dreamstime see image license

9. Which color was reserved for the roof tiles of Imperial buildings?
blue
red
yellow
Qing dynasty, Beihai Park, Beijing, roof
Beijing park pavilion roof

10. Firecrackers are usually which color in China?
yellow
red
blue
lantern festival, festival, fujian
Lantern Festival, Daoist parade of gods (Ngi?ng-s?ng) in Luoyuan, Fuzhou. Image by LuHungnguong available under a Creative Commons License

11. When is the next dragon astrological year?
2036
2050
2031
silk, dragon
Silk embroidery of Chinese dragon

12. What is an 'eye' in mahjong?
a pair of tiles
set of three
50 points
mahjong, game
Playing mahjong at Seattle's Chinatown-International District Night Market, Hing Hay Park, International District, Seattle, Washington. Image by Joe Mabel available under a Creative Commons License

13. The Erhu is the most common traditional stringed instrument, how many strings does it have?
2
7
4
Dunhuang, Gansu, music
Musicians in paradise, Yulin cave 25, Dunhuang, Tang Dynasty
Image available under a Creative Commons license

14. Losing what is considered a disaster in China?
virginity
face
weight
Gansu, desert, people
Walking on the Taklimakan desert sand dunes near Dunhuang, Gansu

15. The chrysanthemum represents which season?
summer
spring
autumn
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum design motif (Plate 92) available under a Creative Commons License

16. How many types of dragon are there in mahjong?
3
4
1
teahouse, people, mahjong
Drinking tea and playing Mahjong in a park Copyright © Dreamstime see image license

17. Which was traditionally NOT added to tea as a flavoring?
orange peel
sugar
jasmine
Fujian, tea plantation
Tea in flower at a plantation in Fujian Province

18. The Yi Jing (I Ching) system of fortune telling has a system of how many hexagrams?
100
64
50
Yi Jing, I Ching, Song dynasty
A page from a Song Dynasty (960-1279) printed book of the I Ching (Yi Jing, Classic of Changes or Book of Changes) , 17.7x11.9cm, printed book, in the National Central Library in Taipei. Image by Song era print artist available under a Creative Commons License

19. Confucius and Lao Zi are both said to have lived how long ago?
1,500 years
2,500 years
4,000 years
Confucius, Beijing
Statue of Confucius at the Imperial Academy (Guozijian) Beijing

20. In the Dragon dance, the dragon(s) typically chase what?
sun
pearl
chyrsanthemem
dance, dragon, Foshan, people
Copyright © Dreamstime see image license
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