Yusuf Khos Hajib and “Qutadg‘u bilig”
Answers are for parents and teachers.
1
Draw a diagram of the poem’s four characters and add one sentence of explanation for each.
Kuntughdi – Justice, Oytoldi – Fortune, Ogdulmish – Reason, Ozghurmish – Contentment.
2
Explain the symbol of the ball in your own words in 4–5 sentences.
Fortune is unstable: it does not stay with one person forever and is not fair to all.
3
Write five facts about the life of Yusuf Khos Hajib.
Balasagun, Kashgar, after fifty, eighteen months, the post of Khos Hajib – and others.
4
Replace the king’s symbols (chair, knife, sugar, medicine) with modern equivalents of your choice to express justice.
Creative answer: e.g. scales, a referee’s whistle, a law book – the underlying logic must be kept.