May Quiz

A monthly quiz of general history, traditions, geography questions for May
1. In which Chinese province was the 14th Dalai Lama (present leader) born?
Shanxi
Qinghai
Sichuan
Buddhism , prayer wheel
Buddhist prayer wheels at Wudang temple, Inner Mongolia

2. Which country other than Britain took part in the Opium Wars with China?
Prussia
Russia
France
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

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

4. The 'Peony Pavilion' is a famous what?
Shanghai building
sexual position
opera
ship, junk, boat
Chinese traditional ship

5. How would you say 'next month' in Chinese?
上个月 shàng gè yuè
下个月 xià gè yuè
后天 hòu tiān
Ming dynasty, architecture, Chuandixia, courtyard
Ming dynasty village at Chuandixia near Beijing

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

7. Which of these is NOT part of the Buddhist eightfold path to enlightenment
reject evil
meditation
abstain from sex
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

8. In which dynasty did Emperor Qianlong rule?
Ming
Qing
Song
abacus
Chinese abacus. Photo by Loadmaster (David R. Tribble), available under a Creative Commons license .This image was modified from its original form.

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

10. Why is rice planted in water?
suppress weeds
provide nutrients
suppress insect pests
rice, Yunnan
Sheaves of rice set out to dry, Yuanyang, Yunnan

11. The noon day gun is fired every day where?
Lhasa
Hong Kong
Tianjin
Buddhism , prayer wheel
Buddhist prayer wheels at Wudang temple, Inner Mongolia

12. Which European scientist considered the Yi Jing as proof of ancient knowledge of binary arithmetic?
Leibniz
Descartes
Voltaire
yi jing
Three gold coins used for Yi Jing fortune telling

13. Wade-Giles is a method for doing what?
Classifying paintings
Processing tea
Writing Chinese with English letters
TCM, calligraphy
A range of traditional medicines with calligraphy extolling the virtues of TCM

14. Under which British sovereign was the first official embassy sent off to China?
King Edward VI
Queen Elizabeth I
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

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