Q 01/05

In which country did Confucius live and teach?

A) China

B) Japan

C) India

D) Korea

Answer · why

A) China

He lived during the Spring and Autumn period, roughly 551 to 479 BCE, in the state of Lu.

Q 02/05

What was Confucius's birth name?

A) Meng Ke

B) Kong Qiu

C) Zhuang Zhou

D) Li Er

Answer · why

B) Kong Qiu

Qiu means hill, supposedly because of a dip in the top of his head; his courtesy name was Zhongni.

Q 03/05

What is the collection of sayings attributed to Confucius, compiled by his followers, called?

A) The Tao Te Ching

B) The Analects

C) The I Ching

D) The Art of War

Answer · why

B) The Analects

Large parts were composed in the Warring States period, and it reached its final form in the mid-Han dynasty.

Q 04/05

The name Confucius is a Latinised form of a Chinese title meaning what?

A) Father of Rites

B) Great Master Kong

C) King of Scholars

D) Old Sage of the East

Answer · why

B) Great Master Kong

Jesuit missionaries coined it in the late 16th century; Chinese speakers today mostly say Kongzi, Master Kong.

Q 05/05

Confucius's negative version of the maxim 'do unto others' is often known by what name?

A) The Bronze Maxim

B) The Silver Rule

C) The Jade Precept

D) The Iron Law

Answer · why

B) The Silver Rule

Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself; the key word he gave was reciprocity.