'B' the Asian Art Terms! Quiz | Art

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This is a patterning and dyeing process practiced in Indonesia wherein the designer employs wax to permanently imprint a design on fabric. What is this popular dyeing process called?

Answer: Batik

The Indonesian style sarongs that are so commonly warn by the inhabitants of that country are often produced using the batik process. For a multi-colored design, the process must be repeated with the wax covering the fabric several times.

2. Which of these mammals is associated with good fortune in China, and is depicted symbolically so in Chinese art?

Answer: Bat

Often associated with vampires in the West, certainly not a figure we would associate with luck, in China the bat is a symbol of good things to come! This is not such a surprise when one is to learn that the Chinese characters for bat and happiness are virtually the same in appearance and pronunciation (the difference being in the radical at the side of the characters, bat having the insect radical while happiness has the hand radical).

3. The Buddha is often represented in Asian art sitting underneath a tree. Under which tree will you often find the Buddha meditating?

Answer: Bodhi tree

The Bodhi tree naturally is a symbol of enlightenment in Buddhist art, as it is under this tree that the Buddha achieved his 'waking up'. The Bodhi tree is a type of fig tree and has the scientific name 'Ficus religiosa'...sacred!

4. An item frequently found in ancient Chinese graves, it is circular with a hole in the center. What is the term for this item?

Answer: Bi disks

Bi disks can be found in neolithic graves of ancient China. They are made of jade and are quite a bit larger the coins we are familiar with in China that have holes in the center. Some people have surmised that the bi disks were used as coins, but no one really knows why they were created.

5. Bodhisattvas are individuals of the Buddhist faith who have achieved enlightenment but have chosen to remain on Earth to help others. They are ubiquitous in Buddhist art, being found in places as diverse as Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Japan. Speaking of Japan, what is the Japanese term for a Bodhisattva?

Answer: Bosatsu

Perhaps the most famous Boddhisattva, Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin in China), is called Kannon Bosatsu in Japan.

6. Another omnipresent symbol to be found in Asian art, this plant represents resistance and endurance...name it!

Answer: Bamboo

The favorite meal of a Panda, bamboo shoots are also depicted in thousands of Japanese and Chinese paintings. If you have ever taken hold of a bamboo stalk you will understand why it symbolized resistance and endurance...it is tough stuff, a primary building material of Asia!

7. For the inhabitants of a certain Indonesian island life is religious art and there are plenty of places to practice, the island has around 20,000 temples, the largest being Besakih. What is this primarily Hindu island called?

Answer: Bali

The temple of Besakih (Mother of all temples) may be found at the foot of Mt. Agung, a volcano and largest mountain on the island. While there you will want to enjoy the beautiful sounds of the Gamelan (a musical ensemble), the Barong dance and the Goa Lawah, a cave. Then again, you might want to skip the cave...it's full of bats (lawah)!

8. Here's an easy one...what is the name for a dwarf Japanese tree?

Answer: Bonsai

Japanese bonsai trees have become very popular in the United States, but did you know that the art of bonsai was originally imported to Japan from China, where they call it 'penjing', which means 'scenery in a basin'?

9. What is the primary shrine and ordination hall called in a Thai temple compound?

Answer: Bot

A bot...not to be confused with Baht, the Thai currency, or the wat, which is the term for the entire temple complex. I highly recommend taking a trip to Thailand in order that you might see some of the beautiful Buddhist temples there...you won't be disappointed.

10. If you were looking at ancient Chinese vessels called dings, lis, gus and zuns, you would be viewing items made from what metal alloy?

Answer: bronze

Shang and Zhou bronzes have given historians and anthropologists a wealth of information about ancient Chinese culture. Many of the bronzes have been engraved with thousands of ancient Chinese characters, telling us stories about individuals, culture and myth. These and 'oracle bones' made from ox shoulder blades and tortoise shells are our primary sources of information from ancient China. I hope you have enjoyed this quiz and please stay tuned for 'C'!

Source: Author thejazzkickazz

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'B' the Asian Art Terms! Trivia Quiz

From ancient to modern, religious to secular, Asian art is endless in its forms and varieties. See if you cannot identify some of the most significant 'B' terms in Asian art...good luck, enjoy and learn!

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