Traditions Quiz 1

Starter level quiz all about Chinese traditions
1. Which color was reserved for the roof tiles of Imperial buildings?
yellow
brown
black
Qing dynasty, Beihai Park, Beijing, roof
Beijing park pavilion roof

2. The musical intrument called a 'pipa' is a type of what?
lute
drum
flute
music, guzheng
Guzheng is a traditional Chinese musical instrument belonging to the zither family of string instruments

3. What is Dimsum?
stuffed boiled dough
thick noodles
snake meat
Guangdong, Shenzhen, food, shop
A store at Shenzhen Baoan Xixiang market, Guangdong. 2014 Copyright © Dreamstime see image license

4. When is the next dragon astrological year?
2042
2036
2050
silk, dragon
Silk embroidery of Chinese dragon

5. Which plant is mentioned in the Buddhist mantra 'Om mani padme hum'?
lotus
orchid
peony
Buddhism , Mount Emei, Sichuan, elephant
Golden palace at the top of Mount Emei, Sichaun with the world's highest status of Pǔxián Púsà 賢菩薩.

6. How many types of dragon are there in mahjong?
4
2
3
teahouse, people, mahjong
Drinking tea and playing Mahjong in a park Copyright © Dreamstime see image license

7. The chrysanthemum represents which season?
autumn
none
spring
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum design motif (Plate 92) available under a Creative Commons License

8. Where might you find a man riding a hen?
at Qing Ming festival
in a Mahjong set
on a roof

9. Which astrological animal heads the sequence of twelve?
snake
rat
horse
Hong Kong, zodiac, sculpture
The Garden of the Chinese Zodiac features twelve carved animals in the gardens of Kowloon Walled City Park, Hong Kong

10. Losing what is considered a disaster in China?
weight
face
balance
Gansu, desert, people
Walking on the Taklimakan desert sand dunes near Dunhuang, Gansu

11. Firecrackers are usually which color in China?
yellow
blue
red
lantern festival, festival, fujian
Lantern Festival, Daoist parade of gods (Ngi?ng-s?ng) in Luoyuan, Fuzhou. Image by LuHungnguong available under a Creative Commons License

12. An ink stone is used for what?
resting brushes
paperweight
grinding ink
imperial inscription, vermillion,  calligraphy, Emperor Qianlong
Part of a memorandum from a high official with a vermillion ink note added by Emperor Qianlong.

13. The Erhu is the most common traditional stringed instrument, how many strings does it have?
4
5
2
Dunhuang, Gansu, music
Musicians in paradise, Yulin cave 25, Dunhuang, Tang Dynasty
Image available under a Creative Commons license

14. Which would you NOT expect to find in a Chinese garden?
pool
lawn
bamboo
chinoiserie, chinese bridge, garden
Chinese bridge. Apremont Gardens, France. Image by Parc floral available under a Creative Commons License

15. What is an 'eye' in mahjong?
a pair of tiles
set of three
50 points
mahjong, game
Playing mahjong at Seattle's Chinatown-International District Night Market, Hing Hay Park, International District, Seattle, Washington. Image by Joe Mabel available under a Creative Commons License

16. Confucius and Lao Zi are both said to have lived how long ago?
1,500 years
500 years
2,500 years
Confucius, Beijing
Statue of Confucius at the Imperial Academy (Guozijian) Beijing

17. Dowager Empress Cixi was very fond of which dog breed?
Chow
Pug
Pekingese
dog, han dynasty, pottery
A pottery dog from the Chinese Han Dynasty. Image by Gary Lee Todd available under a Creative Commons License

18. In the Dragon dance, the dragon(s) typically chase what?
pearl
chyrsanthemem
sun
dance, dragon, Foshan, people
Copyright © Dreamstime see image license

19. The Yi Jing (I Ching) system of fortune telling has a system of how many hexagrams?
50
64
32
Yi Jing, I Ching, Song dynasty
A page from a Song Dynasty (960-1279) printed book of the I Ching (Yi Jing, Classic of Changes or Book of Changes) , 17.7x11.9cm, printed book, in the National Central Library in Taipei. Image by Song era print artist available under a Creative Commons License

20. Which was traditionally NOT added to tea as a flavoring?
sugar
onion
jasmine
Fujian, tea plantation
Tea in flower at a plantation in Fujian Province
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