Intermediate level quiz about the geography, history, traditions and language of China (3)
1. The Altay mountains are on the border of China with which country?
Pakistan
Vietnam
India
Mongolia
The Altay form the border of Xinjiang province with Mongolia and also the short border with Russia in the far north-west.
2. Richard Nixon, US President visited Mao Zedong in which year?
1974
1972
1977
1957
The historic meeting took place between February 21st and 28th 1972. Henry Kissinger and Zhou Enlai worked behind the scenes to make the historic visit possible
3. The Tiananmen Incident of 1989 occurred after the death of which leader?
Hu Yaobang
Wang Hongwen
Jiang Qing
Deng Xiaoping
The reformist Hu Yaobang was Chairman and General Secretary of the Communist 1982-1987. He openly questioned Marxist theory. The student protests were seen as supporting his views on reform and mirrored those that occurred on the death of Zhou Enlai in 1976.
4. What was the nationality of the ambassador killed in Beijing at the time of the Boxer Rebellion?
British
French
Russian
German
Klemens Freiherr von Ketteler was killed on 20th June 1900 at the height of the Boxer Rebellion. This marked the start of the ‘Siege of the Legations’ in Beijing which lasted 55 days before a combined Allied force fought their way into Beijing to rescue the staff of the embassies.
Dowager Empress Cixi with the wives of European diplomats in western clothing standing on either side, together with an adopted Chinese orphan. 1902.
Image from http://puyi.netor.com/gallery ➚ available under a Creative Commons license ➚.
5. The tea plant is a close relative of which ornamental plant widely grown for its flowers?
Skimmia
Camellia
Clematis
Abelia
The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) needs moist air to thrive and Fujian is a favored location to grow it. The related ornamental species are grown as garden plants in China and elsewhere; one example is Camellia japonica.
6. Which one of these is not one of the four treasures of the scholar?
ink stone
ink stick
brush
chop (seal)
The Four Treasures of the Scholar 文房四宝 wén fáng sì bǎo are: ink stick; ink stone; brushes; and paper (bǐ mò zhǐ yàn). Also usually needed are the seal (or chop); cinnabar paste and a pen-stand in the traditional form of a mountain.
7. The blue color of Ming porcelain comes from which chemical element?
Uranium
Cobalt
Boron
Manganese
Cobalt in the form of Cobalt aluminate and carbonate produce the intense blue color glaze of Ming porcelain. It was taken up later in the production of Delftware which tried to copy the Chinese technique. The cobalt was mined in Persia (present day Iran).
Photo by Anonymous, Chinese plate, Ming dynasty, Yongle period 1403-1424, porcelain with under-glaze blue, 23 inches [58 cms] diameter, Honolulu Academy of Arts. Available under a Creative Commons license ➚.
8. Jade was historically mined from which range of mountains in China?
Karakoram
Nanling
Tianshan
Kunlun
The Kunlun mountains in southern Xinjiang was the main source of the precious stone jade. Modern jade now comes mainly from northern Burma (Myanmar).
9. The length of Mao's Long March was equivalent to what distance?
Austin, Texas to New York and back
New York to San Francisco and back
Paris to Moscow
New York to San Francisco
The Long March of 1935 of the beleaguered Chinese communists was epic. It started in Jiangxi province and meandered its way through western China until eventually reaching Shaanxi losing about 60,000 marchers dwindled down to 7,000 along the way. It totalled about 6,000 miles. San Francisco to NY is about 3,000 miles (NY to Miami: 1,300; NY to New Orleans 1,300; NY to Austin 1,700; Paris to Moscow 1,800 miles).
The Luding Bridge over the Dadu River in Luding County, Sichuan. Image by fsyzh available under a Creative Commons License ➚
10. The Yellow River has its source in which province?
Gansu
Henan
Sichuan
Qinghai
Qibnghai province is the source of both the Yangzi (known in China as Chang Jiang and Tongtian He in its upper reaches) and also the Huang He (Yellow River), the two great rivers of China. The mighty Mekong river also rises in the south-east of Qinghai. The area sourcing these three great rivers is designated the Sanjiangyuan: Three Rivers National Park.
11. Hong Kong Island became a U.K. possession in which year?
1862
1856
1842
1830
Hong Kong Island was ceded in perpetuity by China at the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842. Kowloon was ceded in the second Opium War (1860). In 1898 the U.K. bought a 99 year lease for the New Territories, which was the main reason the whole of Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
13. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is what?
Municpal council for Shanghai
Group of Eurasian nations
Enivornmental action group
Group of provinces of southern China
The S.C.O. was set up in 2001 at Shanghai as a Eurasian political, economic and security alliance a bit like NATO, Its members include China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan - China's western and northern neighbors.
Sima Qian provided a great deal of detail on the founding days of the Chinese nation, it was the template for historians writing about all the dynasties that followed. He lived in the early Han dynasty [135-86BCE]. Each dynasty afterwards produced a 'Standard History' based on his template. He set high standards in scholarship for example when he found conflicting reports of events he included all the alternatives rather than choosing just one of them.
A pottery dog from the Chinese Han Dynasty. Image by Gary Lee Todd available under a Creative Commons License ➚
15. Which of these is NOT one of the Five classics of Chinese literature
Book of history
Book of Rites
Dream Pool Essays
Spring and Autumn Annals
The five classics were the basis of scholastic study in the Confucian tradition. To pass the Imperial Examination students needed to learn them by heart.
A page from the oldest known printed book - the Diamond Sutra, discovered near Dunhuang by Sir Marc Aurel Stein ➚ in 1907.
British Library, London
Image available under a Creative Commons license ➚
16. The governing philosophy of the Qin dynasty was what?
Mohism
Legalism
Daoism
Confucianism
Legalism was rule by the letter of the law. Any deviation by anybody was severely punished. The First Qin Emperor set the laws and so was beyond their power and so he ruled dictatorially. It is quite similar to fascism.
17. Qigong martial art concentrates on particualar control of what?
breath
relaxation
balance
movement
Different from Tai chi and not really a martial art is the discipline of Qigong; in this school it is the control of breathing and the holding of posture that is important. The discipline controls the flow of qi to maintain health and a long life.
Chinese man practicing traditional martial art (Datang quan) in Chongqing
18. The Grand or Emperor's Canal linked which two Chinese cities?
Nanjing and Beijing
Shanghai and Beijing
Hangzhou and Beijing
Xi'an and Jinan
The world's longest canal (1,100 miles [1,770 kms]) carried rice and other freight all the way from Hangzhou in Zhejiang to Beijing
Xu Yang, 18th century painter from Suzhou, China; between 1736 and 1796. Image by Scan by Szilas available under a Creative Commons License ➚
19. The earliest printed book was produced in China in which year?
1745
178BCE
868
1155
The earliest known printed book is the Diamond Sutra printed in 868CE. It was discovered at Dunhuang in 1907. It is now held at the British Library, London.
20. The Battle of Yijiangshan Islands took place between which two combatants?
Republicans (KMT) and Communists (PLA)
Taiping rebels and Qing army
Japan and China
Korea and China
The Battle of Yijiangshan Islands took place on January 18th to 20th 1955 off Zhejiang province. The Republican forces from Taiwan were defeated and the Communists have occupied the islands ever since.