Deck 4: The Origins of the Chinese Empire, to 220 Ce

Question 1

During which dynasty did the "Period of Warring States" occur?

A) Xia
B) Shang
C) Zhou
D) Qin

Answer 1

Zhou

Question 2

Which of the following statements accurately characterizes the religious beliefs of the Shang dynasty?

A) Shang society was largely monotheistic.
B) Confucian ideology dominated the religious beliefs of the Shang.
C) The philosophy of Daoism was adopted by most of the people in Shang society.
D) The practice of ancestor worship was common in Shang society.

Answer 2

The practice of ancestor worship was common in Shang society.

Question 3

Which river is called "China's Sorrow"?

A) Yellow River
B) Yangzi
C) Gobi
D) Indus

Answer 3

Yellow River

Question 4

If a ruler has the Mandate of Heaven, which of these does he have the right to do?

A) rule justly and humanely
B) ignore the will of the gods
C) oppress the people
D) go against the Confucian code

Question 5

Which of these was the setting of China's first societies?

A) the Mongolian Plateau
B) the Yellow River
C) the Yangzi River
D) the coast of the East China Sea

Question 6

Which of the following accurately describes the Zhou dynasty?

A) legalistic and materialistic
B) politically unstable but commercially and technologically advanced
C) politically stable
D) technologically inferior

Question 7

Which river is described as "China's Blessing"?

A) Yellow River
B) Yangzi
C) Gobi
D) Huang He

Question 8

Why are the remains of oracle bones so important for Chinese history?

A) They record the first use of Chinese writing.
B) They demonstrate the origins of Daoism.
C) They record the arrival of Buddhism in China.
D) They provide information about the Xia dynasty.

Question 9

From what region did China learn ironworking?

A) Central Asia
B) West Asia
C) Korea
D) Southeast Asia

Question 10

How is the Chinese system of writing related to the dialects of Chinese?

A) The writing system varies considerably among the different dialects.
B) The same symbols are used regardless of dialect, providing a single written language.
C) Each dialect has a unique set of symbols as its writing system.
D) All of China has one written and spoken language, with only minor dialectical differences.

Question 11

Which of the following was the final, and most important, part of the dynastic cycle?

A) the conquest of China by a strong ruler
B) the passing of the crown to the ruler's heir
C) the corruption of the dynasty
D) the challenge for power by a strong rival

Question 12

Who is credited with creating the concept called the "Mandate of Heaven"?

A) Wang Mang
B) Duke of Zhou
C) King Wu
D) Wu Di

Question 13

The custom of using oracle bones to predict the future was routinely practiced in ancient China. Which of the following statements regarding this practice is NOT True?

A) The Chinese wrote on animal bones or tortoise shells, and then heated them until cracks appeared.
B) The oracles evaluated and interpreted the cracks on the shells and bones.
C) The Chinese believed that the bones could be used to forecast the weather.
D) Historians learned about the use of oracle bones through written records, but none of these bones have been discovered to date.

Question 14

Which of these eras was most productive in new philosophies in China?

A) Xia
B) Eastern Zhou
C) Qin
D) Han

Question 15

Who was King Wu?

A) the leader of the Shang
B) the leader of the Zhou
C) the leader of the Han
D) the leader of the Qin

Question 16

Why is more known about the Xia than the Shang dynasty?

A) The Shang is about a millennium earlier.
B) The Xia left no written records.
C) The Xia left no physical remains.
D) The Xia is known only from folklore, while the Shang far better documented.

Question 17

Which man is credited with the overthrow of the Shang dynasty?

A) Wang Mang
B) Duke of Zhou
C) King Wu
D) Wu Di

Question 18

Which of the following was China's first dynasty?

A) Qin
B) Zhou
C) Shang
D) Xia

Question 19

About when did agriculture first arise along the Yellow River?

A) 7000 B.C.E.
B) 700 B.C.E.
C) 1000 B.C.E.
D) 10,000 B.C.E.

Question 20

Which of the following statements does NOT accurately depict Shang social stratification?

A) Chinese prisoners of war were among society's lowest inhabitants.
B) The aristocracy was represented by the king's warriors.
C) The slaves were required to work the fields to supply the society's food.
D) Artisans were basically in the middle of the social ladder in Shang society.

Question 21

Confucius said "It is better to live among tigers than to live __________."

A) among warriors
B) under a bad government
C) without harmony
D) without family

Question 22

Which of the following is a religion rather than a philosophy?

A) Buddhism
B) Legalism
C) Daoism
D) Confucianism

Question 23

Which philosophy noted that if there were no property then there would be no theft?

A) Confucianism
B) Daoism
C) Legalism
D) Buddhism

Question 24

Which dynasty first united China using Legalism as its philosophical base?

A) Xia
B) Shang
C) Zhou
D) Qin

Question 25

Which of these was founded by Xunzi?

A) Daoism
B) Chinese Buddhism
C) Confucianism
D) Legalism

Question 26

Which of these operates from the premise that humans are basically brutal and selfish?

A) Confucianism
B) Daoism
C) Legalism
D) Buddhism

Question 27

What was the main work of Mencius (Mengzi)?

A) spreading Daoism
B) continuing the work of Confucius
C) supporting legalism
D) providing a legal basis for Buddhism

Question 28

Which of the following was NOT one of the major virtues of Confucianism?

A) humanity
B) individualism
C) ritual
D) filial piety

Question 29

"Kongfuzi" is more commonly known in the West as

A) Wang Mang
B) Confucius
C) Wu Di
D) The First Emperor

Question 30

Which dynasty did the First Emperor rule?

A) Xia
B) Shang
C) Zhou
D) Qin

Question 31

Which of the following forces is NOT represented by the yin?

A) femininity
B) dryness
C) coolness
D) darkness

Question 32

What are the Analects?

A) religious hymns
B) maxims of Legalism
C) sayings of Confucius
D) literary works

Question 33

Yin and yang are basic principles of

A) Confucianism
B) Daoism
C) Buddhism
D) Legalism

Question 34

Which of these best describe Confucianism?

A) an ethical philosophy
B) religion
C) spiritual path
D) legal system

Question 35

Which of these is a fundamental assumption of Legalism?

A) all things are in balance
B) humans are inherently brutal and selfish
C) humans need education to flourish
D) the first principle of government is justice

Question 36

Which of these best characterizes the reign of the first emperor?

A) a long and stable reign
B) massive public works projects
C) more reliant on kindness than brutality
D) a reign marked by Buddhist restraint

Question 37

What does Dao mean?

A) truth
B) the way
C) piety
D) ritual

Question 38

Which of following adjectives does NOT accurately describe Shi Huang Di?

A) paranoid
B) benevolent
C) ruthless
D) powerful

Question 39

About how long did the Han Dynasty last?

A) 20 years
B) 50 years
C) 400 years
D) 100 years

Question 40

The Great Wall begun by Qin Shi Huang Di separated China from which of these?

A) Southeast Asia
B) the Gobi Desert
C) Korea
D) Tibet

Question 41

Which philosophy became the official ideology of the Han dynasty?

A) Confucianism
B) Daoism
C) Legalism
D) Jainism

Question 42

Which ancient Chinese dynasty expanded into Korea, forging cultural and commercial connections with the Koreans and other groups?

A) Xia
B) Zhou
C) Qin
D) Han

Question 43

Who was known as the Martial Emperor?

A) Han Wudi
B) The First Emperor
C) Wang Mang
D) The Duke of Zhou

Question 44

Shang society was led by warrior elite.

Question 45

During which dynasty was paper invented?

A) Xia
B) Shang
C) Zhou
D) Han

Question 46

Which of following statements about the First Emperor is NOT correct?

A) His reign was remembered for his good rule.
B) He began the Great Wall.
C) He built a massive palace to house 10,000 persons.
D) He constructed canals, an irrigation system, and roads.

Question 47

The Mandate of Heaven was first used by the Zhou.

Question 48

Which man abolished slavery and gave land to poor peasants in China?

A) Confucius
B) Wu Di
C) The First Emperor
D) Wang Mang

Question 49

Which of the following was NOT part of a woman's "three submissions"?

A) submission to her father
B) submission to her husband
C) submission to her sons
D) submission to her mother

Question 50

Which dynasty has been compared to the Roman Empire?

A) Shang
B) Xia
C) Zhou
D) Han

Question 51

Which dynasty was characterized by developments such as charting the paths of planets, recording sunspots, and diagnosing diseases?

A) Xia
B) Han
C) Zhou
D) Qin

Question 52

The Silk Road could be best described as a

A) series of trade routes connecting towns from east to west.
B) road from Bactria to the Arabian Sea.
C) connection of sea lanes connecting China with eastern Africa.
D) road connecting southeast and northeast Asia.

Question 53

Which of the following does NOT accurately describe Chinese interaction with other cultures?

A) Contacts with other cultures were difficult to maintain.
B) Contacts with other cultures were sporadic.
C) Contacts with other cultures were based primarily on trade.
D) Contacts with other cultures led the Chinese to embrace other customs and immerse themselves in new cultures.

Question 54

The Yellow River gave rise to China's first civilization.

Question 55

Which of these men restored Han rule as the first ruler of the Later Han?

A) Han Wudi
B) Wang Mang
C) Guangwudi
D) Shihuangdi

Question 56

The Shang left no written records.

Question 57

Who were the Yellow Turbans?

A) scholar bureaucrats
B) Han military leaders
C) Daoist monks
D) peasant rebels

Question 58

Who sent an expedition to search for the "islands of immortality"?

A) Confucius
B) Wang Mang
C) Wu Di
D) The First Emperor

Question 59

Which of the following does NOT accurately describe the Silk Road?

A) It sometimes carried diseases as well as goods.
B) It was a single straight road from the east to the west.
C) It flourished for more than a thousand years.
D) It was often used by camels carrying cargo.

Question 60

Which of these provided the principle underpinning for the early Han dynasty?

A) Buddhism and Legalism
B) Legalism and Confucianism
C) Daoism and Confucianism
D) Buddhism and Daoism

Question 61

What classical philosophy is based on the assumption that all humans are brutal and selfish?

Question 62

Confucianism is more of a philosophy than a religion.

Question 63

What is Confucianism?

Question 64

Why is the Huanghe called the "Yellow River"?

Question 65

Where was the western end of the Silk Road?

Question 66

The Qin dynasty relied on Confucianism to build a stable society.

Question 67

The dynastic cycle explained the passing of the Mandate of Heaven to a new dynasty.

Question 68

The Han dynasty made Daoism their official philosophy.

Question 69

Explain the dynastic cycle in Chinese history.

Question 70

Who were the "Yellow Turbans"?

Question 71

What is the first known Chinese dynasty?

Question 72

If a ruler caused his people to suffer, what was he said to have lost?

Question 73

Discuss the origins of the "Era of Warring States."

Question 74

Why was farming so successful in the northern part of China?

Question 75

What was the main achievement of Han Wudi?

Question 76

Which river is called "China's Sorrow"?

Question 77

Wang Mang burned books that disagreed with his philosophy.

Question 78

How did developments in ironworking bring change to China?

Question 79

Discuss the major virtues of Confucianism.

Question 80

According to Confucius, all people owe devotion to their parents, ancestors, and leaders.