A monthly tough quiz of general history, traditions, geography questions for June
1. Li or Lee is a very common family name in China what does it mean?
plum
hero
lotus
The character is 李 lǐ representing the plum tree. The tree is highly prized as it is one of the first trees to blossom in early spring. It is currently the second most common family name with 93 million people bearing it in 2019.
West Lake, Hangzhou. Copyright Richard Wingfield, October 2017.
2. About how many Terracotta warriors have been unearthed near Xi'an?
600
8,000
1,000
Only a small part of the first Qin emperor's has been uncovered. There are no plans to excavate further areas as there is a strong respect for the dead in China.
3. With which country did China go to war in 1962?
Afghanistan
India
Korea
The Sino-Indian War lasted just one month and resulted in China taking control of the Aksai Chin border area. A skirmish in 2020-21 also took place along the disputed border on the southern fringe of the Himalayas.
4. Which kingdom during the period known as the ‘Five dynasties and Ten kingdoms’ was chiefly responsible for retaining Tang civilization?
Wu
Shu
Xixia
The Shu kingdom centered on present day Sichuan province kept many of the Tang dynasty's traditions going during the turmoil that separated Tang from Song dynasties.
Village School. Detail of scroll about Suzhou made on the order of Emperor Qianlong
Image by Xu Yang, 18th century painter from Suzhou, China [1736-96] scan by Szilas available under a Creative Commons license ➚.
5. Silver was traditional made into ingots in what shape?
Houses
Shoes
Beetles
The traditional form is a lucky shoe shape known as a ‘sycee’. It was handmade as a large unit of currency.
Chinese marriage ceremony
6. Tiangong is the latest space vehicle of which type?
lunar rover
space lab
launch rocket
天宫 Tiān gōng means ‘heavenly palace’ and is the name given to a series of space stations that China is putting into Earth orbit.
Chinese Shenzhou 5 spacecraft - Model 1:3, Space technology exhibition, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. 28 October 2011 Image by Br?cke-Osteuropa ➚ available under a Creative Commons License ➚
7. What proportion of the Chinese Community Party are women?
55%
26%
35%
Women only make up about a quarter of the party this has somewhat reduced from the early years of the PRC.
Young girl dressed in soldier attire at the arrival of the press plane in Beijing, China. Young girl pictured is not identified. 21st Feb 1972.
Image by Byron E. Schumaker, ca. 1935- available under a Creative Commons license ➚.
8. Which is the luckiest Chinese number?
5
2
8
Eight is the luckiest number and you often see it associated with gambling. There are many gambling web sites with 888 as part of the name. The Beijing Olympics was opened on the 8/8/2008 at 8PM .
Maotai spirit at Baijia Dayuan restaurant, Beijing. September 2019. Image by Paul Kerswill
9. The early days of the Long March the communist leadership was often referred to as a joint operation between Mao and who else?
Zhu De
Deng Xiaoping
Zhou Enlai
The much respected military general Zhu De held joint leadership in the early days, the term Mao-Zhu was a term representing a harmonius balance of intellectual (Mao) and military (Zhu) skills.
Mao Zedong makes a report at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh CPC Central Committee. April 1949. Image by Unknown available under a Creative Commons License ➚
10. Most of the most prized jade comes from which country?
Myanmar (Burma)
Iran
Afghanistan
Although the ancient supply came from within China in the Kunlun mountains for the last few hundred years the country with the biggest mines has been Myanmar. Emperor Qianlong launched offensives to try to capture the mines in the late 18th century.
Jade dish with two fishes among reeds, China, late Ming period. British Museum, room 33b ( the Selwyn and Ellie Alleyne Gallery). Image by Vassil ➚ available under a Creative Commons License ➚
11. Huangpu Military Academy was in which province?
Guangdong
Jiangsu
Tianjin
The academy is famous for its role in training Republican soldiers who went on to lead China such as Lin Biao. It was Chiang Kaishek and Sun Yatsen who set it up in 1924.
The taiji representation is shown with dark ?yin? and light ?yang? swirling around each other. The two dots should be thought as seeds - the small circle of yin can grow into yang, and the circle of yang can transform into yin. Yang can not exist without yin and yin without yang but it is a dynamic system where yang transforms to yin and yin to yang.
13. Where is Dowager Empress Cixi buried?
Eastern Qing Tombs
Chengde
Forbidden City
The Qing dynasty had two separate burial places because feng shui practitioners could not agree which was best. Cixi is buried with a phoenix emblem above the dragon showing the dominance of female power under her long effective reign.
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 ➚.
14. The disgraced Bo Xilai was mayor of which city
Tianjin
Ningbo
Chongqing
In 2012 Bo Xilai was convicted on bribery and embezzlement charges. In truth he had started to build up a significant power base that threatened other PRC leadership. His wife was given a suspended death sentence for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood.
15. Which factor was probably the most important in the success of Mao's Long March?
radio eavesdropping
fine weather
military tactics
Mao had with him some sophisticated radio equipment that allowed him to listen into broadcasts of Chiang Kaishek's GMD forces. Forewarned of offensives against them the Long March managed to stay one step ahead of Chiang Kaishek who had them trapped on several occasions.
A Communist cadre leader addressing survivors of the Long March. Image available under a Creative Commons License ➚
A monthly tough quiz of general history, traditions, geography questions for June
