Deck 11: The East Asian Rimlands: Early Japan, Korea, and Vietnam

Question 1

Shotuku Taishi

A) was a Chinese Buddhist monk who became the first Heian emperor.
B) was believed to be the son of Izanami by the Koreans of Silla and people of Shikoku.
C) used Chinese political procedures to strengthen Japanese unity to resist Chinese power.
D) sent missions to India to study the more centralized system of government there.
E) was the first shogun of Japan.

Answer 1

used Chinese political procedures to strengthen Japanese unity to resist Chinese power.

Question 2

Due to a warmer climate from the Pacific current sweeping up from the south, where do a majority of Japanese people tend to live?

A) On the main island of Honshu in the north.
B) On the islands of Shikoku and Kyushu.
C) On the east coast, around Tokyo and Osaka.
D) On the west coast, around Tokyo and Osaka.
E) On the main island of Honshu, on the coast of the inland sea.

Answer 2

On the east coast, around Tokyo and Osaka.

Question 3

The four Japanese islands are

A) Honshu, Luzon, Hainan, and Guam.
B) Kyushu, Taiwan, Ryuku, and Kamchatka.
C) Shikoku, Kyushu, Hokkaido, and Honshu.
D) Okinawa, Tinian, Ryuku, and Diego Garcia.
E) Olane, Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and Shikoku.

Answer 3

Shikoku, Kyushu, Hokkaido, and Honshu.

Question 4

Which clan came to power after Shotoku Taishi died?

A) Edo
B) Ashikaga
C) Tang
D) Heian
E) Fujiwara

Question 5

After the death of Shotoku Taishi,

A) the Tokugawa clan seized power.
B) the Fujiwara clan was able to decentralize rule in Japan.
C) his successors introduced more reforms to make government efficient.
D) the rural upper classes were unable to prevent tax revenues from enriching the urban nobility.
E) the emperor took up residence in Edo.

Question 6

The two early Japanese capitals were ____ and ____.

A) Edo and Kamakura
B) Edo and Ashikaga
C) Nara and Edo
D) Heian and Kamakura
E) Nara and Heian

Question 7

The earliest known Neolithic inhabitants of Japan are known as the

A) Jomon.
B) Yayoi.
C) Yamato.
D) Ainu.
E) Inuit.

Question 8

What is the aim and purpose of Japanese poetry?

A) To craft intricate metaphors.
B) To create a mood.
C) To evoke strong emotion.
D) To tell a story.
E) To preserve storytelling traditions.

Question 9

Under the Taika Reforms, the basic unit of government was

A) a village, ideally comprised of fifty households, that paid taxes to the central government.
B) a highly centralized system of fourteen ministries under the seventeen-articles constitution.
C) a collective assembly consisting of aristocratic representatives.
D) a cabinet of eight ministries that oversaw the country's administrative districts.
E) an agricultural collective of one thousand pood of land and a communal assembly.

Question 10

The new class of Japanese military officials and retainers whose purpose was to protect their patrons and their property was the

A) Bushido.
B) shogun.
C) samurai.
D) kamikaze.
E) seppuku.

Question 11

Early Japanese people - and some modern Japanese as well - believed the emperor was

A) sent to rule by the god Izanagi.
B) more human than divine.
C) charged by the gods with protecting the people from harmful forces.
D) a direct descendent of the goddess Amaterasu.
E) the human embodiment of god on earth.

Question 12

By the seventh century CE, Buddhism in Japan was most popular among

A) religious heretics, who lived separate from society.
B) aristocrats, who endowed wealthy monasteries.
C) Chinese immigrants, who lived in Japan.
D) the common people, who related to the spiritual message.
E) scholars, who copied Buddhist writings.

Question 13

According to Japanese creation myths, how did Japan come to be?

A) Via a battle between the warring gods Izanami and Amaterasu
B) Through the marriage of the god Izanagi and the goddess Izanami
C) When the goddess Ameratsu breathed life into the islands that form Japan
D) When the deities sent two sister goddesses to preside over the land and sea
E) Through a great flood, similar to the stories of Noah and Gilgamesh

Question 14

In reaction to the Tang infiltration into the Korean Peninsula,

A) relations between the Korean kingdoms and the Japanese rulers became estranged.
B) Japanese governmental power became more decentralized for a time.
C) Japanese rulers sought alliances with the remaining Korean states and looked to centralize their power.
D) Japan declared war upon Korea.
E) Japan declared war upon Tang China.

Question 15

Agriculture in Japan

A) was fundamentally changed by the introduction of rice cultivation about 400 B.C.E.
B) ended when Uji, the Yayoi leader, seized power after the Battle of Sapporo.
C) takes place entirely in the mountains, with no extensive lowland or plains areas except on the island of Ryuku.
D) is possible on a significant scale on 80 percent of Japanese land.
E) was insufficient to take care of the population, thus Japan depended upon importing rice.

Question 16

The rulers of Silla attempted to use Chinese political institutions to form a centralized state but aristocratic families prevented the adoption of which measure?

A) The Tang civil service examination system.
B) Buddhist monasteries.
C) Chinese as an official means of legal communication.
D) Chinese art and architecture.
E) All of these.

Question 17

The so-called "seventeen-article constitution" involved

A) a decentralization of Japanese government by Shotoku Taishi.
B) an effort to enable the Japanese to conquer the Tang Dynasty of China.
C) the formal establishment of feudalism.
D) a last-ditch effort to keep peasants under Buddhist control.
E) a centralized government under a supreme ruler and a merit system.

Question 18

Nara was modeled on the city of

A) Edo.
B) Chang'an.
C) Beijing.
D) Kyoto.
E) Xian.

Question 19

What is true of the Japanese islands?

A) Honshu receives over 200 inches of snow each year.
B) It contains so many mountains that the percentage of land that it can use for farming is under three percent.
C) Since its mountains are volcanic, much of its soil is very poor.
D) The nearness to the Asian and Pacific tectonic plates causes it to be subject to violent earthquakes.
E) The largest of the four main islands is Kyushu.

Question 20

The staple crop for Japanese agriculture from the earliest period was

A) wet rice.
B) millet.
C) wheat.
D) tea.
E) hemp.

Question 21

The class of hereditary slaves who performed degrading occupations in Japan was the

A) untouchables.
B) genin.
C) tatami.
D) pariah.
E) eta.

Question 22

Most historians tend to agree that the term 'feudalism'

A) should be restricted to Japanese history.
B) can be a useful tool for the comparative study of societies.
C) is outmoded and does not reflect the modern comparative emphasis in history.
D) should be restricted to European history.
E) should be restricted to European and Chinese history.

Question 23

Known as "the way of the warrior," the strict code of the Japanese retainer was called

A) hara-kiri.
B) Bushido.
C) Shogun.
D) Samurai.
E) kamikazi.

Question 24

What was true of Shinto?

A) It was the Japanese version of Theravada Buddhism.
B) It involved the performance of ritual acts, usually performed at a shrine.
C) It stressed military violence and gore.
D) It included aspects involving belief in the humanity of the emperor.
E) It was heavily influence by Southeast Asian Hinduism.

Question 25

Japan exported ____ to China and Korea and imported ____.

A) corn and grain; rice
B) raw materials; silk, books, and copper cash
C) slaves; books and porcelain
D) paintings and swords; slaves
E) silk and porcelain; paintings, books, and swords

Question 26

The Japanese word that refers to the "divine wind" of the massive typhoon that destroyed the invading Mongol fleet of Khubilai Khan is

A) sayonara.
B) shogun.
C) bakufu.
D) kamikaze.
E) daimyo.

Question 27

The 'Rashomon Effect' refers to the difficulty in establishing

A) centralized rule.
B) the battle readiness of an army.
C) the truth about an event or series of events.
D) dynastic stability.
E) religious conformity.

Question 28

The essence of the "shogunate system" was that

A) governmental power became decentralized under the emperor.
B) governmental power became centralized under shogun, while the emperor ruled in name only.
C) the emperor became the central ruler and the shogun became a nominal official.
D) the military was put under complete civilian control.
E) the peasants were granted the rank of samurai.

Question 29

In eighth century Japan, a man could divorce his wife if she

A) insulted her parents.
B) could not do farm work.
C) would not accept his other wives.
D) did not produce a male child.
E) refused to convert to Buddhism.

Question 30

Who developed and implemented the "shogunate system"?

A) Khubilai Khan
B) Minamoto Yoritomo
C) Ayosu Fujiwara
D) Shotoku Taishi
E) Heidekei Matamura

Question 31

Under the Ashikaga shogunate,

A) the samurai took control of the lands of the daimyo.
B) centralized shogunate power in Japan increased enormously.
C) daimyo reliance on samurai protection increased.
D) the emperor came to dominate the samurai.
E) the Mongols successfully captured Japan.

Question 32

Feudalism refers to a

A) form of medieval architecture.
B) set of arms used by medieval knights.
C) medieval trade of land use for military service.
D) medieval style of rule that was characterized by a strong centralized power.
E) medieval form of poetry.

Question 33

The Buddhist sect that taught that devotion alone could lead to enlightenment and release was

A) the Mahayana.
B) the Pure Land.
C) Zen.
D) the White Lotus.
E) Tantrism.

Question 34

The samurai

A) were a hereditary warrior class in medieval Japan recruited in Manchuria and Siberia.
B) were similar medieval European knights.
C) were the oath-pledged military retainers of the shogun, constituting a formal national army.
D) took oaths of poverty, chastity and obedience before their formal investiture.
E) were recruited from the peasant class.

Question 35

The Onin War

A) brought Shitoku Taishi to power.
B) drove the Mongols from Japan after only eleven years in power there.
C) was the major event which caused the collapse of the Kamakura Shogunate in 1256.
D) finally restored absolute power to the shogun, Minamoto Yoritomo.
E) effectively destroyed the power of the shogunate in the 1470s.

Question 36

The aristocratic woman known as ____ was among those who became artists and writers.

A) Shinto
B) Tatami Murasaki
C) Yamato Shikibu
D) Rashomon Tatami
E) Murasaki Shikibu

Question 37

The Japanese Zen term for enlightenment is

A) nirvana.
B) satori.
C) zazen.
D) haniwa.
E) kana.

Question 38

Trade in Japan

A) was the dominant economic activity in the society by 500 CE.
B) began to develop more rapidly during the Kamakura period.
C) involved no foreign trade after the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
D) was restricted to Chinese merchants.
E) was largely centered around the exchange of agricultural products.

Question 39

The genin were

A) large landowners during the Ashikaga period.
B) the wealthiest samurai.
C) landless laborers who could be bought and sold by the owners of the land.
D) hereditary slaves, and often of Ainu or Korean ancestry.
E) Buddhist priests.

Question 40

After the introduction of Buddhism to Japan, women were

A) totally subservient to men.
B) dominated the culture of the society.
C) initially subordinate to men even while retaining equal legal and social rights.
D) had a much worse position than those of China.
E) occasionally served as the shogun.

Question 41

Most Vietnamese people were

A) merchants.
B) peasants.
C) slave owners.
D) artisans.
E) civil service workers.

Question 42

According to Zen teachings, enlightenment could be achieved in all of these ways EXCEPT

A) by studying Scriptures.
B) through self-discipline.
C) by asking for special blessings from the gods.
D) via meditation.
E) by cleansing the mind of nonessential thoughts.

Question 43

The Three Kingdoms of early Korea were

A) Xinjang, Silla, and Jurchen.
B) Paekche, Silla, and Koguryo.
C) Sakhalin, Koryo, and Tientsin.
D) Pyongyang, Yalu, and Annam.
E) Seoul, Koguryo, and Champa.

Question 44

A Vietnamese law code promulgated in 1460

A) recognized the legal rights of women.
B) forbade the use of Chinese script.
C) outlawed the practice of Christianity.
D) officially recognized Buddhism as the religion of the state.
E) was the first known law code to require a period of mandatory military service.

Question 45

In addition to their beautiful gardens, another Japanese cultural contribution that represents a fusion of Zen and aesthetics is the

A) black ink wash.
B) architectural saturnalia.
C) Shinto observance.
D) tea ceremony.
E) tatami ritual.

Question 46

In Vietnam,

A) women had less authority than their counterparts in China.
B) women could never initiate divorce proceedings against their husbands.
C) women possessed more rights, in practice and in law, than in China.
D) Confucianism was never an influence.
E) Chinese rule was paramount for almost 1200 years.

Question 47

Japanese poetry

A) expressed themes in simple forms designed to create a general mood.
B) used very complex forms and techniques to develop very precise ideas and meanings.
C) originated when Tang poets arrived in Japan and opened well-attended writing schools.
D) never used nature as a subject matter.
E) had little impact upon Japanese literature, which was mostly written in a prose form.

Question 48

The Trung sisters were

A) the goddesses at the center of the Vietnamese creation story.
B) Vietnamese heroes who sacrificed their lives in the struggle against China.
C) Chinese warrior women who helped conquer Korea.
D) Japanese aristocratic female writers.
E) the daughters of the Japanese emperor.

Question 49

One notable characteristic of Japanese culture is

A) its practice of remaining exclusively native.
B) the constant Shinto domination of all aspects of religion and culture.
C) that only males made notable literary contributions.
D) the flow of technological and industrial inventions from its earliest history.
E) its ability to blend native influences with concepts acquired from other cultures.

Question 50

Japanese haiku

A) often focused on images from nature.
B) usually concerned itself with the fortunes of war.
C) was the product of a single author who produced very brief poetic descriptions.
D) was totally rejected in Japan after the fourteenth century.
E) reflected the samurai love of war and violence.

Question 51

Vietnam borrowed all of these elements of Chinese culture EXCEPT

A) Buddhism.
B) Confucianism.
C) poetic styles and forms.
D) architecture.
E) shogunate system.

Question 52

Facets of the Japanese state religion included all except the

A) importance of bodily cleanliness.
B) physical allure of the natural setting.
C) association with the belief in the ruler's divinity and the state's holiness.
D) belief in spirits tied to nature.
E) existence of a complicated and formal theological system.

Question 53

Korea was probably initially settled by ____ during the Neolithic Age.

A) the Japanese
B) nomads from Africa
C) hunting and fishing people from Manchuria
D) early Qin descendents
E) Norse peoples

Question 54

What best characterizes the relationship between the Chinese and Japanese written languages?

A) The two languages are actually closely related.
B) The Chinese written language was based upon the written language of Japan.
C) Written Chinese was discarded in favor of the Cyrillic alphabet.
D) Using Chinese characters as phonetic symbols, Japan created a workable "hybrid" system.
E) The Chinese borrowed the Japanese script as the basis of its written language.

Question 55

Shinto serves an important purpose to

A) create a complex metaphysical structure that guides Japanese thought.
B) knit the Japanese together ideologically and emotionally.
C) tie Japan to other Asian cultures and influence outsiders.
D) control the actions and beliefs of Japanese rulers.
E) focus Japanese thought on the importance of creating art.

Question 56

The Japanese "linked verse" is known as

A) genin.
B) haiku.
C) No.
D) zazen.
E) haniwa.

Question 57

Which state referred to itself as the Dai Viet?

A) Han China
B) Koryo
C) Manchuria
D) Japan
E) Vietnam

Question 58

No was a form of classical Japanese drama that

A) had plots that usually focused on stories from Japanese history and legend.
B) was the product of various Asian art forms.
C) employed the use of disguise, music, and dance.
D) resembled Greek drama in that the performers wore masks.
E) all of these

Question 59

The practice of miniature plant display, or bonsai, was an expression of what practice?

A) Shinto beliefs
B) Zen Buddhism
C) Writing haiku
D) Realism in art
E) Chinese superiority of culture

Question 60

In spite of the impact of Chinese influence,

A) Vietnam developed chu nom, which was a writing system for spoken Vietnamese.
B) Japan never adopted either Chinese characters for writing or any of its governmental system.
C) Korea never accepted tributary status under Chinese overlordship.
D) Confucianism itself had little influence anywhere outside of China proper.
E) Korea never came under Chinese political control.

Question 61

The government under the rule of the shogun was known as the bakufu, or "tent government."

Question 62

Heian, which was the capital of Japan beginning in 794, was built on the site of present-day Kyoto.

Question 63

The Japanese moon goddess was Amaterasu.

Question 64

Han rule over Vietnam was overthrown permanently in a revolt started by the Trung sisters.

Question 65

Outside Europe, forms of feudalism existed in Japan, India, and the Aztec empire.

Question 66

In the thirteenth century, the Mongols seized the northern part of Korea, assimilating it into the Yuan empire.

Question 67

When the Tang dynasty collapsed, and after almost a thousand years of Chinese domination, the Vietnamese overthrew Chinese rule, and established a new state called Dai Viet.

Question 68

In addition to their beautiful gardens, another Japanese cultural contribution that represents a fusion of Zen and aesthetics is the

A) black ink wash.
B) architectural saturnalia.
C) Shinto observance.
D) tea ceremony.
E) tatami ritual.

Question 69

The Koryo dynasty arose in northern Korea in the tenth century, and retained power for four hundred years.

Question 70

The "warring states era" in Japan led to the virtual destruction of Japan's capital city of Kyoto.

Question 71

The Taika reforms, based upon the Chinese model, were intended to make the Japanese government operate more efficiently.

Question 72

Befitting their station in life, samurai enjoyed lives of leisure and wealth.

Question 73

Shinto was introduced to Japan from China and evolved into a state doctrine.

Question 74

Japan's island character has strengthened the Japanese sense of cultural and ethnic distinctiveness.

Question 75

Originally, Chinese was the written language of choice among educated Japanese.

Question 76

Samurai were loyal to the emperor and served to help control aristocratic families.