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History of China

Can you guess these facts from Chinese history?
In China, the family name comes first!
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: June 10, 2019
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First submittedJanuary 5, 2015
Times taken38,343
Average score57.6%
Rating4.39
6:00
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 / 33 guessed
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Hint
Answer
River called the cradle of Chinese civilization
Yellow River
What gave the emperor the right to rule
Mandate of Heaven
Chinese name for China, reflecting its position in the world
Middle Kingdom
Oldest book of Chinese classics, credited to the Duke of Zhou
I Ching
Probably China's most influential philosopher
Confucius
Founder of Daoism
Laozi
Ancient canal, still the world's longest
Grand Canal
Protective barrier meant to keep out northern invaders
Great Wall
Indian religion that exerted a great influence in China
Buddhism
Mongolian Khan who conquered China
Kublai Khan
Zheng He's fleet of ships bearing gifts throughout Asia
Treasure Fleet
Hairstyle mandated by Manchu conquerors
Queue
China fought two wars because of Western efforts
to import this drug
Opium
Territory controlled by the UK, 1842-1997
Hong Kong
Military leader of China who fled to Taiwan
Chiang Kai-shek
First communist leader of China
Mao Zedong
Communist economic program that resulted in perhaps
30 million deaths due to famine
Great Leap
Forward
Communist effort to purge traditional culture
Cultural Revolution
Chinese leader who said "to get rich is glorious"
Deng Xiaoping
Major Dynasties
202 BC–202
Han
618–907
Tang
960–1279
Song
1271–1368
Yuan
1368–1644
Ming
1644–1911
Qing
 
 
Four great
ancient capitals
Beijing
Chang'an
Luoyang
Nanjing
 
 
Four great
ancient inventions
Compass
Gunpowder
Papermaking
Printing
+1
Level 77
Jan 6, 2015
Lao-tse? Lao-tzu? Or some such? Please some alternative spellings for that one. Didn't the Chinese also invent paper money?
+1
Level 76
Jan 6, 2015
I was going to say the same thing about Lao Tzu!
+2
Level ∞
Jan 6, 2015
I added more type-ins for that one.
+1
Level 21
Sep 28, 2020
Paper money wasn’t one of the 4 greatest though
+1
Level 61
Nov 9, 2020
They did not invent the compass, they invented the magnetic compass. Big difference.
+7
Level 71
Dec 4, 2020
The "4 great inventions" of China seems kinda dumb to me. China invented waaay more than just 4 things. The idea of there being 4 major Chinese inventions isn't even Chinese, it's something that European scholars came up with.
+4
Level 66
Aug 9, 2015
How the heck to 43% of people know who Deng Xiaopeng is? That seems super high, he's just not that commonly known (I think).
+19
Level 82
Aug 9, 2015
Probably because he shows up on my excellent World Leaders of the Cold War quiz.
+16
Level 84
May 17, 2016
Although he didn't come immediately after Mao, he was arguably the most important Chinese leader after him. His efforts to open China to the west, economically at least, are the underlying reason so much of the world's goods are now made in China.
+8
Level 78
Jun 18, 2018
Just the leader for 10 years of the largest nation on earth. Ever heard of Ronald Reagan? He was the leader of a country about 1/4 the size for about the same time.
+21
Level ∞
Jun 10, 2019
If you credit Deng with letting China become a capitalist country, then it's nearly impossible to understate his importance. In 1981, 88% of Chinese people lived in extreme poverty (defined as less than $1.90 per day). Today, that number is 0.7%. Few people in history have had so great an impact as Deng Xiaoping.
+1
Level 43
Mar 18, 2024
China is a mixed economy with huge amounts of state ownership, it has elements of capitalism I wouldn't call it capitalist.
+1
Level 68
Jul 11, 2019
You just need to read some books, e.g. Wild Swans. And Deng Xiaoping is fun to say.
+4
Level 67
Jul 11, 2019
We learned about him in History class. Deng is a very important figure in 20th-century History.
+1
Level 86
Jul 12, 2019
Oh, I knew him, but I didn't know how to spell his name. Spelled Xiaoping right, but thought the first part was Den, not Deng.
+2
Level 79
May 28, 2020
Deng Xiaoping*
+1
Level 87
Jan 8, 2024
Deng was at the same time as Reagan and Gorbachev and arguably just as important, so yeah
+6
Level 56
Aug 9, 2015
It's very nice that you bring these quizzes to the front page. This way Western people can learn more about Asian history. To be fair, you should accept Hubilai Khan as that's his name in Mongolian.
+5
Level 68
Aug 10, 2015
31/33. My undergrad is in Chinese & Japanese History so I'm a little embarrassed I didn't get Deng Xiaoping. Legitimately didn't know compass. A little confused why you didn't include Hangzhou as a capital but did include Luoyang. They both were capitals during broken periods and unified dynasties (Hangzhou-Song, Luoyang-Zhou). Great quiz! I would love to see more "History of...." quizzes for other countries and cultures!
+3
Level 65
Jul 11, 2019
I was also trying Kaifeng, which was at some point one of the largest (if not the largest) city in the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_cities_throughout_history

+1
Level 37
Aug 12, 2015
Is there any chance you could accept Yangtze for the Yellow River?
+12
Level 72
Aug 12, 2015
The Yangtze is not the "cradle of Chinese civilization", just the longest
+1
Level 31
Aug 12, 2015
Yeah
+16
Level 80
Jul 11, 2019
They are two separate rivers.
+1
Level 55
Jun 16, 2022
Yangtze is 長江, while Yellow River is 黃河
+1
Level 32
Aug 12, 2015
Great quiz, I love China but got only 25/33. You could also include paper money in the section of chinese inventions.
+1
Level 31
Aug 12, 2015
Can't yellow river also be yangtze
+10
Level 88
Oct 14, 2015
No, that would be wrong.
+3
Level 49
Sep 15, 2020
If you can move the former around a thousand miles south, and then merge the two rivers, then feel free to suggest this again.
+7
Level 81
Nov 18, 2021
Can't hudson river also be mississippi
+1
Level 31
Aug 12, 2015
63 %. Im happy with that
+9
Level 51
Jul 11, 2019
Please accept Jiang Jieshi for Chiang Kai Shek
+1
Level 76
Jul 11, 2019
Yeah, it probably should be accepted. It's how it's written in modern pinyin, although most people still call him Chiang Kai-shek. It's like how Mao Tse-tung and Mao Zedong are both acceptable names,
+1
Level 70
Jul 13, 2019
Yeah, Jiang Jieshi and maybe Jiang Zhongzheng should be accepted too.
+1
Level 67
Jul 11, 2019
Han dynasty finished at AD220, not 202 (although by 196 the emperor was kidnapped by Cao Cao and Han existed in name only)
+3
Level 70
Jul 11, 2019
Didn't Genghis start the conquest of China? It's a little bit misleading.
+1
Level 62
Jul 11, 2019
Yes, I first typed in Genghis and was quite confused that it wasn't accepted. Kublai certainly completed the conquest of China, but much of the initial conquest was done by Genghis.
+4
Level 37
Mar 18, 2021
No it's not misleading at all. Genghis might have started things, but it's Kublai who finished the conquest, became emperor, and founded the Yuan dynasty. Genghis was long dead by then.
+3
Level 87
Jul 11, 2019
I have said this many times and I'll say it again - can we please have the ACTUAL Chinese spellings accepted? I mean, Chiang Kai Shek's actual name is Jiang Jie Shi.
+8
Level 82
Jul 11, 2019
Wouldn't the actual Chinese spelling be 蔣中正?
+1
Level 51
Aug 6, 2019
The translation can be Jiang Jieshi. Not just Chiang Kai-shek. So Jiang Jieshi should still be included.
+1
Level 37
May 1, 2020
You don't "spell" Chinese characters.
+1
Level 60
Jun 18, 2022
I thought it was 蒋介石
+3
Level 49
Sep 15, 2020
Jiang Jie Shi is not an "ACTUAL Chinese spelling". All it is is the pinyin romanisation of an actual Chinese name. However, he is more broadly known by his Chiang Kai Shek romanisation so that is the correct answer here. There is a logical case that Jiang Jieshi is an acceptable alternative spelling but it is just outright inaccurate to claim that it is an "ACTUAL Chinese spelling" especially with the unnecessary use of capital letters. This is Jetpunk, not Twitter.
+1
Level 74
May 5, 2021
Actually, considering there are almost certainly more Mandarin speakers than English speakers who know about him, I find it very unlikely that "he is more broadly known by his Chiang Kai Shek romanization." A better approximation of the Mandarin pronunciation is going to be Jiang rather than Chiang (especially the way many people say Chiang with a long A). Using the official romanization system for countries where Mandarin is widely spoken is actually quite reasonable.
+2
Level 50
Jun 16, 2022
This is an English language quiz and there are more likely to be more English speakers than Mandarin speakers taking this quiz.
+1
Level 71
Sep 8, 2022
It would be cool to accept any standard transliteration (as well as any common non-standard ones, even though the displayed answer should be the most common name used in English (obviously). The Quizmaster may even be grateful for additional correct transliterations, when pointed out without the attitude.
+5
Level 88
Jul 12, 2019
I pictured the hairstyle immediately, but had no idea what it was called. I kept trying different variations with the word braid. :(
+1
Level 54
Jul 12, 2019
I only missed the hairstyle. Aced all ON first try but nor queue. This confuse me. History and geography geek here
+2
Level 37
May 1, 2020
I wrote pigtails.
+1
Level 49
Sep 15, 2020
Yes, it would be good to have pigtail as an acceptable answer please.
+1
Level 81
Jun 15, 2022
Pigtails are usually more than one bundle of hair. A ponytail is all the hair in one bundle. A queue was arguably a ponytail but definitely not pigtails.
+1
Level 78
Jun 20, 2022
Ponytail should be accepted, I think.
+2
Level 28
Jul 14, 2019
Please accept more regexes for Kublai Khan.
+2
Level 75
Jul 15, 2019
Couldn't figure out how I got such a low score - then I noticed the second column. Sigh.
+2
Level 51
Aug 6, 2019
Gonna say this again because it hasn't changed. Quizmaster, please add Jiang Jieshi as an option.
+4
Level 60
Apr 30, 2020
Print should be accepted for printing
+2
Level 56
May 1, 2020
Yes, print should be accepted
+1
Level 69
May 1, 2020
This one's definitely going to take a few attempts to get 25 for the badge...
+2
Level 37
May 1, 2020
"Huang" should be accepted for the Yellow River.
+1
Level ∞
May 1, 2020
Huang He works.
+1
Level 74
May 5, 2021
But River is in the question, and Yellow is accepted, so Huang should also be accepted for consistency. The "Huang He River" is redundant.
+1
Level 50
May 3, 2020
Can you accpet Kong Zi for Confucius?
+1
Level 62
May 5, 2020
Yay! Got the China badge! I only got 31/33, but it was enough.
+1
Level 50
May 8, 2020
FINALLY GOT THE CHINA BADGE
+1
Level 31
Apr 19, 2022
My first bandage is the China bandage 😅
+1
Level 71
Jun 13, 2020
I think 'Tail' or in English 'Pig Tail' should be accepted for 'Queue' which is just the French posh name for Pigtail. As this is an English Language quiz. The French Language quiz can use the 'Queue'
+1
Level 49
Sep 15, 2020
Yes, seconded.
+1
Level 66
Jul 3, 2020
25/33, but enough to get the China badge(My 20th badge)!!
+2
Level 78
Aug 17, 2021
"In China, the family name comes first!" Wait, did Vin Diesel write the quiz description?
+1
Level 43
Dec 17, 2021
Dengista
+1
Level 75
Jun 15, 2022
Western efforts weren't to import opium - they were to export it. To, not from, China.
+2
Level 82
Jun 16, 2022
I think as a matter of course, Jetpunk quizzes on China should always accept pinyin names (even if another name is more commonly used in English). Thus Kong Fuzi for Confucius and Jiang Jieshi for Chiang Kai-shek.
+2
Level 65
Oct 5, 2022
Accept Xiaoping for Deng?
+3
Level 27
Dec 22, 2022
I'm Chinese. "I Ching" (易经) is spelled as "Yi Jing" in Pinyin. That should be a correct answer. And I don't think "Ching" is proper to be a blank, because "I" is the name and "Ching" means "classic". I Ching is one of the Four Books and Five Classics (四书五经; si shu wu jing). The Five Classics are Shi (诗; "poem"), Shu (书; "book"), Li (礼; "ceremonial"), Yi ("change", a divination book) and Chun Qiu (春秋; "spring and autumn", a history book).
+1
Level 43
May 20, 2023
accept cue alternate spelling for queue
+1
Level 55
Nov 30, 2023
Add Jing as type-in for Ching?