Q 01/05

Zheng He's treasure fleets are famous for crossing which ocean?

A) The Pacific Ocean

B) The Indian Ocean

C) The Atlantic Ocean

D) The Arctic Ocean

Answer · why

B) The Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean was the 'Western Ocean' to the Chinese, and his fleets crossed it decades before the first European ships rounded Africa to reach it.

Q 02/05

How many treasure voyages did Zheng He command?

A) Three

B) Seven

C) Fifteen

D) Thirty

Answer · why

B) Seven

Seven: six sailed for one emperor, and after a halt of several years a successor sent the fleet out one last time.

Q 03/05

Which hull feature had Chinese junks like Zheng He's used for centuries?

A) Copper sheathing

B) Iron hull plates

C) Watertight bulkheads

D) Outrigger floats

Answer · why

C) Watertight bulkheads

Watertight bulkheads split the hull into sealed compartments, so a single breach flooded one section instead of sinking the whole ship.

Q 04/05

Which emperor, the builder of Beijing's Forbidden City, sent Zheng He's fleets to sea?

A) Qin Shi Huang

B) Kublai Khan

C) The Yongle Emperor

D) Puyi, the last emperor

Answer · why

C) The Yongle Emperor

The Yongle Emperor had seized the throne in 1402, and historians think a show of power abroad helped shore up his shaky claim to it.

Q 05/05

Which instrument let Zheng He's navigators hold a course when out of sight of land?

A) The magnetic compass

B) The sextant

C) The marine chronometer

D) The spyglass

Answer · why

A) The magnetic compass

The magnetic compass, a Chinese invention, steered the fleet along with printed star charts; the sextant and the marine chronometer were still some th...