December Quiz

A monthly quiz of general history, traditions, geography questions for December
1. Which country briefly conquered the island of Taiwan in 1884?
France
U.S.A.
Netherlands
Taiwan, Taipei
Taiwan's National Concert Hall located in Taipei December 2006. Image by Scchiang available under a Creative Commons license .

2. Yǔ is a common character what does it mean?
abundance
expensive
rain
Sacred Way
The 2,018 feet [615 meters] long Stone Elephant Road is the first section of the Spirit Way (Shendao) of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. It is lined with several kinds of stone animals - lions, xiezhi, camels, elephants, qilin (Chinese unicorns), and horses. 27th Jan 2011. Image by User:Vmenkov available under a Creative Commons license .

3. The tomb of the First Qin Emperor is located in which province?
Hebei
Shaanxi
Ningxia
Qin dynasty, Terracotta army
The famous terracotta warriors at the tomb of the first Qin Emperor Shihuangdi

4. “It doesn't matter whether a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice” is a famous saying of which Chinese leader?
Jiang Zemin
Hu Yaobang
Deng Xiaoping
Hainan, Haikou, modern housing
Haikou city, Hainan island

5. Which number is traditionally associated with the Emperor?
nine
three
five
Ming dynasty, Forbidden City, view, Beijing
View of the Forbidden City, Beijing from the peak of Jingshan Hill

6. Chengde (aka Jehol) was built as a summer resort for the emperors of which dynasty?
Qing dynasty
Han dynasty
Ming dynasty
Hebei, Chengde, Buddhism, ding
Buddhist temple at Chengde, Hebei

7. The ‘Elephant Game’ is the Chinese name for which pastime?
chess
chequers
rummy
bamboo
A Chinese bamboo book, open and unfolded to display the contents. This copy of The Art of War by Sun Wu is part of a collection at the University of California, Riverside . It was either commissioned or transcribed by the Qing Emperor Qianlong.
Image by bluefootedbooby available under a Creative Commons license

8. Mandarin ducks represent what in Chinese artwork?
career success
wealth
marital harmony
duck, mandarin, whiteknights

9. The number of the year in China is counted from the following event?
Birth of the Yellow Emperor
Foundation of the Han dynasty
Foundation of the Zhou dynasty
ming tomb, silk, Dongling, Emperor Wanli
When Wanli's tomb was opened in 1956, his invaluable silk robes began immediately to decay. Fortunately, they were copied by skillful workers who reproduced the beauty of these garments. Image by G41rn8 available under a Creative Commons License

10. The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is located in which city?
Guangzhou
Wuhan
Shanghai
Shanghai, Pudong, skyscraper

11. China grows roughly what proportion of the world's rice?
40%
28%
38%
rice, Guangxi, terraces
Terraced rice fields being planted in Guangxi province

12. The 'Hundred Schools of Philosophy' period occurred when in Chinese history?
Min dynasty
Eastern Zhou dynasty
Tang dynasty
Confucius, Qufu

13. In traditional medicine Goji berries were traditionally used to treat what?
bronchitis
high blood pressure
arthritis
TCM, calligraphy
A range of traditional medicines with calligraphy extolling the virtues of TCM

14. The Long March of 1934-35 started from which province?
Jilin
Guizhou
Jiangxi
Mao Zedong,  Long March
Mao Zedong during Long March. 1934-1936. Image available under a Creative Commons License

15. The game of 'go' was a Chinese invention, what is its name in China?
weiqi
xiangqi
ma jiang
Dongting, lake, Hunan
One of a pair of six-section folding screens painted in Chinese Southern School style. This screen depicts the Yueyang Tower at Dongting Lake in which literati hold a gathering. c. 1750. Tokyo National Museum.
Image by Emuseum available under a Creative Commons license
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