Deck 3: China in Antiquity

Question 1

The Shang dynasty

A) came to power immediately after the Han dynasty.
B) was the only one in ancient China to master the widespread use of steel and the printing press.
C) established its capitals at Lhasa and Samarkand.
D) was the first to employ over half of its people in various types of heavy manufacturing.
E) equipped its army with two-horse chariots.

Answer 1

equipped its army with two-horse chariots.

Question 2

How did China's landscape play an important role in shaping its history?

A) Its mountains and deserts isolated the Chinese from advanced agrarian societies in other parts of Asia.
B) Its vast stretches of rich farmland made it easy for agricultural advancement.
C) Its eastern and western frontiers became the site of conflict between various Chinese peoples.
D) Its earliest settlements developed in mountainous regions.
E) Its hazardous terrain forged strong bonds between different groups who relied on each other for survival.

Answer 2

Its mountains and deserts isolated the Chinese from advanced agrarian societies in other parts of Asia.

Question 3

What evidence demonstrates that the Shang ruling elite believed the king was an intermediary between heaven and earth?

A) The written records created by Shang leaders
B) The history written by Sima Qian
C) The works of Confucius
D) The inscriptions on oracle bones
E) The engravings on bronze castings

Answer 3

The inscriptions on oracle bones

Question 4

What do historians consider a defining characteristic of Chinese civilization?

A) The building of the Great Wall
B) The emergence of notable philosophies and philosophers
C) The challenging geography of mountains and deserts
D) The interaction between nomadic and agricultural peoples
E) The lack of a clear writing system

Question 5

What kind of threats lay to the China Sea on China's eastern border?

A) Aggressive nomads who had to be fought off.
B) Threats to political stability.
C) Other farmers who attempted to encroach on their land and take it for themselves.
D) Powerful typhoons that often caused complete destruction and instability.
E) Pirates who occasionally ravaged the Chinese coast.

Question 6

What was the first metal used for making tools?

A) Iron
B) Copper
C) Tin
D) Bronze
E) Steel

Question 7

Why was the Shang Dynasty once called China's "mother culture"?

A) It gave birth to Chinese literature.
B) Its Yellow River Valley was believed to be the heart of Chinese civilization
C) It allowed intermarriage among ancient ruling classes, which expanded its aristocracy.
D) Its leaders were also the country's major intellectuals and philosophers.
E) It embraced a matrilineal system.

Question 8

Ancient Chinese villages were organized on the basis of

A) nuclear family units.
B) race.
C) clans.
D) trade.
E) religion.

Question 9

Historians date the Bronze Age as the period between

A) 3000 to 1200 B.C.E.
B) 2000 BCE to the year 0
C) 0 to 500 CE
D) 500 to 1500 CE
E) 4000 to 3500 B.C.E.

Question 10

The "well-field system"

A) was an animistic belief designed to protect the health of the land.
B) allowed peasants plots cultivated for their own use as well as land cultivated for their lords.
C) was the first major agricultural advance in ancient China.
D) was a water-diversion system which insured that every farm had the amount of water it needed.
E) was originally developed by Aryan invaders to improve agricultural productivity in western China.

Question 11

How do the Yangzi and Yellow River Valleys play into the development of Chinese civilization?

A) They can be considered the core regions in the development of civilization.
B) They are the only places in China that allow for ancient people to practice agriculture.
C) They serve as the places where civilizations were able to grow the strongest.
D) They serve as the origin of where ancient people learned to grow and harvest rice.
E) They are considered the most learned areas of all of Chinese civilization.

Question 12

The beginnings of civilization in China were

A) delayed by the marauding raids of the Xia.
B) begun under the political organization of the Qin.
C) the result of a concentrated development of Kunming bureaucratic arrangements.
D) came from the Shang dynasty's exploitation of the nomads.
E) possibly first experienced under the Xia dynasty.

Question 13

What did Confucius say about government?

A) That only those born to power should rule
B) That all government was naturally corrupt
C) That government positions should be open to all talented men
D) That Barbarians should be made to serve government officials
E) That political democracy is the only legitimate form of government

Question 14

What is the evidence that the social classes were becoming increasingly differentiated during the Shang Dynasty?

A) The various clans were ranked by wealth and status.
B) There was a sharp rise in the number of enslaved people.
C) Poorer people were unable to own their own farms and instead worked for others.
D) An emerging middle class became the primary landowners.
E) The aristocracy hired substitutes to take their place in battles.

Question 15

The Shang Dynasty is especially useful for historians because it

A) produced the first written sources, which provide much of what is known about early Chinese civilization.
B) left a large repository of agricultural artifacts.
C) was the first legitimate dynasty.
D) drained the flood waters that made farming possible.
E) it produced the world's first historian in Sima Qian.

Question 16

In what valleys did ancient Chinese civilization originate?

A) Yellow and Yangtze rivers
B) Yangtze and Mekong rivers
C) Indus and LuMai rivers
D) Lo Min and Hainan rivers
E) Nanjing and Hunan rivers

Question 17

The idea of the Mandate of Heaven was

A) introduced in the Bhagavad Gita.
B) borrowed from Tibetan nomads in the fifth century B.C.E.
C) introduced by the Zhou dynasty and it served to legitimize its power.
D) contained in the Rites of Mao.
E) a concept that last only a short time in Chinese history.

Question 18

What "modern" idea was advanced by Confucius over two thousand years ago?

A) To the victor go the spoils.
B) A virtuous government will sadly but inevitably make its people corrupt.
C) Government depends on the will of the people.
D) Barbarians must not be accepted but crushed by military power.
E) Political democracy is the only form of government.

Question 19

The legendary "three sovereigns" of prehistoric China were

A) Fu Xi, Ling Pioa, and Shong Tui.
B) Shen Nong, Ling Pioa, and Shonh Tui.
C) Fu Xi, Shen Nong, and Huang Di.
D) Ling Pioa, Shong Tui, and Huang Di.
E) Chiang, Deng, and Sun.

Question 20

During the Shang dynasty, the Chinese

A) made major advancements in developing stainless steel castings.
B) achieved esteem for their bronze casting achievements.
C) used a highly sophisticated written alphabet.
D) developed cuneiform writing.
E) seized power from the Qin.

Question 21

What types of people would have been most likely to prefer the philosophy of Daoism over Confucianism?

A) Those who liked a community-oriented approach to living
B) Those who wanted to strive for an improvement in the quality of communal life
C) Those who liked an individualistic approach that stressed spontaneity and letting nature take its course
D) Those who preferred a rigid dogma of rigid regulations and strict behavior patterns
E) Those who believed in multiple reincarnations

Question 22

The conversations between Confucius and his disciples are found in which book?

A) Book of Changes
B) Book of Histories
C) Analects
D) Book of Songs
E) Way of the Dao

Question 23

Which statement most accurately describes Confucius?

A) He was a cousin of Siddhartha Gautama.
B) He was deified by the Chinese government within five years after his death.
C) He assumed that all humans had their own Dao.
D) He was a Qin emperor.
E) He followed a Legalist philosophy.

Question 24

What was a central tenet of Legalism?

A) Human nature is essentially evil.
B) The universe contains a moral core.
C) Human nature is essentially good.
D) Government ruled by the best men could solve society's problems.
E) Officials should be trusted to carry out their duties in a fair manner.

Question 25

During the Shang Dynasty, who was most likely to become a slave?

A) Corrupt rulers
B) Women
C) The poor
D) Criminals
E) Africans

Question 26

The early idea that the universe is divided into two primary forces of good and evil gave humans what role?

A) To understand the process rather than influence it.
B) To understand the process in an attempt to reverse it.
C) To reverse the process and so create a new one.
D) To have as much an effect on the process as possible.
E) To embrace the process and teach others about it.

Question 27

What was true of the Shang government?

A) The king was the sole ruler and political authority.
B) The bureaucracy was responsible for the military.
C) The king appointed chieftains who oversaw various territories.
D) The king looked to the priests for religious counsel and authority.
E) The king was merely a symbolic figurehead.

Question 28

China undertook large-scale water control programs to regulate the flow of rivers and distribute water to the fields during the

A) Qin Dynasty.
B) Zhou Dynasty.
C) Han Dynasty.
D) Ming Dynasty.
E) Shang Dynasty.

Question 29

Although not technically rejecting aristocratic rule, Confucius believed that a primary basis for granting the right to participate in government should be

A) merit.
B) birth.
C) wealth.
D) force.
E) moral insight.

Question 30

All of these technological advances during the Zhou Dynasty helped stimulate food production EXCEPT the

A) development of bronze plowshares.
B) use of natural fertilizers.
C) technique of leaving fallow land to replenish soil nutrients.
D) cultivation of rice.
E) the use of collar harnesses.

Question 31

A belief in the need for a strong ruler, restrictive regulations, and harsh punishments was the foundation of the philosophy of

A) Confucianism.
B) Legalism.
C) Daoism.
D) Tangism.
E) Huangism.

Question 32

What is true of Daoism?

A) It most closely resembles Legalism.
B) It was developed by Mencius.
C) Its concepts have puzzled scholars for centuries.
D) Its view of life is similar to that of Confucianism.
E) It was popular during the Han Dynasty.

Question 33

How might a peasant come to own a small plot of farmland?

A) Through the death of a landowner who had no heirs
B) Through the well-field system, which allocated small plots for personal use, with the rest farmed for the lord
C) By purchasing it with money earned from selling excess farm products and hand-made items
D) By waging war on neighboring villages and seizing their land
E) By a lottery system run by the king

Question 34

Due to advances in agriculture, China's population during the Zhou era rose to

A) 1 million.
B) 5 million.
C) 10 million.
D) 15 million.
E) 20 million.

Question 35

What was one of the major preoccupations of Chinese philosophers of the late Zhou dynasty?

A) To determine the meaning of life
B) To determine the finer arts of warfare
C) To determine the essential quality of human nature
D) To determine how to centralize the empire
E) To understand the major tenets of the human consciousness.

Question 36

In early China, it was believed that the universe was divided between two primary forces,

A) the sun as the yang and the moon as the yin.
B) the sun as the yin and the moon as the yang.
C) the sun as the tin and the moon as the tang.
D) the sun as the tang and the moon as the tin.
E) heaven as the qing and earth as the ming.

Question 37

In the Book of Mencius, human nature is portrayed as fundamentally

A) evil.
B) good.
C) ambivalent.
D) ethereal.
E) ephemeral.

Question 38

In the Book of Xunzi, human nature is portrayed as fundamentally

A) evil.
B) good.
C) ambivalent.
D) ethereal.
E) ephemeral.

Question 39

"If the government seeks to rule by decree, and to maintain order by the use of punishment, the people will seek to evade punishment and have no sense of shame. But if the government leads by virtue and governs through the rules of propriety, the people will feel shame and seek to correct their mistakes." This statement reflects the ideas of

A) Legalism.
B) Daoism.
C) Zhouism.
D) Confucianism.
E) Qin Shi Huangdi.

Question 40

During the Zhou Dynasty, merchants were

A) independent operators who were vital to the economy.
B) interested only in trading domestic goods.
C) the property of the local lord and could sometimes be bought and sold.
D) were originally slave owners but later freed their slaves.
E) the funders and sponsors of massive irrigation projects.

Question 41

Which of the following is not a reason for the weakening and collapse of the Han dynasty?

A) Weak rulers who were dominated by court insiders.
B) A lack of and variety of crops for the people.
C) Powerful landed families who seized more control.
D) Conflict with the Xiongnu beyond the Great Wall.
E) Frivolous and depraved rules who failed to address needs of the kingdom.

Question 42

In ancient China, family life was characterized by all of these traits EXCEPT

A) the belief that the needs of each individual family member mattered.
B) the notion that without filial piety, society might falter.
C) the idea that every family member had his or her place.
D) the belief that loyalty to the family and clan was supreme.
E) the concept that a hardworking family was a safeguard for good government.

Question 43

The terra-cotta figures near the Qin First Emperor's burial mound demonstrate the

A) use of ceramics as a sculpture medium, replacing the ivory-casting of the Shang.
B) huge expenditures that were devoted to afterlife preparation for the monarch.
C) continuation of the Shang practices of human sacrifices.
D) freeing of the individual soul under the influence of Daoism.
E) transience of human life.

Question 44

Characteristic elements of daily Chinese life were

A) complex, mostly meat diets.
B) simple and sparsely furnished houses.
C) highly decorated modes of dress.
D) constant wars.
E) changing urban lifestyles.

Question 45

What was the greatest factor leading to the fall of the Qin dynasty?

A) A power grab by members of the emperor's family
B) The rise of factionalism and growing resentment for Qin Shi Huangdi's policies
C) A military coup within the emperor's army
D) The frustration among Legalists and Daoists with the emperor's censorship program
E) The emperor's inability to deal with the crisis caused by the Yellow River flood

Question 46

Which dynasty carried out public book burnings as a form of censorship against potential critics?

A) Shang
B) Ming
C) Zhou
D) Qin
E) Han

Question 47

What enabled the Qin to subdue their main rivals and solidify their authority?

A) Their construction of a public irrigation system
B) Their decision to continue Chinese political traditions
C) Their geographic location, which gave them a strong defensive position
D) Their ability to limit the power of aristocrats
E) Their embrace of Confucianism.

Question 48

How was government organized under the Qin?

A) Power was distributed regionally.
B) Power rested exclusively with the king.
C) Power was centralized and divided into three ministries.
D) Power was centralized but divided between the emperor and the military.
E) Power was hereditary at the administrative levels.

Question 49

What makes the Chinese written language unique?

A) Its phonetic constructions
B) Its codified alphabet
C) Its continued use of an ideographical format
D) Its geographical dichotomy
E) Its simplicity

Question 50

The major nomadic threat to the Qin came from the

A) Xiongnu.
B) Mongols.
C) Manchus.
D) Han.
E) Jin.

Question 51

Which statement about the "five relationships" is FALSE?

A) The son was subordinate to the father.
B) The husband was subordinate to the wife.
C) The younger brother was subordinate to the elder brother.
D) The proper relationship must exist between friend and friend.
E) The people were all subject to the emperor.

Question 52

One of the most important reasons for the decline of the Zhou Dynasty was its

A) inability to fight off incursions of nomadic attackers.
B) loss of the Mandate of Heaven following extensive flooding, causing famine and death.
C) loss of centralization due to internal rivalries.
D) fight against a rebellion for control of key commodities like salt.
E) rise of rival religious clans.

Question 53

Which dynasty created the first unified empire in China?

A) Shang
B) Zhou
C) Qin
D) Han
E) Ming

Question 54

The Chinese written language maintained its unique quality because of

A) the ambiguity of its characters.
B) its unifying role within the society.
C) the isolationist nature of ancient China.
D) its adoption by the peoples of northern India.
E) its rejection by the Koreans and Japanese.

Question 55

The Qin dynasty developed what kind of political structure?

A) A centralized state that relied on the general goodness of its people.
B) A decentralized state with many different provinces.
C) A highly developed bureaucracy with numerous ministries.
D) A centralized state with a bureaucracy divided into three primary ministries.
E) A decentralized state with administrators who inherited their positions.

Question 56

Most of the currently standing Great Wall of China - which appears in popular photos -- was

A) built by Qin Shi Huangdi.
B) built fifteen hundred years after the Qin, during the Ming dynasty.
C) the solitary South Chinese construction project built to keep out nomadic invaders.
D) thirty thousand kilometers long and ten meters high.
E) built to keep rabbits and wild yaks from destroying crops.

Question 57

The primary source of power and influence during the late Zhou era was

A) noble birth.
B) profession.
C) wealth.
D) proximity to the emperor.
E) gender.

Question 58

A primary factor that contributed to the significant role of the family in Chinese life was the

A) female-dominated nature of ancient life.
B) labor-intensive demands of crop cultivation.
C) merit-based structure of Chinese government.
D) highly centralized organization of Qin government.
E) density of the population in the Yangtze valley.

Question 59

According to Confucianism, gender roles were defined in all of the following ways EXCEPT

A) men were warriors, scholars and ministers.
B) women maintained the ritual of veneration of ancestors.
C) women could not own property.
D) men could have multiple wives.
E) women were important in their roles as mothers.

Question 60

In ancient Chinese popular belief,

A) unless certain rituals were performed after a family member died, the deceased might become an evil spirit that haunts the surviving relatives.
B) spirits were viewed as being present only in the heavenly bodies.
C) the many philosophies that explained the nature of things and gave people solace and emotional inspiration were outlawed by the government.
D) Daoism never developed a religious dimension.
E) ritualism always led to moralism.

Question 61

Proof of women's subordinate position in Chinese society is evident in its written language, where the character for woman displays a posture of deference.

Question 62

Iron making developed in China much later than in the Middle East.

Question 63

The eastern frontier of China remained the great fault line of Asian conflict for over two thousand years.

Question 64

Confucius' interest in philosophy was essential theological and transcendent.

Question 65

Qin Shi Huangdi was the first emperor to unify China.

Question 66

During the late Zhou, economic wealth began to replace noble birth as the prime source of power and influence.

Question 67

Han rulers embraced Legalism as their governing philosophy.

Question 68

The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty ascended to the throne at age thirteen.

Question 69

Under the Qin dynasty, the cultural hubs of China shifted from major cities to provincial towns.

Question 70

Legalism believed in a system of impersonal laws to solve society's problems.

Question 71

The Qin Dynasty based its rule upon the philosophy of Confucius.

Question 72

Confucius thought it more important to ponder the metaphysical than worry about ordering the affairs of this world.

Question 73

Archaeological evidence suggests that China developed chariots after contact with people from the West.

Question 74

Chinese political philosophy justifies overthrowing a ruler if he has lost the Mandate of Heaven.

Question 75

In early Chinese history, villages were organized by nuclear family units rather than by clans.

Question 76

The "terra-cotta army" found in the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi was there to accompany him on his journey to the next world

Question 77

Inscriptions on ox and chicken bones or turtle shells were used for divination and to communicate with the gods.

Question 78

The Qin dynasty had problems with the nomadic Xiongnu from Central Asia.

Question 79

The introduction of irrigation for agriculture is credited to a ruler in the Xia dynasty more than four thousand years ago.