Special Sub-Topic: China Smorgasbord Click Here To Play: China Smorgasbord

Approximately how many Chinese characters are in common usage today (that is, the number in a standard Chinese dictionary)?

10,000. It's hard to measure, especially since there are two or more versions for many characters, but a well-educated Chinese person should know roughly 10,000. There are around 50,000 in total, but most are archaic.

Moon cakes are associated with what Chinese festival?

Mid-Autumn Festival. Every October Chinese people eat and give as gifts these small round, not-particularly-tasty cakes.

In case you didn't know, the Chinese invented paper. Approximately what year is traditionally recognized as the year paper was invented?

AD 100. Paper was supposedly invented by Cai Lun in the year AD 105, though there is evidence that rudimentary papermaking was done before that. It was originally made of hemp.

Where is the official Chinese imperial art collection housed?

Taipei. Called the Palace Museum (Gugong) and dating back centuries, this collection was taken to Taipei by Chiang Kai-shek in 1949. Of course that was a largely denuded version of what it once was, much of which was transported to Europe and America following the Boxer Rebellion.

The Chinese are very proud of their food, and Cantonese food is often said to be the best. One thing Cantonese food is famous for is its ____________.

dim sum. Dim sum is small snack-like food, including spring rolls and small sweet cakes. Many regions in China are famous for their spicy food, Sichuan being the most famous. Dumplings are considered more of a northern food.

What is one thing almost any decent hotel in China offers?

Prostitutes. Yep. This is Asian culture. Chinese men love to go on business trips!

What Chinese leader initiated and directed economic reforms starting in 1978?

Deng Xiaoping & Teng Hsiao-p'ing & Deng & Teng & Deng Xiao Ping. Unlike Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping is practically unanimously praised by mainland Chinese people today.

A popular pastime amongst Chinese people is Tai chi, or Tai Ji Quan. What is it?

Slow-motion martial arts. Generally translated as shadowboxing, there are several versions with differing numbers of movements. It's associated with Taoist philosophy.

During the Shang dynasty (2nd millennium BC) early Chinese characters were used in divination. These divinations were usually written on one of two kinds of materials, animal bones or ___________.

turtle shells. The bone or shell was marked and then cracked by heating. Then the diviner would read the cracks and write the results on the bone or shell.

What Chinese city is famous for the Bund, a stretch of European neo-classical buildings built early in the 20th century?

Shanghai. Quite a nice site, especially as it contrasts with the ultra-modern architecture on the other side of the Huangpu River.