Deck 16: China and Korea to 1279

Question 1

During the Six Dynasties,Buddhism arrived in China.The oldest Chinese Buddhist texts describe Buddha as golden and radiating light.The Shakyamuni Buddha of the Six Dynasties is the first precisely datable Chinese Buddhist image.Which of the following is the medium used for this image?

A) Gilded bronze
B) Bronze
C) Red lacquered wood
D) Marble

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In Shang bronze vessels,the external embellishment is an integral part of the vessel.Which of the following could also describe Shang bronze vessel work?

A) Only selected designs are used for each vessel form.
B) Only a single design is fully integrated with the vessel form.
C) Only abstract designs are used for each vessel form.
D) Multiple designs and fields are fully integrated with the vessel form.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Yan Liben's The Thirteen Emperors depicts thirteen Chinese rulers from the Han to the Sui dynasties.Its purpose was to portray these individuals as exemplars of moral and political virtue.Which of the following would explain this role of moral and political virtue?

A) The Daoist ideal
B) The Confucian ideal of learning from the past
C) The ideal set forth by the first emperor
D) The ideal of good government as seen in Gandharan India

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The Buddhist monument at Seokguram was constructed under the supervision of Kim Tae-song,a member of the royal family and prime minister.He initiated the construction to honor his parents.It is also thought this was a private chapel for royalty.Which of the following would support this statement?

A) Location of the monument
B) Number of images sculpted for the interior
C) Construction supervised by a member of the royal family
D) Intimate scale and quality of reliefs and freestanding figures

Question 5

In addition to his work on the Great Wall,the Qin ruler Shi Huangdi,the first emperor of China,is remembered in art history for which of the following?

A) The numerous bronze vessels buried with him
B) The army of life-sized ceramic and bronze warriors and horses he commissioned for his tomb at Lintong
C) The beautiful jade suit in which he was buried
D) His recognition of Buddhism as the official religion of China

Question 6

How does Fan Kuan reflect the Daoist sensitivity of individuality in Travelers among Mountains and Streams?

A) By minimizing the human element
B) By focusing on the mountains
C) By focusing on the mountains and minimizing the human element
D) By combining the mountains and the human element

Question 7

The Great Wall of China was constructed as a defense against the nomadic peoples of the north,in particular the ____.

A) Goths
B) Han
C) Mongols
D) Huns

Question 8

One of the most important tasks of the Chinese artist was which of the following?

A) To serve as an instrument through which nature could reveal itself
B) To impose a mathematical structure on the chaos of nature
C) To demonstrate man's domination of nature
D) To demonstrate his own individuality

Question 9

The Yangshao Culture is recognized for its ____.

A) bronzes
B) pottery
C) lacquer ware
D) calligraphy

Question 10

Chan Buddhism gained gradual importance under the Song emperors.The basic tenet of this school is the cultivation of mind and spirit in order to break through the illusions of ordinary reality.Which of the following is the vehicle used in order to achieve this breakthrough to enlightenment?

A) Orderly meetings and recitations
B) Giving alms to the poor
C) Meditation
D) Pilgrimage to the cave of Bodhidharma

Question 11

The leading philosophy that flourished during the Southern Song period was a blend of traditional Chinese thought and selected Buddhist concepts.What was this philosophy called?

A) Neo-Chanism
B) Neo-Buddhism
C) Neo-Daoism
D) Neo-Confucianism

Question 12

The broad range of subject matter,such as musicians on camel or Semitic traders,can be found in the ceramic figural tradition of which of the following?

A) Early Zhou
B) Shang
C) Six Dynasties
D) Tang

Question 13

Bronze ritual vessels were most characteristic of the artistic expression of which period?

A) Shang
B) Song
C) Tang
D) Six Dynasties

Question 14

During the 1928 excavations at Anyang,fragmentary records and a large number of goods that provided information regarding their rulers were discovered.Included among the discoveries were pounded earthen walls that provided protection for the city.Which of the following was also learned as a consequence of this excavation and discovery?

A) Revealed a warlike,highly stratified society
B) Revealed the extent of the Xia dynasty's power
C) Revealed a commitment to nationwide unification
D) Revealed a commitment to establishing diplomatic relations with Japan

Question 15

Emperor Huizong,an accomplished artist,was more interested in the arts than in governing.He reorganized the imperial academy of painting and required the study of poetry and calligraphy as part of the official training program for court artists.Which of the following would also be included in the curriculum?

A) Study of the tactical methods of the Mongols
B) Study of the art of Nara,Japan
C) Study of the classical art of earlier periods
D) Study of the governing methods of the first emperor

Question 16

Many Shang bronze vessels were used for rituals,and the shape of the vessel matched its function in the ritual.Therefore,it can be said that the fabulous animal shape is not purely decorative.Which of the following supports this statement?

A) Each workshop was assigned a specific totemic animal.
B) Each animal shape connected with the world of spirits in the ritual.
C) Each animal shape was connected with the emperor.
D) Each workshop was allowed artistic license in the creative process.

Question 17

The Hwangnam-dong crown with its gold band and uprights,and jade comma-shaped pieces,is thought to symbolize which of the following?

A) Life and supernatural power
B) Silla Kingdom first ancestor
C) Life and the sun
D) The tears of Buddha

Question 18

One of the scenes from the Wu family shrine shows robed men bearing gifts and paying homage to a figure,identity uncertain.This figure is represented as larger than the other figures.What can be interpreted from this image?

A) The size of the figure describes his importance.
B) Because the figure is of uncertain identity,he is unimportant.
C) Because the figure is of uncertain identity,he is the emperor.
D) Because the figure is of uncertain identity,he is the First Wu.

Question 19

It can be said that China's neighbors owe an immense debt to China.Which country provided the link between China and Japan?

A) Mongolia
B) Siberia
C) India
D) Korea

Question 20

Which of the following is characteristic of the Han pictorial style?

A) Gold leaf backgrounds
B) Rounded forms with rhythmic contours
C) No floral motifs
D) Use of linear perspective devices

Question 21

The Silla Crown with its uprights interpreted as stylized trees and antler forms has no counterpart in which of the following countries?

A) Japan
B) Siberia
C) China
D) India

Question 22

Who was Confucius,and why is he significant?

Question 23

Which of the following typifies the Tang court and the art it commissioned?

A) Worldly and self-assured
B) Mystical and magical
C) Xenophobic and reclusive
D) Isolated and withdrawn

Question 24

Ethnically,the Koreans are related to which of the following peoples?

A) Siberians and Mongolians
B) Aryans
C) Ruzhx
D) Gandharans

Question 25

What is earthenware?

Question 26

The Vairocana Buddha is not the historical Buddha.The Tang sculptors have created a serenely majestic figure of the Buddha.The smooth planes emphasize the figure's massive volume;the folds of his robes fall in a few concentric arcs.Therefore,it can be said surface detail has been repressed and replaced with which of the following?

A) Austere form
B) Sensuous fleshiness
C) Clinging drapery
D) Monumental simplicity

Question 27

The silk banner discovered in the tomb of the marquise of Dai depicting dragons,immortal beings,and possibly the marquise herself is thought to represent which of the following?

A) The story of her execution
B) The history of the Han
C) The ancestry of the marquise
D) The heavenly,human,and underworld realms

Question 28

The Chinese interest in landscape painting was most strongly influenced by which of the following?

A) Daoist harmony with nature and poetic themes
B) Confucius's dictum that an appreciation of nature was the basis for human society
C) Buddhist concern with dharma
D) The Buddhist concept of nirvana

Question 29

The Silla rulers of Korea embraced Buddhism not only as a source for religious enlightenment but also as a protective force.They constructed Buddhist temples in and around their capital city,Kyongju.Based on this premise,which of the following would describe the Silla perception of these Buddhist temples?

A) Seats of civil power
B) Just places for worship
C) Supernatural defenses against external forces
D) Extensions of royal power

Question 30

Impressive celadon ceramics were developed during which of the following periods?

A) The Great Silla dynasty
B) The Goryeo dynasty
C) The Yi dynasty
D) The Baekje kingdom

Question 31

Korean pottery of the 12th century was recognized worldwide and highly sought.Which of the following is that pottery?

A) Cizhou ware
B) Stoneware
C) Celadon ware
D) Earthenware

Question 32

Korea's golden age occurred during which of the following periods?

A) Goguryeo kingdom
B) Baekje kingdom
C) Yi kingdom
D) Silla kingdom

Question 33

Which of the following is most characteristic of the paintings of the northern Song artist Fan Kuan?

A) No landscapes
B) Shifting perspective
C) Massive human figures
D) Bright contrasting colors