UPHESC Assistant Professor Asian Culture 2025 PYQs

Concept: Confucius (551–479 BC) was born in Qufu in the state of Lu (modern Shandong province).

1. Qufu has the Temple, Cemetery and Kong Family Mansion (UNESCO).
2. Tongli, Dali and Fenghuang are scenic old towns elsewhere.

Short trick: Lu state → Qufu → Confucius.

Concept: Lamaism is the name for Tibetan (Vajrayana) Buddhism, in which lamas (spiritual teachers, e.g. the Dalai Lama) hold central authority.

1. It later spread to Mongolia, but its home is Tibet.

Short trick: Lama = Tibetan guru → Lamaism = Tibet.

Concept: The Indianised kingdom of Champa (2nd–17th century) lay in central and southern Vietnam.

1. Its religious centre was My Son; capitals included Indrapura and Vijaya.
2. Funan/Kambuja were in Cambodia.

Short trick: Champa = Cham people = central Vietnam.

Concept: The six Nara schools each continued an Indian/Chinese Buddhist school.

1. Sanron ('three treatises' of Nagarjuna/Aryadeva) = Madhyamika → a–iv.
2. Jojitsu = Satyasiddhi-shastra of Harivarman → b–i.
3. Hosso = Yogachara/Vijnanavada (via Xuanzang) → c–iii.
4. Ritsu = Vinaya (monastic discipline, brought by Ganjin/Jianzhen) → d–ii.

Short trick: Ritsu = Rules (Vinaya); Hosso = Mind-only (Yogachara).

Concept: Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in Hanoi on 2 September 1945, after Japan's surrender.

1. The August Revolution (1945) of the Viet Minh preceded it.
2. War with France followed (1946–54); the southern 'Republic of Vietnam' was formed only in 1955, which is not among the options.

Short trick: 2 September 1945 – Ba Dinh Square – Ho Chi Minh.

Concept: The Indrapura line of Champa traced its descent from the sage Bhrigu; its founder, known from the Dong Duong inscription, was Indravarman (II), c. 875 AD.

1. Sri Mara (c. 2nd century) founded the first Champa dynasty, not the Bhrigu line.
2. Fan Hu-ta is the Chinese name of Bhadravarman I (2nd dynasty).
3. Jayavarman I belongs to Chenla/Kambuja.

Short trick: Bhrigu-vamsha = Indrapura = Indravarman.

Concept: The earliest Buddha image of Vietnam is the bronze Buddha of Dong Duong in Quang Nam province, in Amaravati style (c. 3rd–4th century AD).

1. Its Amaravati style shows early contact with Andhra.
2. My Son is a Shaiva temple complex; Po Nagar (Nha Trang) is a temple of the goddess Bhagavati.

Short trick: Dong Duong bronze Buddha – Quang Nam – Amaravati style.

Concept: Yukan (湯灌, literally 'hot-water pouring') is the ritual washing of the dead body with warm water before encoffining.

1. After yukan the body is dressed in a white kyokatabira robe (a separate step).
2. Cremation (kaso) comes later.

Short trick: Yu = hot water → Yukan = bathing the dead.

Concept: The Tra Kieu inscription of Prakashadharma (Vikrantavarman I, 7th century) of Champa records his (re)building of a temple of the poet-sage Valmiki.

1. It is the only known ancient temple dedicated to Valmiki and proves the popularity of the Ramayana in Champa.
2. Suryavarman and Jayavarman Parameshvara are Khmer kings.

Short trick: Valmiki temple – Tra Kieu – Prakashadharma.

Concept: About 70% of Sri Lankans follow Theravada Buddhism, which reached the island through Mahinda in Ashoka's time.

1. Hindus (~12%), Muslims (~10%) and Christians (~7%) are minorities.
2. 'Sinhalese' is an ethnic group/language, not a religion.

Short trick: Sri Lanka = Theravada Buddhist majority.

Concept: Kandyan dance (Uda Rata Natum) from the hill country around Kandy is Sri Lanka's best-known traditional/national dance.

1. Other Sri Lankan forms: Low-country (Pahatha Rata) and Sabaragamuwa dances; 'Vannam' are songs/dance pieces within the Kandyan repertoire.
2. Jhumar is a folk dance of Punjab/Jharkhand.

Short trick: Kandy → Kandyan dance (Ves dancers).

Concept: Rudaki (c. 858–941) was born at Panjrud (Rudak) in the Samarkand region (now in Tajikistan, near Panjakent).

1. He later became court poet of the Samanid ruler Nasr II at Bukhara – so Bukhara is where he worked, not where he hailed from.
2. He is called 'Adam of poets' / father of New Persian poetry.

Short trick: Born near Samarkand, sang at Bukhara.

Concept: Rahul Sankrityayan wrote 'Madhya Asia ka Itihas' (History of Central Asia), which won the Sahitya Akademi Award (1958).

1. He travelled widely in Tibet and Soviet Central Asia and taught at Leningrad.
2. V. S. Wakankar discovered Bhimbetka; R. S. Sharma wrote on ancient Indian history.

Short trick: Rahul Sankrityayan – Madhya Asia ka Itihas – 1958 Akademi.

Concept: Uzbekistan adopted its constitution on 8 December 1992 (Constitution Day).

1. Independence was declared on 31 August 1991 after the USSR's collapse.
2. A new constitution was adopted by referendum in 2023.

Short trick: Independence 1991 → Constitution 8-12-1992.

Concept: Kazakh (a Turkic language) is the state language of Kazakhstan.

1. Russian has official status for inter-ethnic communication, but the state/national language is Kazakh.
2. Tajik is Persian-based (Tajikistan); Uzbek is the language of Uzbekistan.

Short trick: Country-stan → its own language: Kazakh-stan → Kazakh.

Concept: In this list ‘Koryo’ stands for the old northern kingdom Koguryo (Goguryeo), which itself used the shortened name Koryo/Goryeo from the 5th century; the later Koryo dynasty (918–1392) took its name from it. Arrange by traditional founding dates.

1. Silla – 57 BC (i).
2. Koguryo/Koryo – 37 BC (iii).
3. Paekche (Baekje) – 18 BC (iv).
4. Karak (Geumgwan Gaya) – AD 42 (ii).
5. Order: i, iii, iv, ii. (If Koryo were read as the 918 dynasty, no option would fit at all – so the Three-Kingdoms reading is the intended one.)

Short trick: Founding years 57 – 37 – 18 BC – AD 42: Silla, Koguryo, Paekche, Karak.

Concept: Shahr-i-Sokhta ('Burnt City', Bronze Age) is in Sistan-Baluchestan province of Iran.

1. Ai-Khanoum – Greco-Bactrian city on the Oxus (Takhar, Afghanistan).
2. Shortugai – Harappan trading outpost on the Amu Darya (Afghanistan).
3. Mir Zakah – huge coin hoard site in Paktia (Afghanistan).

Short trick: 'Burnt City' = Iran.

Concept: The Jesuit St. Francis Xavier landed at Kagoshima in 1549 and began Christian missions in Japan.

1. Boethius, Jerome and Eusebius were late-Roman writers/church fathers (4th–6th century).

Short trick: 1549 Kagoshima – Francis Xavier.

Concept: Soviet-Afghan excavations at Dilberjin (Delverjin) Tepe in northern Afghanistan (ancient Bactria) found a Kushan-period wall painting of Shiva and Parvati seated on Nandi.

1. It shows Shaivism in Kushan Bactria.
2. Darunta is known for Buddhist stupas near Jalalabad.

Short trick: Dilberjin – Bactria – Shiva-Parvati on Nandi.

Concept: ‘Chunga’ is taken here as the Afghan form of the choga/chugha – the long, loose, long-sleeved outer robe of traditional Afghan (Pashtun) dress, worn over the perahan-tunban.

1. Of the options it is the only item of dress; it is not a tribe/caste, a dish or a dance.
2. For contrast: the Afghan national dance is the Attan; a typical dish is Kabuli pulao.

Short trick: Chunga ≈ choga = Afghan robe.