By RACHEL CHAN

WHICH painting did renowned Chinese painter Xu Beihong create after watching a street play by famous actress Wang Ying in Singapore?

How do you say 'don't put all your eggs in one basket' in Mandarin? Knowing the answers to these questions, and at least 142 others, might get you to the finals of The Chinese Challenge - and a grand prize worth $10,000.

For 12 weeks starting from next Monday, the Speak Mandarin Campaign will test Singaporeans and permanent residents on their knowledge of all things Chinese.

Every week, 12 questions will be released on the website www.thechinesechallenge.sg, and monthly draws will be held to select the top scorers.

Providing the correct answers will be no walk in the park, as the questions will test your knowledge on topics ranging from contemporary history to classical Chinese sayings, pop culture and colloquialisms.

Commenting on some of the questions, Mr K.C. Seow, 27, a legal associate, said: 'They are related to a diverse range of niche topics that even ordinary Singaporeans who use Chinese daily may not have heard of.'

But he felt that there were some general-knowledge questions which the average Singaporean would find easy to answer.

As many as 35 per cent of the questions are related specifically to Singapore, said Ms Lim Sau Hoong, chairman of the Promote Mandarin Council.

'For example, questions such as 'Who is the first principal of Nanyang University?' can be answered only by hardcore Singaporeans,' she said.

'If you are intent on winning, there are many methods to find the answers. There's Baidu, Google and the library,' said Ms Lim. 'I don't think it's difficult at all.'

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