Deck 7: Han Dynasty China and Imperial Rome, 300 Bce-300 Ce

Question 1

What hampered the Han military's effort to expand the empire in southwestern China?

A) long supply lines that could not be adequately defended
B) lack of immunity to malaria
C) insufficient cavalry to repel nomads in southern deserts
D) an army too disorganized to defend the northern frontiers

Answer 1

lack of immunity to malaria

Question 2

What did Han Confucian scholars invent?

A) windmills and writing
B) gunpowder and rockets
C) standardized weights and measures
D) paper and the magnetic compass

Answer 2

paper and the magnetic compass

Question 3

In contrast to Han China, Roman expansion and empire building were characterized by what?

A) a process of constructing an empire according to past models
B) a process of continual experimentation, innovation, and adaptation
C) reliance on military forces to secure imperial gains
D) the exclusion of conquered peoples from political participation

Answer 3

a process of continual experimentation, innovation, and adaptation

Question 4

Which of the following is a characteristic of early Han rule?

A) The majority of land was directly administered by the Han imperial family.
B) The Han rejected education for fear that scholars would incite rebellions.
C) The ruling family had to compromise with the aristocratic groups.
D) The Han used severe policies with border peoples in order to establish their authority.

Question 5

In contrast to the Qin dynasty, the Han Empire was distinguished by what?

A) the alliance between the imperial family and the scholar-gentry class
B) the alliance between the imperial family and the nobility
C) the alliance between the imperial family and Buddhist religious officials
D) the alliance between the imperial family and Daoist religious officials

Question 6

Which of the following cultural characteristics was common to both the Romans and the Han?

A) Both were strongly traditional and idealized their ancestors.
B) Both believed that imperial art and architecture should not detract from the glorification of the common citizen.
C) Both valued minimalism in art.
D) Both sought to eliminate the role of religious rituals and ceremonies in civic life.

Question 7

What was a consequence during the Later Han dynasty of the landed elites' manipulating tax system?

A) Free peasants were forced to become tenants whose rents rose rapidly.
B) Merchants saw declining wealth and power as long-distance trade decreased.
C) Landowners supported Buddhist monasteries to compensate for their treatment of peasants.
D) Political authority was increasingly centralized within the hands of the newly rich scholar-officials.

Question 8

Which of the following was the most enduring of the public works created by the Qin Empire?

A) building roads into newly seized pasturelands in the steppes
B) erecting massive defensive walls along the border
C) endowing Buddhist monasteries in Dunhuang
D) creating the Forbidden City in the heart of Anyang

Question 9

How did the Han solve the problem of staffing a competent bureaucracy?

A) by selecting promising young military officers to work in bureaucratic offices
B) by requiring noble families to designate one son for bureaucratic work
C) by drawing heavily on the expertise of religious officials
D) by establishing institutions of learning, including an imperial university

Question 10

Which of the following was a consequence of Han farmers' deforestation?

A) lowering the level of the Yellow River
B) decreased flooding of the Yellow River
C) massive runoffs of soil into the Yellow River
D) more grazing for rhinoceroses and elephants

Question 11

Which of the following was a long-lasting cultural impact of Qin rule?

A) encouraging Daoist art and scientific studies
B) establishing a uniform written script
C) granting teachers the right to present any material they chose
D) encouraging private publication and ownership of books

Question 12

Which of the following is the primary cause of the collapse of the Qin Empire?

A) The Xiongnu invaded the center of the Qin Empire and released the Qin's imprisoned rivals.
B) Qin rule weighted heavily on taxpayers and constant warfare consumed massive tax revenues.
C) Shi Huangdi's son and eldest grandson joined to stage a mutiny against the emperor.
D) Peasants refused to allow their sons to be conscripted into the army, which became too small to keep order.

Question 13

To help secure the frontier along the desert regions, what did Emperor Wu do?

A) He built the Great Wall of China.
B) He established military and farming settlements in which soldiers and their families could settle.
C) He forced all men in conquered communities to serve in the army for five years.
D) He relocated rebellious peoples into central China.

Question 14

In contrast to Rome, Han monumental architecture was primarily associated with what?

A) sites of mass entertainment, such as theaters
B) religious shrines and temples
C) palaces and tombs of rulers
D) state offices and public buildings

Question 15

According to common belief during the Han dynasty, what would a cluster of calamities, prodigies, and heavenly omens usually portend?

A) The people should rally in defense of the emperor to prevent further disorder.
B) The emperor possessed the mandate of heaven.
C) The emperor had lost the mandate of heaven.
D) The emperor should be put to death for angering the gods.

Question 16

Which of the following contributed to the fall of Wang Mang?

A) the fall of the hereditary privileged elite
B) the massive flooding of the Yellow River, which affected half of the population
C) the rise of a millenarian Confucian cult called the Red Eyebrows
D) the widespread drought that ruined the agriculture upon which the state depended

Question 17

Which of the following comparisons accurately reflects Han social ideals?

A) Peasants were subject to a range of controls, while merchants were praised for the wealth they produced in society.
B) Peasants were honored for their productive labors, while merchants were subject to a range of controls.
C) Peasants and merchants were both praised for their productivity.
D) Peasants and merchants were both distrusted as uneducated and uncultured.

Question 18

How did Zheng, the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, attempt to secure his throne?

A) Zheng had himself appointed emperor by a council of the competing Warring States, ensuring broad support for his reign.
B) Zheng took the title "King of Kings" to emphasize his superiority over lesser rulers.
C) Zheng forced the rulers of defeated states to move to his capital, Xianyang, to ensure that they were not plotting rebellion.
D) Zheng allowed local rulers to retain authority because they could more efficiently collect taxes and put down local rebellions.

Question 19

Which of the following represents one of Qin Shi Huangdi's techniques of governance?

A) He eliminated the nobility as a distinct designation of status in society to prevent possible opposition to his rule.
B) He ruled directly over the massive new state he had conquered, not trusting any advisers or bureaucrats.
C) He required regional and local officials to answer directly to the emperor, who could dismiss them at will.
D) He placed all provinces under the rule of a military governor, who had absolute power to keep the peace and collect tribute.

Question 20

Which of the following was a means by which both the Roman and Han empires incorporated their conquered neighbors into their realms?

A) requiring tribute of slaves from conquered territories
B) offering civic representation to conquered peoples
C) allowing local laws to remain in conquered territories
D) tightly restricting the flow of trade goods within conquered territories

Question 21

Which of the following is a valid comparison of Roman and Han mining operations?

A) Rome and the Han both imported most of their iron ore from tributary states.
B) Rome exported far more bronze and copper tools than did the Han.
C) Roman and Han mines both polluted the environment, but Roman pollution was more extensive.
D) Rome used free conscript laborers in its mines, while the Han used slaves.

Question 22

Why was Rome more dependent than China on slaves and "barbarian" immigrants to expand its workforce?

A) Rome wanted to bring more people into its empire.
B) Rome had a smaller and less dense population than China.
C) China only relied on slaves for agricultural work; Rome used slaves for all types of labor.
D) China's empire was based on geographically contiguous territory; Rome surrounded a large body of water.

Question 23

The Romans and the Han were not content merely to exercise influence over their neighbors: they wanted to fully incorporate them into their realms.

Question 24

Which of the following is an accurate comparison between the Han and Roman empires?

A) The Han economy was based on agriculture, while Rome's was based on trade.
B) The Han and the Romans both used large amounts of slave labor.
C) The Han and the Romans both based governance of their provinces on state-trained scholar elites.
D) The Han Empire covered a large contiguous landmass, while the Roman Empire was spread around the Mediterranean.

Question 25

What technique did the Romans use to create their military might?

A) building a naval fleet that permitted them to use the Mediterranean as a rapid transport route for the army
B) developing a series of new weapons that gave the Romans a decisive technological advantage over their adversaries
C) forming a special contingent of slave-soldiers to serve as support personnel for the regular army
D) organizing communities they conquered on the Italian peninsula into a system that provided a huge reservoir of manpower for the army

Question 26

What marked the limits of Roman expansion to the east?

A) the Parthian Empire
B) the Indian Ocean
C) the Himalayas
D) the Persian Empire

Question 27

What was the major commodity that the Romans wanted from the German and Goth populations to their north?

A) gold
B) wine
C) slaves
D) furs

Question 28

What was one of the most important factors that led to establishment of one-man rule of the Roman Republic?

A) lands seized from poor Roman citizens by Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
B) the sudden deurbanization of Rome, as city dwellers migrated into the countryside
C) ambitious generals whose rivalry led to a series of civil wars
D) the massive number of deaths inflicted upon Romans by the Gauls

Question 29

Which of the following characterized Roman social structure?

A) The wealthy fulfilled their public obligations through their political offices rather than through private charity.
B) The emperors were expected to focus on military issues, leaving the care of the poor to lesser officials.
C) Men and women of wealth and high social standing acted as patrons, protecting lower-class clients.
D) The wealthy rarely sponsored construction of civic buildings such as libraries, bath houses, or theaters.

Question 30

What was the context for the foundations of early Christianity?

A) a conflict between the Jewish people and their Islamic neighbors
B) a rejection of Southeast Asian polytheism
C) a direct confrontation with Roman imperial authority
D) the waning influence of Zoroastrianism

Question 31

How did Roman mining operations contribute to the efficient functioning of the Roman economy?

A) They helped create an industrial economy.
B) They provided capital leading to the growth of a middle class.
C) They provided iron for bridges along Roman roads, which better connected the economy of disparate places.
D) They supported massive, standardized coinage.

Question 32

Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the ways the Han and Roman empires were governed?

A) Monarchs in both empires were successful in directly administering the functions of government.
B) In comparison with the Han Empire, the Roman Empire was relatively understaffed in central government officials.
C) Provincial governors in both empires had to depend on local help, sometimes aided by elite slaves who served as government bureaucrats.
D) While both Han and Roman emperors claimed to defend the empire from "barbarians," only the Han professionalized the army and presented themselves as victorious battlefield commanders.

Question 33

What factor of Roman civil society long outlasted the empire?

A) the system of patronage
B) the legal system and extensive written laws
C) the unquestioned authority of the paterfamilias
D) the idea of citizenship for all adult males

Question 34

Roman emperors used which of the following to calm the people's concerns about the reinstitution of monarchy?

A) They presented themselves as civil rulers whose power depended on the consent of the Roman citizens and the power of the army.
B) They justified their power through religious ceremonies and auguries led by the pontifex maximus.
C) They claimed that the only way to prevent civil strife was through the citizens' surrendering ancient liberties to the strongest military leader.
D) They claimed that they could not become tyrants since they had no control over the military.

Question 35

Which of the following was a consequence of Rome's power elite using the wealth acquired from conquests around the Mediterranean to buy large tracts of land in Italy and Sicily?

A) Free citizen farmers could gain more work as overseers and tenants on these new estates.
B) Free citizen farmers were driven from their lands into the cities, reducing the number of men available for the army.
C) The Gracchus brothers successfully instituted land reforms guaranteeing each citizen a basic amount of land.
D) The Gracchus brothers used the votes of the irate farmers to win election as consuls.

Question 36

What undermined Etruscan power on the Italian peninsula?

A) lack of natural resources
B) trade wars with the Carthaginians
C) invasion by the Gauls
D) superior Phoenician naval power

Question 37

During the Republic, to whom did Rome's poor citizens look for protection of their interests?

A) the Senate, to protect their interests against large landowners
B) army commanders, to provide them with land and a decent income
C) leaders of the state religion, who promoted the equality of all people
D) the faction that opposed the Gracchus brothers, who attempted to strip the poor of their citizenship

Question 38

Roman family life was characterized by which of the following?

A) Roman law gave husbands and fathers complete authority over their families.
B) Compared to the women in the Greek city-states, Roman women exercised much less freedom and control over their wealth and property.
C) As Roman imperial society expanded, the importance of family units diminished in urban centers as children were able to act more independently.
D) Roman women were rarely educated or in control of their own lives.

Question 39

Which of the following characterized daily life in the imperial city of Rome?

A) The emperor assured the inhabitants of Rome basic food and water supplies.
B) Rome was much smaller than Chang'an, and experienced little crime or violence.
C) Rome was relatively free from disease because of the sewage systems.
D) Water was supplied by local wells, which frequently went bad.

Question 40

Which of the following accurately describes the Yellow Turbans in China?

A) They were Buddhist clerics who came to China from northern India.
B) They called for a strengthening of the powers of the emperor over those of the local nobility.
C) They proclaimed a Daoist belief in a "Great Peace" and demanded equal distribution of all farmland.
D) They embraced a more tolerant version of Confucianism that emphasized conformity to rituals.

Question 41

Evaluate the role that national identity and unity played in the transition of Rome from a city-state to an imperial power.

Question 42

Philosophy and religion underpinned the Roman state in the same way that Confucianism buttressed China.

Question 43

Analyze the ways that the Roman Empire and the Han dynasty exploited their respective environments.

Question 44

People from beyond the frontiers of the empire frequently served in "ethnic units" in the Roman military.

Question 45

Compare the imperial structures of the Han and Roman empires and analyze how the imperial structures related to social hierarchies in each society.

Question 46

Wang Mang built legitimacy with the people through effective response to the flooding of the Yellow River in 11 CE.

Question 47

Christians were systematically persecuted during the first century CE in Rome.

Question 48

How did Confucian ideas shape Han political structures?

Question 49

Compare and analyze the ways the Roman and Han empires promoted peace and stability along their borders.