Daughters of Shandong Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Characters, and Themes

This quiz spans the full arc of Eve J. Chung's Daughters of Shandong, from the Ang family's life in rural Zhucheng through their flight across China, their years as refugees in Hong Kong, and their eventual reunion in Taiwan. Questions are grouped by type: plot and sequence, character motivation, theme and symbol, and synthesis. An answer key with brief explanations follows the quiz.

Plot and Sequence (Questions 1–8)

1. What event reveals Mom's fourth pregnancy in Chapter 1?

A) Nai Nai finds a fortune-teller's amulet in Mom's room

B) Mom vomits while poaching eggs one morning

C) Mom faints while grinding flour for the workers

D) Father confesses that he disobeyed Nai Nai's orders

2. Arrange the following events in the order they occur in the novel:

The family reaches Qingdao and finds Uncle Sen
Three dies of tuberculosis
Communist cadres confiscate the Ang property
The family crosses the border into Hong Kong

3. What does Mom conceal before the family is evicted from the shiheyuan in Chapter 4?

A) A jade bangle and a ruby ring

B) A stack of silver yuan notes

C) Her mother's jade necklace

D) A golden tael and a silver bracelet

4. What happens to Three in Chapter 2?

A) She drowns in the river

B) She dies of tuberculosis after falling into the river during Ghost Month

C) She is sent to live with relatives in Qingdao

D) She recovers after the family pays for a doctor

5. At the checkpoint in Chapter 11, why do the cadres let the family pass?

A) The permit is genuine and properly stamped

B) A literate cadre concludes the rural Zhucheng office made its own rules and returns the permit

C) Mom bribes them with the golden tael

D) The cadres recognize the family from Zhucheng

6. Arrange the following locations in the order the family travels through them:

Shenzhen
Qingdao
Zhucheng
Hong Kong
Taiwan

7. What causes Lan's permanent disability?

A) A fall during the typhoon at Mount Davis

B) Malnutrition during the journey to Qingdao

C) Tuberculosis, which permanently cripples her left leg

D) An injury sustained at the denunciation rally

8. Who secures the family's train tickets to Shenzhen, and what does Mom give him?

A) Uncle Sen; a ruby ring

B) Cousin Wei; a golden tael

C) Mr. Zhang; a jade bangle

D) Biao-Wu; a silver yuan note

Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)

9. Why does Nai Nai order Mom and Father to sleep in separate rooms?

A) She believes Father should focus on his studies

B) A fortune-teller predicted Mom would not bear a son until age thirty-six

C) She wants to punish Mom for hiding her pregnancy

D) She thinks the house is too crowded for the growing family

10. (Short answer) Why does Di refuse to go to Taiwan and instead argue for staying in Qingdao?

11. Why does Mom sell the ruby ring she kept hidden in her hair?

A) To bribe Cousin Wei for train tickets

B) To pay for Lan's antibiotic injections and restorative soup

C) To buy food for the family during the journey

D) To pay for Hai's school application fees

12. Why does Father refuse to fund Hai's application to Shi Fan School?

A) He believes girls should not receive higher education

B) He cites family expenses and cannot afford the fees

C) He wants Hai to marry instead

D) He has already spent the money on Ming's education

13. (Short answer) Why does Mom secretly sell the jade bangle, and what does she use the money for?

Theme and Symbol (Questions 14–17)

14. What does the severed braid symbolize in Chapter 6?

A) A new beginning under Communist rule

B) Shaming and the stripping of dignity at the denunciation rally

C) The narrator's rejection of her family

D) A punishment for lying about her father

15. What does the dog Lucky primarily represent throughout the family's journey?

A) The family's poverty and desperation

B) Communist surveillance and threat

C) Hope, protection, and loyalty

D) The father's absence and abandonment

16. What does the jade bangle symbolize in the novel?

A) The family's lost wealth and status

B) Heritage and maternal sacrifice

C) Communist confiscation of property

D) The father's betrayal

17. (Short answer) What does the golden tael represent, and what does Mom sacrifice by giving it to Cousin Wei?

Synthesis (Questions 18–20)

18. (Short answer) How does the novel dramatize the concept of zhong nan qing nu (value men, belittle women)? Give at least three examples from the text.

19. (Short answer) Compare Hai's and Di's responses to their father's abandonment. How do their attitudes differ, and how does this shape their relationships with him?

20. (Short answer) Hai observes that success builds across generations. How does the novel illustrate this idea through the lives of Mom, Hai, and Yun-Mei?

Answer Key

Plot and Sequence

1. B) Mom vomits while poaching eggs one morning.

The outline for Chapter 1 states that Mom's pregnancy is revealed when she vomits while poaching eggs, after which Nai Nai hurls bowls and accuses Mom of adultery.

2. Correct order: 2, 3, 1, 4.

Three dies of tuberculosis in Chapter 2. Communist cadres confiscate the Ang property in Chapter 4, forcing the family to flee. They reach Qingdao and find Uncle Sen in Chapter 12. They cross the border into Hong Kong in Chapter 21.

3. A) A jade bangle and a ruby ring.

Chapter 4's outline states that Mom conceals a jade bangle and a ruby ring before the family flees. The ruby ring is later sold in Chapter 14, and the jade bangle in Chapter 33.

4. B) She dies of tuberculosis after falling into the river during Ghost Month.

Chapter 2's outline describes Three falling into the river during Ghost Month, developing a fever and cough, being diagnosed with tuberculosis, and dying in her mother's arms after the family refuses to pay for a doctor.

5. B) A literate cadre concludes the rural Zhucheng office made its own rules and returns the permit.

Chapter 11's outline states that a literate cadre examines the permit, an older Comrade Lao notes Zhucheng is far beyond the bay, and the cadre concludes the rural office made its own rules, returning the permit and letting the family pass.

6. Correct order: 3, 2, 1, 4, 5.

The family flees Zhucheng (3), reaches Qingdao (2), travels by train to Shenzhen (1), crosses the border into Hong Kong (4), and finally sails to Taiwan (5).

7. C) Tuberculosis, which permanently cripples her left leg.

Chapter 14's outline states that all three sisters fall ill with tuberculosis, and baby Lan becomes the most severely affected, with the disease permanently crippling her left leg.

8. B) Cousin Wei; a golden tael.

Chapter 18's outline states that Mom gives the golden tael to Cousin Wei, who delivers train tickets to Shenzhen departing December 10th.

Character Motivation

9. B) A fortune-teller predicted Mom would not bear a son until age thirty-six.

Chapter 1's outline states that a fortune-teller predicted Mom would not bear a son until age thirty-six, so Nai Nai ordered the couple to sleep separately and forbade intercourse until then.

10. Di becomes convinced by Communist propaganda that the family should stay in Qingdao.

Chapters 16–17's outlines describe Di absorbing cadres' speeches, becoming convinced the family should remain, declaring she plans to join the Communist Party Youth League and the PLA, and arguing with Mom about their future. She also reveals a fear of being disposable and values her growing independence.

11. B) To pay for Lan's antibiotic injections and restorative soup.

Chapter 14's outline states that Mom sold the ruby ring to pay for Lan's antibiotic injections and a restorative silkie chicken soup after Lan fell severely ill with tuberculosis.

12. B) He cites family expenses and cannot afford the fees.

Chapter 33's outline states that Father refused to fund Hai's application, citing family expenses. Mom then secretly sold the jade bangle to fund the education.

13. Mom sells the jade bangle, an heirloom from the narrator's grandmother, to fund Hai's education at Shi Fan School.

Chapter 33's outline states that Mom revealed she would secretly sell her jade bangle to fund the narrator's education after Father refused. The narrator promised to study hard and support her mother in return.

Theme and Symbol

14. B) Shaming and the stripping of dignity at the denunciation rally.

Chapter 6's outline describes Comrade Cheng cutting off the narrator's braid during the denunciation rally, and the severed braid is listed among the chapter's concepts as a shaming sign.

15. C) Hope, protection, and loyalty.

The dog is named Lucky in Chapter 9, hoping for good fortune, and throughout the journey he protects the family, warns of eavesdropping cadres, and defends the narrator. Chapter 9's outline lists the dog as protector and provider, and naming as luck invocation.

16. B) Heritage and maternal sacrifice.

The jade bangle is an heirloom from the narrator's grandmother, and Mom sells it secretly to fund Hai's education. Chapter 33's outline lists the jade bangle as a symbol of heritage and maternal sacrifice.

17. The golden tael represents the family's last significant resource and their desperation to escape.

Mom gives the golden tael to Cousin Wei as a bribe for train tickets, sacrificing their final valuable asset. Chapter 15's outline notes that Mom revealed she had one gold tael, and Cousin Wei said it was normally insufficient but promised to try. The tael symbolizes the family's willingness to give up everything for the chance to reunite with Father.

Synthesis

18. The novel dramatizes zhong nan qing nu through multiple examples:

Nai Nai's favoritism toward Chiao, the only grandson, who receives gifts and treats while the girls watch empty-handed (Chapter 1).
The family's refusal to spend money on a doctor for Three because she is a girl, leading to her death (Chapter 2).
The fortune-teller's prediction and Nai Nai's order to prevent pregnancy until a son could be conceived (Chapter 1).
Mom's repeated pregnancies hoping for a son, and the birth of Ming, the golden child, who displaces the older brother as heir (Chapter 35).
The unequal allocation of resources: Ming receives formula while Hua is given rice water (Chapter 35).

19. Hai and Di respond to their father's abandonment in sharply different ways.

Hai eventually accepts Father's departure from the shiheyuan as an attempt to make amends and moves forward, though she does not fully forgive him. Di, by contrast, cannot let go of her hatred, despising Father and refusing to care for him again. The evidence in Chapter 32 shows Hai arguing that forgiveness is easier in the long run, while Di insists that hatred is easy and Father is not worth the effort of forgiveness. This difference shapes their relationship with Father: Hai can live under his roof and even wash his shirts, while Di maintains a polite but deeply resentful distance.

20. The novel illustrates generational success through the trajectory of three women.

Mom begins by selling eggs and flatbread on the street in Douliu (Chapter 32). Hai, her eldest daughter, earns a place at Shi Fan School through Mom's sacrifice of the jade bangle, becomes a teacher, and uses her salary to support her sisters (Chapters 33–35). Yun-Mei, Hai's daughter, graduates from National Taiwan University, earns a scholarship for a master's program in the United States, and becomes a scientist—the first in the family to pursue a master's degree and travel abroad (Chapter 38). Hai's reflection that success builds across generations, from her mother selling eggs to her daughter becoming a scientist, captures this theme directly.

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