PUZZLES IN CHINESE CULTURE Book One 1
What about the whereabouts of the fossils of the Chinese Ape-man? 1
Preface Wang Yuanhua 1
序 王元化 1
中国猿人化石下落如何？ 1
Are there in China ruins of the Middle Stone Age ? 3
我国有没有“中石器时代”遗址？ 3
新石器时代陶器几何纹的含义是什么？ 6
What do the geometric lines on the pottery of the New Stone Age signify? 6
When was the Nan Jing (Solutions to Difficult Questions in Medical Science) completed? Who was its writer? 8
《难经》成书于何时？作者为何人？ 9
《易经》究竟是一部怎样的书？ 12
What kind of book is the Y？ Jing (Book of Changes)? 13
What did the Eight Diagrams symbolize? 16
八卦象征什么？ 16
When did the Chinese sericulture begin? 19
我国养蚕起源于何时？ 19
中国什么时候开始有文字？ 22
When did the written language first appear in China? 23
Will the Jiu Ding (Nine Tripods) be rediscovered? 26
九鼎能否重见天日？ 26
悬棺葬是怎么一回事？ 29
What about the Suspension Coffin Burial? 29
Who wrote the Zhou Li (Book of Zhou Rites)? 31
《周礼》是何人的著作？ 31
长沙楚墓帛画中的妇人形象是谁？ 34
Who was the woman in the silk-painting found in Chu Grave,Chang sha? 34
勾股定理是谁发明的？ 37
Who invented the Pythagorean theorem? 37
Where was the capital of the State of Yan? 40
燕国的京都在哪里？ 40
老子是怎样一个人？《老子》是怎样一部书？ 43
What kind of man is Lao Zi? What kind of book is Lao Zi? 43
《左传》是左丘明写的吗？ 47
Was the Zuo Zhuan (Zuo s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annal) written by Zuo Qiu-ming? 47
杨朱与庄周是同一个人吗？ 50
Were Yang Zhu and Zhuang Zhou the same man? 50
《孙子兵法》的作者是不是孙武？ 53
Was Sun Wu the author of the book Art of War by Sun Zi? 53
When did newspaper first appear in China? 56
我国何时有报纸？ 56
Which period did the Xia Xiao Zheng (Natural Phenomena for the Months of Xia Calendar) belong to? 60
《夏小正》是什么时代的文献？ 60
Which year did Sima Qian write his Historical Records up to? 63
《史记》一书讫于何年？ 63
When did Sima Qian write his Bao Ren An Shu (A Reply to A Letter from Ren An)? 66
《报任安书》是司马迁什么时候的作品 66
司马迁卒年及其死因真相如何？ 70
When did Sima Qian die? What was the cause of his death? 70
Where is situated now the ancient city of Lou Lan? 73
楼兰古城今何在？ 73
Where can we locate the ancient city of Ao Yie? 77
沃野古城何处寻？ 77
古籍中的昆仑山究竟在何地？ 79
Where was Kunlun Mountain located as mentioned in ancient books? 79
《山海经》是怎样一部书？ 82
What kind of book is the Shan Hai Jing (Book of Mountains and Seas)? 82
中国古代有没有出现过飞碟？ 84
Did UFO ever appear in ancient China? 84
中国棉花何时有？ 88
When did the Chinese begin to grow cotton? 88
指南针的“始祖”是什么？最初样式如何？ 90
What was the ancestor of compass? What about its original style? 90
What was the first wood block printing in the world? 93
何为世上最早的雕版印刷品？ 93
When did paper-making begin in China? 97
我国造纸始于何时？ 97
When was Buddhism introduced into China 99
佛教何时传入中国？ 99
When did Taoism come into being? 102
道教究竟始于何时？ 102
关于铜奔马的种种解释 105
Explantions about the bronze running horse 105
貂蝉到底是怎样一个人？ 107
What kind of person was the beautiful woman Diao Chan? 107
蔡文姬是《胡笳十八拍》的作者吗？ 110
Was Cai Wenji the author of Hu Jia Shi Ba Pai (Eighteen Stanzas Sung to the Accompaniment of A Tartar Reed Pipe)? 110
蔡文姬是不是蔡邕的女儿？ 116
Was Cai Wenji daughter of Cai Yong? 116
Did the famous physician Hua Tu originate the Caesarean operation? 118
华佗首创开腹手术吗？ 118
Where was Cao Cao s tomb? 122
曹操陵墓在何方？ 122
Where was Xiao Qiao s real tomb? 125
小乔真墓在哪里？ 125
What was the Wooden Ox and Running Horse about? 127
“木牛流马”究竟为何物？ 127
Was the holograph Preface to the Poems Composed at the Lan Ting Banquet written by Wang Xizi? 130
《兰亭序》出自王羲之之手吗？ 130
王羲之为什么喜爱鹅？ 132
Why did Wang Xizi go in for geese? 133
“大字之祖”《瘗鹤铭》是谁的杰作？ 136
Which period did Yi He Ming (Inscription on Burying a Crane)，“forefather of large character calligraphy,”belong to? 136
花木兰其人其事如何？ 140
Hua Mulan-her life and heroic deeds? 140
Where was Fu Sang country located? 143
“扶桑国”究竟在哪里？ 143
Was paper folding-fan invented by the Chinese or foreigners? 145
纸折扇究竟是“舶来品”还是国货？ 145
When was the imperial examination system founded? 148
科举制度创立于何时？ 148
What about the whereabouts of Luo Binwang? 151
骆宾王的下落如何？ 151
Why did Chen Zi ang die a violent death? 156
陈子昂因何死于非命？ 156
Who were Li Bai s ancestors? 159
李白的祖先是谁？ 159
Where was Li Bai born? 162
李白出生在哪里？ 162
What was the cause of Li Bai s death? 165
李白是怎么死的？ 165
Why did Li Bai write his long poem Shu Dao Nan (How Difficult Are the Roads in Szechuan)? 168
李白为何要写《蜀道难》？ 168
谁开百代词曲之疆？ 170
Who opened up realms of ci and qu (two new types of poetry) for later generations? 170
“大历十才子”是指哪十人？ 173
Who were the ten gifted scholars during the reign of Emperor Da Li in Ming dynasty? 173
《长恨歌》是一首什么样的歌？ 175
What kind of song is The Song of Eternal Regret? 175
女诗人薛涛生卒究系何年？ 178
What was the date of poetess Xue Tao s birth? What was the date of her death? 178
杜牧诗中的杏花村在何处？ 181
Where was the Apricot Blossom Village in Du Mu s poetry? 181
Where can we locate the twenty-four bridges? 183
二十四桥何处寻？ 183
薛居正《旧五代史》今何在？ 186
Where is now the Old History of Five Dynasties by Xue Juzhen? 186
词到底起源于什么时候？ 189
When did ci (a type of poetry) originate? 189
What kind of paper money was the bank-note-plate in Northern Song Dynasty? 191
北宋钞版是何种纸币？ 191
苏老泉是苏轼还是其父苏洵？ 194
Was Su Laoquan an alias of Su Shi or that of his father Su Xun? 194
Why was Shi Zong Shan (Stone Bell Mountain) named on account of bells? 197
石钟山何以因“钟”得名？ 197
Do you know the funeral custom of Khitan? 200
契丹人的葬俗究竟是怎么一回事？ 200
Was the patriotic melody Man Jiang Hong written by Yue Fei? 203
《满江红》是岳飞写的吗？ 203
Where was the Chuan Shi Ge Kiln located? 206
传世哥窑窑址在何处？ 206
Who knows the autbenticity of the picture Living as a recluse among the mountains along Fuchun River ? 209
谁识《富春山居图》真迹？ 209
Did Marco Polo come to China? 211
马可·波罗来过中国没有？ 211
《几何原本》何时传入中国？ 214
When was Euclid s Elements of Geometry introduced into China? 214
关汉卿的生卒年月如何？ 216
When was the dramatist Guan Hanqiu born? When did he die? 216
《西厢记》杂剧的作者是谁？ 219
Who was the author of the drama Xi Xiang Ji(The Western Chanber)? 219
《琵琶记》的作者是否高则诚？ 221
Was Gao Zecheng the author of the drama Pi Pa Ji (Legend of Cai Bojie and His Wife Zhao Wuniang)? 221
《西游记》的作者是吴承恩吗？ 225
Was Wu Cheng eng the author of the adventurous novel A Pilgrimage to the West? 225
What was the prototype of Sun Wukong? 228
孙悟空的“模特儿”是什么？ 228
孙悟空生在哪里？ 230
Where was Sun Wukong born? 230
Who was the author of the obsceno novel Jin Ping Mei? 233
《金瓶梅》的作者究竟是谁？ 233
Where did the Legend of White Snake take its source? 237
“白蛇”传说从何而来？ 237
Who was the author of this famous antithetical couplet? 240
谁是这一副名联的作者？ 240
When were the melodies for Kunqu opera originated? 243
昆腔创始于什么年代？ 243
说书家柳敬亭怎样说书？ 247
How did story-telling expert Liu Jingting tell stories? 247
What about the whereabouts of the well-known prostitute Dong Xiaowan? 250
名妓董小宛的下落如何？ 250
《康熙字典》所收字数有多少？ 253
How many words are included in Kang Xi Dictionary? 253
清代女词人贺双卿是何许人？ 256
What kind of person was He Shuangqing,a woman ci-writer in Qing dynasty? 256
《廿二史札记》的作者是赵翼吗？ 258
Was Zhao Yi the author of Reading Notes On Twenty-two Histories? 258
林琴南何时翻译《茶花女》？ 261
When did Lin Qinnan translato La Dame aux Camelias? 261
一九○六年留日学生人数知多少？ 263
How many Chinese students were studying in Japan in 1906? 263
Do you know Xiao Fengxian s life experiences and her final settling place? 266
小凤仙的身世和归宿如何？ 266
Why did Wang Guowei drown himself in Kunming Lake? 268
王国维何故自沉昆明湖？ 268
封建士大夫为什么爱竹？ 271
Why did the feudal literati and officialdom go in for bamboo? 271
观世音是男性还是女性？ 274
Was Aralokitesvara Bodhisattva (Guan Yin) male or female? 274
“幽闭”一刑到底是怎么一回事？ 277
What about the punishment called you bi (sterilization of a woman)? 277
灶神究竟是谁？ 280
Who was the Kitchen God? 280
妻父为何称“泰山”？ 282
Why was father-in-law called Taishan Mountain ? 282
Why do foreigners call China Zhi Na ? 284
外国人为什么称中国“支那”？ 284
中华民族为什么特别崇尚黄色？ 288
Why do Chinese people especially uphold the yellow colour? 288
我们的祖国为什么又称“华夏”？ 291
Why is our motherland also called Hua Xia ? 291
Where did the two characters Li Ming (common people) come from? 294
“黎民”二字从何而来？ 294
Postscript 298
后记 298