Quiz Of Jade and Dragons Amber Chen

Of Jade and Dragons Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Characters, and Themes

Test your knowledge of Amber Chen's Of Jade and Dragons with this 20-question quiz covering the full arc of Ying's journey—from her father's murder to her final choice on the cliff. Questions span plot sequence, character motivation, theme and symbol, and synthesis. For a refresher, see the book overview, questions and answers, and ending explained. The answer key follows the quiz, with brief explanations grounded in the story. Good luck!

(Note: This quiz assumes you have read the entire book.)

Quiz Questions

Plot and Sequence (Questions 1–8)

1. (Multiple Choice) What does Aihui Ying's father give her just before he dies?

  • A. A sandalwood lamp

  • B. A leather-bound book

  • C. A jade pendant

  • D. A folding fan

2. (Multiple Choice) Where does Ying first spot the scarred assassin after arriving in Fei?

  • A. At the Maiden's Well tavern

  • B. In the guild archives

  • C. At the Red Tower brothel

  • D. At the victory banquet

3. (Multiple Choice) What is the theme of the final guild test?

  • A. “The evolution of airships”

  • B. “To kill a dragon”

  • C. “Repair an airship”

  • D. “Create a new prototype”

4. (Multiple Choice) Who does Ying discover is the chief of the High Commander's personal guard?

  • A. Ye-kan

  • B. Erden

  • C. Ye-yang

  • D. Master Gerel

5. (Multiple Choice) How does the High Commander die?

  • A. He is killed by Ye-yang

  • B. He dies from a wound inflicted by Ying's flying guillotine

  • C. He dies from injuries sustained at Ningya

  • D. He is poisoned by Lady Odval

6. (Multiple Choice) What does Ying do with the official acceptance letter to the Engineers Guild?

  • A. She accepts it and joins the guild

  • B. She gives it to Nian

  • C. She drops it off a cliff

  • D. She burns it

7. (Multiple Choice) Who is revealed to be the fourteenth prince using the false name Bayara?

  • A. Chang-en

  • B. An-xi

  • C. Arban

  • D. Ye-kan

8. (Multiple Choice) What is the first test in the guild apprenticeship trial?

  • A. A written exam on five subjects

  • B. An essay on the introduction and evolution of airships

  • C. A repair challenge on an airship

  • D. A strategy game of weiqi

Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)

9. (Multiple Choice) Why does Ying disguise herself as a boy?

  • A. To escape the assassin

  • B. To enter the Engineers Guild trial

  • C. To avoid her brother Wen

  • D. To spy on the beiles

10. (Multiple Choice) What is Ye-yang's real reason for nominating Ying for the guild trial?

  • A. He sees her engineering talent and wants to help

  • B. He wants to gain access to her father's journal

  • C. He is in love with her

  • D. He wants to spite his brothers

11. (Multiple Choice) Why does Master Gerel treat Ying so harshly?

  • A. Because she is a girl

  • B. Because of a rivalry with her father

  • C. Because she cheated on a test

  • D. Because she is from a small clan

12. (Multiple Choice) Why does Ying decide to leave Fei at the end of the novel?

  • A. She is forced into an arranged marriage

  • B. She is disillusioned with the guild and chooses what she believes is right

  • C. She wants to join the war against the Qirin Empire

  • D. She is banished by the council of beiles

13. (Multiple Choice) Why does Ye-kan keep Ying's secret after discovering she is a girl?

  • A. He fears exposure of his own identity

  • B. He values their friendship and mutual trust

  • C. He is blackmailed by Ye-yang

  • D. He wants a favor from her later

Theme and Symbol (Questions 14–17)

14. (Multiple Choice) What does the jade pendant with a dragon emblem ultimately reveal about the assassin who killed Ying's father?

  • A. He is a member of the High Commander's personal guard

  • B. He is from the Qirin Empire

  • C. He is a guild master

  • D. He is one of the beiles

15. (Multiple Choice) What does the octagonal lamp represent in the story?

  • A. The Engineers Guild's power

  • B. Ying's father's legacy and love for her mother

  • C. The High Commander's ambition

  • D. Ye-yang's political plans

16. (Multiple Choice) In the final test, what does the dragon symbolize for Ying?

  • A. The Qirin Empire

  • B. The Engineers Guild

  • C. The High Commander

  • D. Her father's ghost

17. (Multiple Choice) Which theme is most central to Ying's decision to disguise herself as a boy?

  • A. Gender barriers in the guild

  • B. Political intrigue among the beiles

  • C. Family loyalty

  • D. Technological innovation

Synthesis (Questions 18–20)

18. (Short Answer) Describe two key events that show how Ying's relationship with Ye-yang shifts from trust to betrayal.

19. (Short Answer) How does Ying's final choice to leave Fei mirror her father's earlier decision to leave the guild?

20. (Short Answer) In what ways does the Engineers Guild function as a political tool in the Antaran territories? Provide at least two examples from the trial or the High Commander's involvement.

Answer Key

1. B. A leather-bound book

Ying's father hides a leather-bound book inside the sandalwood lamp and instructs her to burn it. The lamp itself is a keepsake, not the item he gives her.

2. A. At the Maiden's Well tavern

In Chapter 3, Ying seeks shelter at the Maiden's Well tavern and spots the scarred assassin there, leading to a chase.

3. B. “To kill a dragon”

The High Commander's edict sets the final test theme as “To kill a dragon,” and Ying interprets the dragon as the High Commander himself.

4. C. Ye-yang

Ye-kan tells Ying that the jade pendant belongs to the High Commander's personal guard, and that Ye-yang, as chief of that guard, must have given it to her.

5. B. He dies from a wound inflicted by Ying's flying guillotine

In Chapter 25, Ying hurls her flying guillotine at the High Commander, wounding him in the chest; he later dies from that wound.

6. C. She drops it off a cliff

In the epilogue, Ying lets the acceptance letter fall into the sea, choosing to leave Fei rather than join the guild.

7. D. Ye-kan

Ye-kan is revealed to be the fourteenth prince using the false clan name Bayara; Ying agrees to keep his secret.

8. B. An essay on the introduction and evolution of airships

The first test is an essay question about the airship's history, which Ying writes based on her father's teachings.

9. B. To enter the Engineers Guild trial

Ye-yang suggests Ying maintain her disguise as a boy so she can be nominated for the trial, since women are barred from the guild.

10. B. He wants to gain access to her father's journal

Ye-yang later confesses that he knew Ying's identity from the start and had sought her father's journal, making his nomination a calculated move.

11. B. Because of a rivalry with her father

Gerel's hostility stems from losing the grand master's sole apprenticeship to Ying's father, Aihui Shan-jin.

12. B. She is disillusioned with the guild and chooses what she believes is right

Ying rejects the guild's acceptance letter and leaves, echoing her father's choice to prioritize what is right over what is necessary.

13. B. He values their friendship and mutual trust

After discovering Ying's secret, Ye-kan helps her, and they share mutual secrets, forming a bond of trust.

14. A. He is a member of the High Commander's personal guard

Ye-kan identifies the pendant as belonging to the High Commander's personal guard, linking the assassin to the High Command.

15. B. Ying's father's legacy and love for her mother

The octagonal lamp was carved by Ying's father to tell the story of how he met her mother, and it later becomes a symbol of his legacy.

16. C. The High Commander

Ying explicitly thinks, “For her, the dragon would be the High Commander himself,” making the dragon a personal target.

17. A. Gender barriers in the guild

Ying's disguise is necessary because the Engineers Guild excludes women, highlighting the theme of gender inequality.

18. Sample answer:

Ying initially trusts Ye-yang after he nominates her and protects her. The trust breaks when she learns the jade pendant belongs to his guard, proving he lied about not recognizing it, and later when he confesses he knew her identity and sought her father's journal.

19. Sample answer:

Both Ying and her father chose to leave Fei because they valued what they believed was right over what was politically necessary. Her father left the guild to avoid complicity in dangerous work; Ying leaves to avoid the corruption and moral compromise she witnessed.

20. Sample answer:

The guild is a political instrument: the High Commander sets the final test theme and presides over the trial, and the beiles use their nominations to advance political agendas. Additionally, the threatening letter sent to the Aihui clan is sealed with the guild's motto, showing the guild's entanglement in state power.

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