May Quiz

A monthly quiz of general history, traditions, geography questions for May
1. Which country other than Britain took part in the Opium Wars with China?
France
Portugal
Russia
opium war, sea battle, junk, boat, ship
The East India Company iron steam ship Nemesis, commanded by Lieutenant W. H. Hall, with boats from the Sulphur, Calliope, Larne and Starling, destroying the Chinese war junks in Anson's Bay, on 7 January 1841. Image by Edward Duncan available under a Creative Commons License

2. Which European scientist considered the Yi Jing as proof of ancient knowledge of binary arithmetic?
Leibniz
Isaac Newton
Francis Bacon
yi jing
Three gold coins used for Yi Jing fortune telling

3. The 'Peony Pavilion' is a famous what?
opera
novel
sexual position
Dunhuang, Gansu, music
Musicians in paradise, Yulin cave 25, Dunhuang, Tang Dynasty
Image available under a Creative Commons license

4. When did the first known Chinese person visit Britain?
1685
1357
1924
christian, Shen Fuzong

5. Why is rice planted in water?
suppress weeds
maintain moisture level
suppress insect pests
rice, Yunnan
Sheaves of rice set out to dry, Yuanyang, Yunnan

6. In which dynasty did Emperor Qianlong rule?
Ming
Song
Qing
Qingming, tomb, ancestor veneration
Food offerings placed on a grave at Qing Ming Festival Copyright © Dreamstime see image license

7. Under which British sovereign was the first official embassy sent off to China?
King Edward VI
Queen Victoria
King George III
Macartney, embassy, kowtow
William Alexander's drawing of the reception of the Macartney embassy to China. Young Thomas Staunton (kneeling not kowtowing) receives a gift from the Emperor. Image by William Alexander available under a Creative Commons License

8. Wade-Giles is a method for doing what?
Decorating porcelain
Processing tea
Writing Chinese with English letters
Mid autumn festival, cartoon, moon, Chang'E
Mid Autumn Festival

9. An auspicious arrangement of hills is sometimes called?
magic lotus
hidden dragon
sleeping phoenix
Zhejiang, mountains, view
Zhejiang scenery near Hangzhou including a tea plantation

10. In which Chinese province was the 14th Dalai Lama (present leader) born?
Tibet
Shanxi
Qinghai
Buddhism , prayer wheel
Buddhist prayer wheels at Wudang temple, Inner Mongolia

11. The Uyghur people number over 8 million in which province do they mainly live?
Shanxi
Xinjiang
Sichuan
Bejing, street, mcdonalds, people, PKChina-34
Beijing street. September 2019. Image by Paul Kerswill

12. A meeting at Lushan in 1959 brought an end to the career of which revolutionary leader
Zhu De
Deng Xiaoping
Peng Dehuai
Jiangxi, Lushan, waterfall
Waterfall on Lushan mountains, Jiangxi

13. Which of these is NOT part of the Buddhist eightfold path to enlightenment
abstain from sex
meditation
act sensitively
luohan, Buddhism
A luóhàn (arhat), found at Yixian, Hebei province, Liao dynasty (907-1125). British Museum, London. Image by David Castor available under a Creative Commons License

14. The noon day gun is fired every day where?
Hong Kong
Tianjin
Shanghai
family, people, traditional dress, silk
Father and son

15. How would you say 'next month' in Chinese?
昨天 zuó tiān
下个月 xià gè yuè
上个月 shàng gè yuè
Chengdu, Sichuan, bridge
Anshun bridge at Chengdu, Sichuan
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