Classics of Chinese Literature Online Trivia | Literature

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This novel is a fairy tale account of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang's journey to India during the Tang dynasty to obtain the Buddhist Dharma with the help of his three disciples cum protectors Sun Wuko�ng (the Monkey God), Zhu Bajie (Piggy) and Sha Wujing (Sandy). He also had the aid of a dragon prince who is disguised as his horse.

Answer: Journey to the West

'Xi You Ji' in Mandarin. This novel is also known as 'Adventures of the Monkey God'; and 'Monkey: A Folk Novel of China'; and 'The Adventures of Monkey' in English. It was published during the Ming Dynasty and the author was the scholar Wu Chengen. The novel is divided into four parts. The first is about the exploits of Sun Wukong; the second is about Xuanzang; the third section of the book describes Xuanzang's quest to bring the Buddhist Dharma back to China and the adventures that the companions encountered. The final part describes the return journey back to the Tang Empire and the reward that each received. It is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.

Xuanzang was born in 602 AD and died in 644 AD. He made a solitary journey to India and stayed there for 17 years studying the Buddhist scriptures. He translated them and brought them back to China. In addition, he also translated 75 other works. He also wrote 'Records of Travels to the Western Territories during the Great Tang Dynasty' ('Da Tang Xi You Ji')in which he detailed the people, geography, customs and culture of the countries that he visited.

2. This book is a chronicle of the State of Lu, the native state of Confucius, from the period 722 BCE to 481 BCE. It is an almanac of sorts detailing the diplomatic relationships, alliances and military actions among the feudal states and the births and deaths of the ruling families. Also recorded in this book are dates of natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, locust plagues and solar eclipses.

Answer: Spring and Autumn Annals

Known as 'Chun Qui' in Mandarin. This book has long been regarded to have been compiled by Confucius but it is now believed by some modern scholars that he may have help from other scholars or possibly some of his students.

Confucius (551-479 BC) lived during the Spring and Autumn Period (722-482 BC) in the State of Lu. He was very learned and was also known for his high moral integrity. Many people admired him for these qualities and came to study under him. He was said to have taught more than 3000 students in his lifetime. Confucius spent the last years of his life collating and editing the classics of the Zhou Dynasty (c1100-256 BC).

3. This oldest of the Chinese classic texts is about the ancient system of cosmology and philosophy that forms the core of Chinese cultural beliefs. It revolves around the thought of the principle of the 'yin and yang' (the dynamic balance of opposite), the process of evolution of events, and that change is an inevitable part of life.

Answer: Book of Changes

The 'Yi Ching' in Mandarin. It is also known as 'Classic of Changes'.
The book contains a series of symbols and rules on how to manipulate them and their subsequent interpretations. The combination of the symbols and signs are used in the divination of events such as the most auspicious time for an Emperor's ascension to the throne; to get married; plant crops or to travel etc.

4. The components of this book are all about military strategies and tactics. The study of these strategies and tactics have a huge influence on Eastern and Western military planning, business tactics and even relationships.

Answer: Art of War

The 'Art of War' was written by Sun Tzu during the 6th century BC. Each of its 13 chapters is devoted to different aspects of warfare. The main theme of the book is to use these tactics and strategies to defeat an enemy and help resolve problems without resorting to fighting.

Hence the strategies in the 'Art of War' has also been applied successfully to business and corporate management in modern times in East Asia particularly in China and Japan.

5. What is the name of the novel that is set in thirteenth century China when the Song Dynasty was falling and there was corruption and disorder in the empire; and tells of the trials and adventures of 108 outlaws, bandits and robbers considered criminals by the imperial authorities, but seen as heroes by the common people?

Answer: The Water Margin

It is called 'Shuihu Zhuan' in Mandarin and is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Shi Naian (1296? - 1370?). The book is also known as 'The 108 Heroes', 'All Men are Brothers' and 'Outlaws of the Marsh' in English. This story is a mixture of history and legend, fact and fiction.

Although the characters were bandits, they were also regarded as heroes in that they were brave and skillful warriors with a code of honour of their own. Because of the rampant injustice and corruption in the empire, these bandits/heroes were driven from society to the outlaw refuge of Liang Shan Po, a mountain in Shandong, China.

Their exploits and adventures are recounted here.

6. This book by Sima Qian recounts China's history from the time of the mythical Yellow Emperor of the Xia Dynasty until the author's own time during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It is the first systematic Chinese historical text of its kind and it greatly influenced how Chinese historical texts are written in future.

Answer: Records of the Grand Historian

'Shiji' in Mandarin. It was written by Sima Qian from 109 BC to 91 BC and was his magnum opus. Sima Qian's portrayal of the characters, his clever use of dialogue among the characters and the way he presents the different aspects of a person in different chapters makes reading the book feel more like a reading a novel than a historical text. He also gives a very well written depiction of the influential men of his time. His style of writing gives a very interesting insight into the life and times of this particular era of China's history.

7. This is a Chinese historical novel relating the events in the turbulent years after the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the vast empire was divided into three smaller kingdoms. It tells of the wars fought among the three kingdoms for supremacy and the control of China.

Answer: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

'San Guo Yan Yi' in Mandarin. It was written by Luo Guan Zhong in the 14th century. Yet another of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.
It narrates the many battles that are fought and the different tactics and strategies that are used in each. The theme of the book is also about people and human nature. Human strengths, weaknesses, wisdom and folly are described in its heroes and villains. The many motives behind their ambition and endeavours are also depicted in the book.

8. What novel written in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty by Cao Xue Qin chronicles the lives of the Jia Clan, made up of the Ning-guo and Rong-guo Houses and its subsequent fall from grace and prestige?

Answer: A Dream of Red Mansions

'Hong Lou Meng' in Mandarin. Literally translated it means 'Red Mansion Dreaming'. It is also known as the 'Chronicles of the Stone', 'Dream of the Red Chamber' and 'The Story of the Stone' in English. It is one of the Four Great Classical Novels. This novel is one of the masterpieces of Chinese fiction and is generally considered as the greatest Chinese novel ever written. The novel has 30 major characters and lots of minor ones, a total of 975 in all.

It centers on the main character, Jia Baoyu; his romance with his cousin and his relationship with the female relations of the household.

The novel focuses mainly on the female characters and they are portrayed as being more capable than the males and more learned too in contrast to most Qing females during that time.

9. This novel centres around wealthy Qing Ximen, a corrupt social climber and lustful merchant of the Song Dynasty, who has a consort of wives and concubines. The novel details the domestic and sexual exploits of the women in his household as they compete with each other to be the merchant's favourite together with all the advantages that the position would bring her.

Answer: The Golden Lotus

'Jin Ping Mei' in Mandarin is commonly translated as "The Plum in the Golden Vase". It was written during the late Ming Dynasty (1368 AD-1644 AD). The author was known by the pseudonym Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng. The actual name of the author remains unknown to this day.

It explores sexuality explicitly and is the first full-length Chinese fiction to write about that. It raised quite a few eyebrows and caused a scandal when it was first published just as 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' did.

10. This book is considered to be the earliest existing collection of 305 poems, folk songs and songs for minor and major festivals.

Answer: Classic of Poetry

Also known as the 'Book of Songs' and the 'Book of Odes'. Some of the poems in the 'Shi Jing' (Classic of Poetry) could have been written as early as 1000 BC. It is divided into four categories. The first is a collection of 160 folk songs. Next are 74 minor festal songs which are traditionally sung at court festivities. The third consists of 31 major festal songs, sung at more solemn court ceremonies. The last category contains 40 hymns and eulogies which are sung during sacrifices to gods and ancestral spirits of the royal house.

During the Qin dynasty, the collection along with other classical books were burnt under the policy of 'burning of the books and scholars' decreed by Qin Shi Huang. During the Han Dynasty, scholars managed to reconstruct 308 poems, however three poems were left only with the titles and no text to go with it.

Source: Author meifeng

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Classics of Chinese Literature Quiz

This quiz deals with some of the more well known Classic literature of ancient China

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