Deck 6: Ancient China to 500 Bce

Question 1

Discuss the major formative elements of Chinese society. How did these interact and strengthen that society? Explain the enduring emphasis on family and the ancestors.

Answer 1

Answer not provided.

Question 2

During the Zhou period, peasants were generally

A) enslaved on a hereditary basis.
B) mired in a share-cropping existence, with no protection from the central government.
C) hard working, but not miserable, and sometimes even prosperous.
D) lacking in needed equipment and work animals such as horses
E) happier than the aristocrats, because they controlled their own lives.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

What might most accurately be said about Chinese writing?

A) It is essentially pictographic.
B) Five thousand pictograms had to be memorized.
C) It dates back only to the Zhou period.
D) Because of its difficulty, literacy was rare.
E) It began to be used first during the Hsia Dynasty.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The cradle of Chinese civilization

A) centered on the great Northern Plain's grasslands, where millet grew abundantly.
B) lay south of the Yangtze River's swamplands, where there were many rice farms.
C) was the Yellow River valley, where rich soils made a wide variety of crops possible.
D) began along the Yangtze River, but over time became centered around the Yellow River valley.
E) actually began with non-Chinese peoples who were still hunter-gatherers.

Question 5

Early Chinese civilization lacked

A) a true priestly caste.
B) a formal government.
C) an advanced system of writing.
D) the form of ancestor worship that would develop much later.
E) a coordinated system for teaching the young the importance of societal harmony.

Question 6

Explain the influence of the ideal of education on Chinese culture.

Question 7

The Chinese used oracle bones to

A) determine their next emperor.
B) communicate with departed ancestors about important family matters.
C) maintain agricultural records.
D) help them decide which crops to plant.
E) help the king determine how the ancestors thought the society should be run.

Question 8

Compare and contrast China with other ancient civilizations.

Question 9

Most historians agree that China's greatest single cultural force was

A) Lao Zi.
B) Legalism.
C) Confucius.
D) the Mandarins.
E) the Dao de Jing .

Question 10

We know more about the Zhou than the Shang because

A) of better archaeological evidence.
B) the Zhou developed an extensive literature.
C) of Confucius and Lao Zi.
D) the Zhou were wealthier.
E) the Zhou traded more extensively with outsiders.

Question 11

The Shang Dynasty

A) followed the Hsia Dynasty.
B) antedated the Hsia.
C) was associated with copper working and the development of writing.
D) has only recently been confirmed by archaeologists.
E) resulted from an overthrow of the Aryan invaders.

Question 12

The Yellow River was

A) benevolent like the Nile.
B) in an under-populated area.
C) tamer than the Yangtze.
D) subject to damaging floods.
E) on the border between China and Mongolia.

Question 13

Yellow River flooding brought

A) much-needed water for irrigation, on a regular and easily-managed basis
B) massive destruction to Chinese crops regularly, with resultant famines.
C) political fragmentation, as the people could not agree on the best method for flood control.
D) the collapse of the Hsia civilization.
E) the development of major flood control projects, including a vast system of levees.

Question 14

Most of what is known about the Shang Dynasty is derived from

A) writing.
B) oracle bones.
C) history.
D) archaeology.
E) pictographs.

Question 15

It would be most accurate to describe China during the Shang Dynasty as

A) lacking in the skills of metalworking, making trade with other areas necessary
B) a mainly rural, agricultural society.
C) protected from invasion by its steppes and deserts.
D) isolated to a great degree, but not as much as Egypt or Mesopotamia.
E) heavily influenced by the Egyptian concept of dynastic rule.

Question 16

The pictographic writing of the Chinese

A) led to a fairly simple and straightforward phonetic language.
B) was replaced by a polysyllabic spoken language.
C) has not changed much since its earliest beginnings, except that it incorporated a number of words from neighboring societies.
D) was developed as early as 2500 B.C.E.
E) uses a monosyllabic logograph to denote actions as well as words.

Question 17

What contributions to Chinese government, culture and society distinguished the Zhou period?

Question 18

The idea of the "mandate of heaven"

A) promoted peace and stability.
B) benefited the peasantry.
C) made rulers more religious.
D) was used to justify revolts.
E) held little appeal among ordinary Chinese.

Question 19

In what way might a ruler lose the "mandate of heaven"?

A) adultery or incest
B) failing to personally lead his armies in battle
C) failing to stop invaders
D) excessive taxation
E) disrespect to mandarins

Question 20

Assess the significance of Confucian philosophy in China. Compare and contrast Confucianism with Daoism and Legalism. What are the common denominators of these philosophies?

Question 21

According to Confucian ideas,

A) only aristocrats could be gentlemen.
B) the rich owed nothing to the poor.
C) the state was like a well-run family.
D) gentlemen should avoid politics.
E) the family was more important than the state.

Question 22

Mandarins were members of the group of government officials who

A) made and changed laws according to Confucian principles, with or without the support of the Emperor.
B) had the task of implementing Confucian laws concerning the family.
C) opposed the teachings of Confucius, calling for the acceptance of the ideas of Lao-tsu instead.
D) monitored the Emperor to ensure that he governed according to Confucian principles.
E) oversaw the implementation of Confucian ideas in the Chinese educational system.

Question 23

When a breakdown in authority occurred during China's era of the Warring States,

A) the Qin emperor was overthrown, which proved to the people that he had lost the mandate of heaven.
B) the door was opened to Legalist theories which centered on strong governmental control of the people.
C) the people turned their backs on Confucius, believing that his principles had proven themselves unworkable.
D) members of the Zhou Dynasty adopted Legalist ideas to keep themselves in power.
E) Confucian ideals lost out to Legalist principles for the time being, and the central government exerted much greater control over the people.

Question 24

As China expanded under the Zhou Dynasty,

A) local aristocrats became feudal lords.
B) the central government began to reinvent itself for the changing times.
C) the monarch became more revered than ever.
D) the authority of the central government was altered yet remained strong.
E) the royal government grew stronger.

Question 25

The Dao de Jing expounds upon the philosophy of ____________________.

Question 26

The ____________________ proved to be China's longest-lived and most formative dynasty.

Question 27

In contrast to what many people would think, the product that provided the most wealth for early China was

A) copper.
B) tea.
C) silk.
D) salt.
E) iron.

Question 28

The earliest Chinese writing beyond pictography

A) concerned the recording of history.
B) was found on oracle bones.
C) was used to develop stories for entertainment.
D) recorded crop yields and legal transactions.
E) was actually developed earlier than that of Egypt.

Question 29

____________________ was popularized during the centuries of breakdown in Zhou authority.

Question 30

The early Chinese dynasties managed to control warfare and the people's religion by

A) maintaining strict surveillance over the people.
B) maintaining strict control over both weapons and religious objects.
C) convincing the people that they ruled with the blessings of heaven.
D) keeping most of the population illiterate and tied to the land.
E) monopolizing the trade in metals, salt, and silks.

Question 31

Which of these was most valued by Chinese aristocrats?

A) The use of the Silk Road during the Zhou Dynasty
B) Trade and foreign empires, for highly prized fabrics and perfumes.
C) Trade with their close neighbors
D) Silk cultivation and silk-weaving
E) The horses they obtained from Central Asian nomads

Question 32

Silk production in China was important for all of the following reasons except

A) its use as payment for taxes.
B) as a material useful for writing and painting.
C) as payment of bribes.
D) as payment for public health and education.
E) as currency for purchasing war horses.

Question 33

Confucius's teachings on the correct model for family life

A) was patterned after that of other, earlier philosophers.
B) became the basis of Chinese political life as well.
C) has held steady up to the present day.
D) affected the politics, but not the educational system, of his country.
E) affected the educational system, but not the political development, of his country.

Question 34

Daoist political views emphasized that people

A) get the government they deserve.
B) are naturally evil and government must restrain them.
C) should be enslaved to ensure peace.
D) should be left to their own devices as much as possible.
E) should defer to their rulers, who are naturally much wiser.

Question 35

Daoism began as

A) an outgrowth of the Legalist cause.
B) a mysterious, supernatural religion.
C) a philosophy of the educated classes.
D) a superstition of the peasants.
E) an attempt to implement Confucian ideas.

Question 36

Metal technology in early China would best be described as

A) highly developed.
B) used, in the main, for practical purposes.
C) beautiful but unimaginative.
D) difficult to master.
E) inferior to that of other early civilizations.

Question 37

The Era of the Warring States was followed by the

A) rise of the Qin Dynasty.
B) development of legalism.
C) collapse of the Zhou dynasty.
D) rise of Confucianism.
E) rise of the Shang dynasty.

Question 38

Highly educated corps of Confucian officials were known as ____________________.

Question 39

A nature-based philosophy de-emphasizing the role of government would best describe

A) Confucianism.
B) Daoism.
C) Legalism.
D) Buddhism.
E) Hinduism.

Question 40

The text attributed to Confucius is the ____________________.

Question 41

The ____________________ dynasty is said to have preceded the Shang, and that has recently been confirmed by ____________________.

Question 42

Confucius taught that all human affairs, public and private, were structured by the ____________________ ____________________.

Question 43

The central valley of the ____________________ ____________________ was the cradle of China's earliest civilization.

Question 44

The concept of the mandate of heaven was developed during the ____________________ Dynasty.

Question 45

Characters in the Chinese language are called logographs, or ____________________ ____________________ ____________________.