Deck 7: Confucianism

Question 1

What does the following Key Term mean:
-li

Answer 1

Conscientious behavior and right action; also, ritual, etiquette, principle, or propriety.

Question 2

What does the following Key Term mean:
-qi

Answer 2

(or ch'i) The vital energy that permeates and empowers everything.

Question 3

What does the following Key Term mean:
-yang

Answer 3

The light, masculine, active, or sunny properties of qi.

Question 4

What does the following Key Term mean:
-yin

Question 5

Until the ________ Confucian virtues and training were required of anyone entering Chinese civil service.

A) early twentieth century
B) late seventeenth century
C) mid-eighteenth century
D) late nineteenth century

Question 6

Which of these is not a place, other than China, where Confucian ethics and ideals have remodeled society, providing moral underpinning and guidance to social relationships at all levels?

A) Vietnam
B) Japan
C) Indonesia
D) Korea

Question 7

Which of these is/are not emphasized in Confucianism?

A) daily prayer
B) ritual performance
C) veneration of ancestors
D) will of Heaven

Question 8

In which century did Confucianism become a state religion?

A) fourth century CE
B) second century BCE
C) tenth century CE
D) sixteenth century CE

Question 9

Which of these is not one of the names used to refer to Confucius?

A) K'ung Ch'iu
B) Master Quix
C) Master K'ung
D) K'ung Fu-tzu

Question 10

During his life Confucius hoped to return China to its golden age, when emperors were _________ and governmenostered order and virtue.

A) formally educated
B) shamans
C) sages
D) divine

Question 11

How many years did Confucius spend going to various Chinese states to persuade the rulers to implement his philosophy of wise government?

A) seventeen
B) ten
C) thirty-three
D) thirteen

Question 12

Confucius' main interest was teaching a ________ doctrine centered on social relationships.

A) supernatural
B) humanistic
C) divine
D) sacred

Question 13

Through Confucianism, human ________ are arranged so they harmonize with the workings of the cosmos, so the cosmos harmonizes society, so society returns harmony to the cosmos.

A) politics
B) beings
C) dwellings
D) relationships

Question 14

For Confucians, what is the vital energy that permeates and empowers everything?

A) qi (ch'i)
B) spirit
C) dharma
D) the way

Question 15

Which of these denotes the dark, feminine, yielding, or cloudy aspects of the world?

A) I Ching
B) yin
C) yang
D) yin and yang together

Question 16

Which of these is not one of the meanings of li?

A) etiquette
B) propriety
C) virtue
D) ritual

Question 17

What is the meaning of the Confucian concept shu?

A) reciprocity
B) respect
C) propriety
D) virtue

Question 18

The ideal of life for Confucians is to be a _________, or "superior person."

A) junzi
B) shri
C) yin-yang
D) ren

Question 19

The Confucian text called _________ details the most important connections and the specific duties and virtues associated with particular relationships.

A) the Confucius Sutras
B) the Analects
C) the I Ching
D) the Five Relationships

Question 20

Which of these is not a relationship stressed in Confucianism?

A) parents and children
B) state and subject
C) friend and friend
D) brother and brother

Question 21

The son owes the father respect, obedience, and support-an obligation that Confucianism calls _________.

A) filial piety
B) male bonding
C) male superiority
D) filial rule

Question 22

Which of these is not one of the Five Classics?

A) The Book of History
B) The Book of Changes
C) The Book of Poetry
D) The Book of Piety

Question 23

________ was a Confucian thinker who echoed and elaborated many of Confucius' ideas, and his writings are included in the Four Books.

A) Lao Tzu
B) Zilu
C) Mencius
D) Yan Hui

Question 24

Contrary to history and custom, Confucius' idea of true _________ comes from virtues and wisdom, and these anyone can acquire.

A) nobility
B) filial piety
C) humanity
D) relations

Question 25

Which of these is the Confucian ideal way for brothers interact?

A) The brothers should keep interaction to a minimum.
B) The younger brother is regarded as a sage.
C) Brothers are seen as equal, regardless of age.
D) The younger should show deference to the elder.

Question 26

Which of these books are at the heart of the Confucian canon?

A) the Five Classics and the Four Books
B) the I Ching and the Four Books
C) the Five Classics and the Analects
D) the I Ching and the Five Classics

Question 27

For a Confucian, _________ can be realized only in learning and practice through self-cultivation and self-transformation; in committing oneself to the welfare of the family, community, and society; and in effecting a lasting influence over the world by one's achievement in moral and cultural realms.

A) moksha
B) the meaning of life
C) following one's dharma
D) the relationships

Question 28

Which of these texts is a guide for the practice of divination, plus metaphysical conjecture?

A) The Book of Changes (Yi Jing; also I Ching)
B) The Great Learning
C) The Book of Rites
D) The Book of Poetry (or Book of Songs)

Question 29

Which of these best describes the Confucian concept of li?

A) the vital energy that permeates and empowers everything
B) social virtues such as benevolence, sympathy, kindness, and generosity
C) conscientious behavior and right action; also, ritual, etiquette, principle, or propriety
D) the dark, feminine, yielding, or cloudy aspects of the qi

Question 30

For many, Confucianism is a secular outlook with strong religious elements.

Question 31

None of the elements of Confucianism were part of Chinese culture long before Confucius arrived on the scene.

Question 32

Confucius claimed to have transmitted the wisdom of the ancients to new generations.

Question 33

According to legend and very sketchy information about his life, he was born to a poor family in the tiny Chinese state of Lu.

Question 34

Confucius served briefly at age fifty in the Lu government as a clerk.

Question 35

Confucius died in 479 after his ideas achieved wide acceptance.

Question 36

Confucianism agrees with a particular cosmology derived from ancient Chinese religion.

Question 37

For Confucius, the universe is an ordered and interrelated system comprising the underworld and the earthly plane.

Question 38

In Confucianism, all relationships and all things are made possible through ch'i.

Question 39

Yang denotes the light, masculine, active, or sunny aspects of the world.

Question 40

The core of yi is the imperative to work for the common good and to recognize the essential worth of others regardless of their social status.

Question 41

The Analects is the main Confucian text.

Question 42

The relationship on which all others are based is that of parent and child, or as Confucius would have it, father and son.

Question 43

Confucius believed that if everyone conscientiously assumes his or her proper role, harmony, happiness, and goodness will reign in the land.

Question 44

The teachings of Confucianism are found in a single volume of writing that dates back millennia.

Question 45

The Doctrine of the Mean is one of the Four Books of Confucianism.

Question 46

In Confucianism, individuals are not like atoms; they are not discrete, isolated units of stuff defined only by what they're made of.

Question 47

The relationships within Confucianism are hierarchical.

Question 48

Confucian texts are considered works of God.

Question 49

The virtue of filial piety is still a strong force in China today.

Question 50

What was Confucius' main aim in teaching his views? Discuss both the social and personal importance of this aim.

Question 51

Explain the ways the Five Relationships of Confucianism are constructed in relation to the cosmos.

Question 52

Discuss the ways in which scholars explain how Confucianism is relevant in the contemporary world.

Question 53

Describe the argument Herberingarette makes in terms of a Confucianism "belief in magical powers of profound importance."

Question 54

Explore how the excerprom the Analects in the textbook reflects on Confucian ideals. Use examples to explain your points.