September Quiz

On the 9th day of the 9th month for the (Zhongyang or Chongyang) festival people used to take to high ground and fly all sorts of kites as a way of appeasing the spirits. If a mountain or hill is not to hand a tall building or pagoda would be climbed.

Like the mandrake plant in Europe, ginseng has been associated with magical powers because its root is shaped like a child (and hence the use of 人 rén ‘person’ in its Chinese name of Renshen). It was believed that it cried when it was pulled out of the ground.

The distinctive architecture of old foreign concession buildings can be seen at Tianjin and the nationality of the original concessions is embodied in the style of the houses. Reflecting its colonial past there are two large cathedrals: Wang Hai Lou (north) and Xi Kai Jiao Tang (south).

Discovering a Jewish synagogue at Kaifeng, Henan came as a great surprise to Europeans in the 19th century. Although the synagogue was built in Chinese traditional style it had a copy of the Torah and was following traditional Jewish teachings.

A carp symbolizes a favorable wish as it sounds similar to 利lì ‘favorable, benefit, advantage’ and 力lì means ‘strength, power’.

Scotsman Reginald Johnston became Puyi's most trusted adviser, friend and mentor 1919-24. He was portrayed by Peter O'Toole in the Oscar winning The Last Emperor film.

The 64 hexagrams of the Yi Jing (I Ching) begin with heaven (all yang) followed by its opposite earth (all yin).

In the famous legend Nu Mengjiang's husband was a conscript sent to build the Great Wall. Nu Mengjiang went to seek out her husband and after much searching was told he had died and was buried beneath the Wall. After three nights of sad and lonely vigil, the Wall split open revealing the bodies of the dead including her husband clasping the other half a jade hairpin she carried with her. Heartbroken she threw herself into the sea.

It's little known that the reason that rice is grown in flooded 'paddy' fields is not because rice needs to grow 'underwater' but it is the simplest method to suppress weeds that would grow in marshy or dry land.

Liu Bang, born of peasant stock, led the rebellion against the vestiges of Qin dynasty rule and became the first Han Emperor in 206BCE.

The top Imperial eunuchs controlled access to the Emperor and received huge bribes to get anyone a personal interview. Although some eunuchs became extremely rich most were just menial servants with very basic pay.

Shenyang was the Manchu capital and ‘Mukden’ is its Manchu name. The city in Liaoning province has many historical sites within the large industrial city.

While many creatures in the west have a worse reputation than in China for example rats; pigs and dragons, for the fox it is the other way around. They are believed to be inhabited by evil spirits.

Actors dressed in black with black make-up are considered 'invisible';

Nine is an Imperial number and nine dragons is considered particularly propitious.