JABBERWOCKY 2025

Front

What is the title of the poem written by Yuen Ren Chao?

Back

The Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den

Front

In which decade was 'The Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den' written?

Back

The 1930s

Front

How many syllables does the poem consist of?

Back

94 syllables (or 92 in some versions)

Front

What linguistic demonstration does the poem serve?

Back

It shows that a meaningful text can be created using only one syllable in a tonal language.

Front

What language is 'The Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den' written in?

Back

Classical Chinese (古文)

Front

What is the coherent story about in the poem?

Back

A poet named Shi Shi who lives in a stone den and eats ten lions, later discovering they were stone lions.

Front

What does the poem highlight about tones and characters in Chinese?

Back

It demonstrates how tones and characters convey meaning and the limits of Pinyin when tones are ignored.

Front

What is the dual nature of the poem?

Back

It is regarded as both a poetic text and a tongue twister.

Front

What did Yuen Ren Chao contribute to linguistics?

Back

He developed a Romanization system for Chinese and advanced the study of tonal language phonetics.

Front

When was Yuen Ren Chao born and when did he die?

Back

Born in 1892, died in 1982.