July monthly Quiz

The Jesuits in Beijing sought an accommodation of the worship/veneration of ancestors which is the bedrock of Chinese religion. The Pope refused and the Christian mission soon foundered.

The arid Tarim Basin holds at its heart the scorching sand desert of the Taklamakan (literally translated as ‘go in, not come out’).

Oracle bones were used during the Shang dynasty 4,000 years ago to ask all sorts of questions of the heavens. They were replaced by the Yi Jing (I Ching) in the following Zhou dynasty.

It is the precise measurement of the flow of blood through the body that was considered the best indicator of health and an indicator of where any illness may lie.

Maotai Liquor is distilled from a wheat and sorghum base; it is famous throughout China and beyond. It is distilled at Maotai, a town in northern Guizhou.

In the classic Feng Shui destruction cycle of elements it is earth that destroys water. This can be by forming a dam or by absorption.

The lion dance needs two performers one for the head and one for the tail. It is the dragon dance that can have many performers.

Zhangjiajie was used as the setting for many of the dramatic scenes. The association is so strong that they now often called the Avator mountains

Jade is considered the ultimate yin in the yin-yang system and so is associated with female, moon and darkness as opposed to male, sun and light.

Salt was a key commodity in China as in the rest of the world. Sichuan has large underground deposits that were extracted by pumping in water through bamboo pipes.

Taiwan was seceded to Japan as a result of the terms of the peace treaty that ended the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) together with the Liaodong peninsula. Taiwan was ruled by Japan for the next 50 years and used as a strategic base during the Second World War. It became the Republic of China (Taiwan) in 1949 after Chiang Kaishek's invasion.

For more petty crimes it was common to put a wide wooden cangue around the neck for weeks or months, this prevented the convicts from being able to feed themselves or even sleep comfortably. The cangue had details of the crime pasted onto it for all to see.

There are 14 countries with land borders with China. Afghanistan has only a tiny border with China of 40 miles [64 kms] in length. Uzbekistan is a small country bordering Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.

A melon has very many seeds and so represents a wish for many children to continue the family line.

The book of Odes (Songs) is an assorted collection of song lyrics from a variety of sources from the Zhou dynasty. The topics covered include love, marriage, victory celebrations, sacrifices and hunts.