More Chinese Myths and Legends Quiz

Answer: Powerful Warrior Guards

Known as 'Jin Gang Li Shi' in Mandarin, these four Gods were '30 zhang (an ancient Chinese measurement; 1 zhang = 3.58m) tall, ferocious-looking and very powerful'. According to legend, there was a time when half of heaven suddenly collapsed and the earth cracked making it hard for people to survive.

The Goddess, Nu Wa, melted some multi-coloured stones, patched and blocked up the cracks. She then slew a giant turtle and set its four feet up as pillars to support the four corners of heaven. These were the Four Poles. To prevent the Four Poles from collapsing, the Heavenly Emperor sent the Powerful Warriors to guard it.

Answer: The Kitchen God

On Chinese New Year's Eve, the Kitchen God would present his annual report on the behaviour of all in the household to the heavenly Jade Emperor. To ensure that the report will be favourable, householders would clean the god's shrine in the kitchen thoroughly and bribe him by smearing honey in his mouth so that sweet and flattering words would be said about them.

A good report would bring good fortune and luck. A bad report is avoided by dipping the god's portrait in wine to get him drunk or feeding him a sticky confection to prevent him talking or both.

The Jade Emperor would then grant rewards or punishments to the household accordingly.

Answer: Guan Di

Guan Di, ne Guan Yu, was one of the most well known military generals in Chinese history. He served under Liu Bei (first emperor of the Shu Kingdom)during the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He was captured and executed by the ruler of the Wu Kingdom in 220 CE.

He was made the God of War sometime during the Ming Dynasty and is described in folklore as being 'nine feet tall, dressed in green, [with] a ruddy face, [the] eyes of a phoenix and bushy eyebrows'.

Answer: Dawn, childbirth and destiny

As the Goddess of Dawn, Bixia Yuanjin welcomes each new day from her home in the clouds.
She is present during the birth of children in order to fix their destiny and also to bring blessings and good fortune.

Answer: Jiang shi

The Chinese believe that a person becomes a 'jiang shi' (stiff corpse) when he/she dies unnaturally or improperly and the soul fails to leave the body. They can look ordinary or be absolutely terrifying with 'long white hair and green-whitish furry skin'. Spells conjured by Taoist priests and written on red or yellow paper and stuck to the head of the 'jiang shi' render them inanimate.

Answer: Zhi Nu

Zhi Nu is responsible for weaving all the beautiful clothes worn by the other deities.

Answer: He Xian Gu

It was said that He Xian Gu or Lady He was born with six radiant golden hairs on her head.
One legend has it that when she was a child, she met a stranger who gave her a peach. After eating it, she never felt hunger again and was also able to tell people's fortune.
Another legend told of how when she was 14 years of age, she dreamed of a deity who taught her how to grind the 'mother of clouds' stone into powder and eat it so that she could be light and become an immortal.

Answer: Shen Nong

The name Shen Nong means 'Divine Farmer'. He is also called 'Yan Di' and 'Wu Gu Xian Di' (Emperor of the Five Grains). He is believed to have lived some 5 000 years ago and taught people how to cultivate grains so as to avoid killing animals unnecessarily.
He is also credited with introducing the use of herbs as medicine, personally tasting hundreds of them to determine their medicinal value. His book the "Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing" (The Divine Farmer's Herb-Root Classic) is considered to be the earliest book dealing with Chinese pharmacopoiea. He is the patron of pharmacists.

Answer: The Cowherd and the Weaving Maid

In this legend, a cowherd, Niu Lang, fell in love and married the youngest of seven fairy sisters, Zhi Nu. But the Goddess of Heaven, Wang Mu Niang Niang, found out and had Zhi Nu forcibly brought back to Heaven. A devastated Niu Lang was advised by his talking cow to kill itself and put on its hide so that Niu Lang could get to Heaven to rescue his wife.

When Wang Mu Niang Niang discovered Niu Lang's intention, she used her silver hairpin to scratch a river in the sky (The Milky Way) to separate the lovers forever.

The lovers eventually became the stars Altair (Niu Lang) and Vega (Zhi Nu). However, once a year on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month, all the magpies would take pity on the couple. They would fly up to Heaven to form a bridge across the river so that the two lovers could be together just for that one night.

Answer: He Bo

He is also known as 'Feng Yi' or 'Bing Yi'. He was appointed to guard the area around the Yellow River and also to control the flooding. He spots a red moustache, dresses all in white and wears a black crown. He rode a white horse and has twelve boy attendants.

The quotations and information in this quiz come from:
"100 Chinese Gods" by Lu Yanguang
"Chinese Beliefs and Superstitions" by Evelyn Yip
"Fun with Chinese Festivals" by Tan Huay Peng
"Origins of Chinese People and Customs" by Li Xiaoxiang
"Origins of Chinese Festivals by Wu Peiqi
"Gateway to Chinese Culture", an Asiapac Publication