China's Sichuan Province Trivia Quiz

Answer: four rivers

The heart of Sichuan is a basin surrounded by mountains. There are a number of rivers flowing through it, including the Min, Tuo, and Jialing, all tributaries of the mighty Yangzi. The province is not named directly for these rivers, however. "Sichuan" is an abbreviation of "Chuan Xia Si Lu" (meaning "Four Circuits of Rivers and Gorges"), a label referring to the administrative divisions of the region during the Northern Song dynasty, circa AD 1100.

Answer: Sanxingdui

The sacrificial pits at Sanxingdui in Guanghan County, Sichuan (north of Chengdu) were discovered in 1986. The find included "more than sixty ivory tusks, hundreds of hardstone blades and other objects, bronze ritual vessels, more than fifty life-size bronze heads, more than twenty bronze masks, a life-size standing bronze figure, as well as various gold objects." (Xiaoneng Yang, ed., "The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology," page 206.) Unfortunately no writing was found at the site, so the identity of the people who made these amazing objects remains a matter of speculation.

Answer: a poet

Sima Xiangru lived from 179 to 127 BC, during the Western Han dynasty. He was a key figure in the development of the "fu" form of classical Chinese poetry.

Answer: Liu Bei

Liu Bei (161-223), a descendant of the original founder of the Han dynasty, established his "legitimist" Shu-Han state in Sichuan early in the 3rd century AD. His rival Cao Cao controlled northern China, and another rival, Sun Quan, established the Wu state on the lower Yangzi with its capital at today's Nanjing. Lü Bu was an also-ran whose power never extended into Sichuan.

Answer: False

It is true that the arrival of New World chili peppers such as C. annuum and C. frutescens gave Sichuan cooking a little extra kick, but wrong to say that it was bland before that. It was already known for its piquancy during the Song period (960-1279) thanks to other spices such as brown pepper (fagara). See K.C. Chang, ed., "Food in Chinese Culture," especially page 329.

Answer: Zhang Xianzhong

Zhang Xianzhong lived from 1606 to 1647 and was called "The Yellow Tiger" because of his sallow complexion -- and savagery. Sichuan did suffer a steep decline in population in the 17th century, though how much of the damage should be attributed to Zhang is a matter of debate since his rule only lasted a few years and other forces contested the province for longer periods.

Answer: foreign-financed railway development

Sichuanese local elites and businessmen had raised funds to build railroads in their province. Doubting that these local interests would be able to move the construction forward expeditiously, the Manchu-led Qing government in Beijing took control of the project in 1911 and turned to foreign bankers (including J.P. Morgan) for financing. Soldiers sent to suppress the protest were radicalized by the experience; after they returned to their base at Wuhan, they played key roles in the anti-Qing revolution that broke out there on October 10, 1911.

Answer: Chungking

Chiang moved his capital to Chungking (Chongqing) after the fall of Wuhan to the Japanese in October 1938, and his government stayed there until the war ended in 1945. For much of this time, the city was subjected to heavy Japanese bombing. Chongqing was separated from Sichuan province in 1997 to become a municipality reporting directly to the center (in effect, a new province).

Answer: Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping, China's "paramount leader" from 1979 until his death in 1997, was born in Guang'an County, Sichuan, in 1904. Jiang and Hu were born in Jiangsu but have Anhui roots. Xi was born in Beijing but his family came from Shaanxi.

Answer: Brecht

Marxism meets Orientalism in Bertolt Brecht's play about the golden-hearted prostitute Shen Te, completed while the playwright was in exile in the U.S. during World War II and first performed in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1943. The German title is "Der gute Mensch von Sezuan," variously translated as "The Good Woman of Szechwan," "The Good Person of Szechwan," and "The Good Soul of Szechuan."