The Great Wall Trivia Quiz

Answer: Xiongnu

The Mongolians were all but nonexistent at the time. While smaller groups including the Rouran were around, the Qin's main threat were the Xiongnu Nomads, who are believed to have been ancestors of the future Mongolians, though the Xiongnu will be around for some time.

Answer: Brick

The most historically famous Great Wall was initially not what people imagine. It was simply natural materials filled in between wooden panels.

Answer: Meng Tian

Meng Tian was believed to have commenced the project under direct orders from Emperor Qin Shi Huang, and also was a veteran in the war against the nomads, and nearly undefeated. Meng Yi was his younger brother, also a high ranking Qin officer, while Wang Jian was in command of the army that conquered Qin's largest rival during the Warring States Period, Chu. Li You, whose existence is in fact debated, was believed to have been Meng Tian's successor and perhaps a son of Chancellor Li You.

Answer: The then leader, Atilla, was much too busy fighting Rome

While Attila did indeed attempt to besiege Rome at one time, he did not live during the same time as when the Tang Dynasty existed. In fact, the Tang and Roman Empires did not even have much of an overlap in period of power. At the time, the Chinese Emperor was actually the proclaimed Khan of the nomads, whose soldiers pledged allegiance to the Tang.

The famous Emperor Gaozu was in fact only 1/4 Ethnic Han Chinese, while the Tang Dynasty was indeed more focused in the western regions.

Answer: Ming

Well, if you were taking this quiz HTML, hopefully you were responsible and did not look back, but anyways, the most famous version, of the Great Wall, with it's brick sides and guard towers was built by the army during the Ming Dynasty.

Answer: Qi Ji Guan

Qi Ji Guan built the Great Wall that we all know. However, despite this achievement, rival political factions would later take advantage of the death of the second of two emperors who funded his project, denouncing him and framing him for disloyalty and selfishness, in order to obtain the money from the treasury being used to fund the Great Wall. Qi was forced to retire and died in mysterious circumstances within a year.

Answer: Defeating the Japanese Wuokou pirates

Qi had trained the army, named after him, that defeated the Japanese Pirates. However, unlike before, the Japanese government in fact was against the pirates, even sending many who were captured in Japan to China to be executed. After his victory, Qi eventually gained enough support (the Chancellor was enough support) in court to begin his northern construction project (the Great Wall).

Answer: Rice

Rice was in fact mixed with the cement like mixture that held together the bricks of the great wall. Despite usually being used as food, the edible crop proved to be effective, still holding together the wall after centuries of war and wear.

Answer: Prison

There probably were holding pens and cells for prisoners of war, which were hard to come by as both sides considered it disgraceful, and also for misbehaving soldiers, though many were summarily executed, therefore making the need for a prison all but unnecessary.

Answer: False

While the second part was true, the Great Wall was never completed.

Answer: The general in charge opened the gates without a fight

The general in command of the Great Wall garrison at the time, Wu Sangui, willingly opened the gates, letting the Manchus into China. He had received news that Beijing had been sacked and that the Ming Dynasty was doomed at the hands of a rebellion led by Li Zhicheng. Desperate for revenge, he agreed to open the gates to invading Manchus in the north as long as they defeated Li Zhicheng's Shun Dynasty.

This they did, but the Manchus then quickly took over, establishing their own dynasty.

Answer: The Chinese had already lost that territory to the Jurchens

Due to a war with the Jin Dynasty, the northern half of the Chinese Empire had already been lost. While an alliance with the Mongols was indeed signed, the wall was in fact unoccupied due to the fact the Jin did not expect the assault or utilize the wall, leading to their demise.

Answer: It no longer ran along the Chinese border of the time

As the Qing Dynasty was led by Manchus, there was no point in using the wall as the northern Manchurians' home was what the wall had been built to defend from invasion against. Now that the north was also part of the Qing Empire, the wall simply ran through the center of China, not the northern frontier.

Answer: True

The Japanese in fact, did actually order an assault on the Great Wall of China. Chinese troops withdrew shortly after as President Chiang Kai Shek (Jiang Jie Shi) refused to go to war.

Answer: It was filled with cement

While of these seem ridiculous, part of the Great Wall was indeed "restored" by being filled in with cement. Luckily, the project manager was quickly fired, though that sector of the wall permanently looks like, and is sometimes used, as a road.