Deck 5: Early Society in Mainland East Asia

Question 1

The legendary early Chinese sage-king who ordered the four seasons and who established uniform weights,measures,and units of time was

A) Qin Shihuangdi.
B) Shun.
C) Confucius.
D) Yu.
E) Moksha.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Groups of Homo erectus made their appearance in east Asia

A) more than one million years ago.
B) about five hundred thousand years ago.
C) eight hundred thousand years ago.
D) around fifty thousand years ago.
E) ten thousand years ago.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The capital of the Xia dynasty may have been

A) Ao.
B) Banpo.
C) Beijing.
D) Erlitou.
E) Mohenjo-daro.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The last capital of the Shang dynasty,which featured lavish tombs for the kings,was

A) Yin.
B) Beijing.
C) Erlitou.
D) Banpo.
E) Shun.

Question 5

The most important archaeological site from the neolithic Yangshao culture is

A) Banpo.
B) Huang He.
C) Xia.
D) Ao.
E) Shun.

Question 6

In ancient China,which group presided at the rites and ceremonies honoring ancestors' spirits?

A) members of the official priesthood
B) women represented the nurturing earth goddess
C) the Buddhist hierarchy
D) the patriarchal heads of the families
E) Shinto priests

Question 7

The legendary founder of the Xia dynasty,who constructed dikes and dams and organized flood control projects,was

A) Confucius.
B) Erlitou.
C) King Yu.
D) Prince Wu.
E) Prince Shun.

Question 8

The "Period of the Warring States" refers to the

A) early war between China and India.
B) conquest of later Shang emperors by the rising Zhou military forces.
C) chaotic last centuries of the Zhou dynasty.
D) period of disunity before Xia unification.
E) political disunity during the Qin dynasty.

Question 9

Because of the immense size of the Zhou state,its emperors were forced to

A) rely on a decentralized system of government.
B) rule through the use of incredible terror.
C) establish a rule based on the accepted divinity of the ruler.
D) bring in troops from their Indian allies.
E) practice a rudimentary form of democracy.

Question 10

Ao was an important early capital of the ________ dynasty.

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

Question 11

Along with bronze weapons,the Shang nobles used ________ to devastating effect against their opponents.

A) the bronze axe
B) the bow and arrow
C) long pikes
D) spear-throwers
E) chariots

Question 12

The Shang rulers were strengthened by their control over the technological advantage of

A) iron.
B) bronze.
C) tin.
D) copper.
E) steel.

Question 13

Which of the following answers is correct chronologically?

A) Xia,Zhou,Shang,Qin
B) Shang,Yangshao,Xia,Zhou
C) Yangshao,Xia,Shang,Zhou
D) Yangshao,Shang,Xia,Zhou
E) Zhou,Shang,Yangshao,Xia

Question 14

The Shang enjoyed a military advantage with armies as large as

A) two thousand troops.
B) eight thousand troops.
C) thirteen thousand troops.
D) forty-two thousand troops.
E) one-hundred thousand troops.

Question 15

One of the reasons for the eventual collapse of the Zhou dynasty was the inability of its emperors to control the production of

A) bronze.
B) iron.
C) tin.
D) copper.
E) steel.

Question 16

The mandate of heaven

A) gave the Chinese emperors unlimited power.
B) created the notion of the Chinese emperors as gods.
C) positioned China as a theocracy ruled by priests.
D) allowed the ruler to serve as a link between the heavens and the earth.
E) originated with the Indo-Europeans before they reached China.

Question 17

Which dynasty laid the foundation for principles of government and political legitimacy?

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

Question 18

The first attempt to organize public life in China on a large scale occurred during the

A) Shang dynasty.
B) Yangshao culture.
C) Xia dynasty.
D) Zhou dynasty.
E) Banpo period.

Question 19

Which river takes its name from its light-colored loess soil?

A) Yangzi
B) Xi Jiang
C) Chengdu
D) Meking
E) Huang He

Question 20

The Huang He River was given the nickname

A) China's Sorrow.
B) Mandate of Heaven.
C) China's Father.
D) Yellow Terror.
E) Old Man.

Question 21

The "mandate of heaven" was the Chinese ideal that expressed the right to govern.

Question 22

Which of the following works was NOT one of the Zhou classics?

A) Book of Changes
B) Book of Songs
C) Book of the Emperors
D) Book of History
E) Book of Rites

Question 23

The nomadic tribes to the north and west of China traded with the Zhou

A) and eventually completely copied Chinese culture.
B) but did not imitate Chinese ways.
C) and were conquered by the Zhou emperors.
D) and brought profound cultural influences to the Chinese.
E) and eventually brought China under their control.

Question 24

Early China enjoyed lasting direct long-distance trade with

A) India.
B) Mesopotamia.
C) Egypt.
D) Persia.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 25

The lines,"This young lady is going to her future home/And will order well her chamber and house" come from

A) Confucius.
B) the Book of History.
C) the Book of Songs.
D) ancient texts discussing the unthinking obedience called for in the mandate of heaven.
E) the Lawbook of Manu.

Question 26

The legendary first dynasty in Chinese history was the Xia dynasty.

Question 27

The Chinese began to make extensive use of writing during the ________ dynasty.

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

Question 28

The early Chinese shipped textiles and metal goods to the nomads of the Central Asian steppes and typically received what in return?

A) horses
B) grain
C) raw materials
D) military protection
E) silk

Question 29

The Chinese impersonal heavenly power was known as tian.

Question 30

The Book of Songs was a Zhou collection of verses.

Question 31

The Huang He provided both extremely fertile soil for agriculture and periodic and unpredictable destruction through major floods.

Question 32

The Zhou dynasty (1766-1122 B.C.E.)monopolized the technology of iron metallurgy.

Question 33

Which group retained much more influence on family structure in China than in other lands?

A) the extended family
B) the nuclear family
C) the matriarchal heads of the families
D) members of the cult of Isis
E) slaves

Question 34

Banpo is a neolithic village from the Yangshao culture period.

Question 35

In regard to gaining or losing the mandate of heaven,the Chinese spoke of

A) tian,an impersonal heavenly power.
B) the influence of the great god Luoyang.
C) the influential decisions of the official priesthood.
D) the intervention of the Buddha.
E) military might.

Question 36

Many of the early Chinese literary works were destroyed by

A) a major fire in the main Zhou library.
B) order of the first Qin emperor.
C) the incompetence of the later Zhou emperors.
D) Mongol raids during the Shang dynasty.
E) the wreck of a ship carrying the emperor's personal library.

Question 37

Writing during the Shang period was made up of around

A) twenty-two letters.
B) fifty letters.
C) five hundred characters.
D) two thousand characters.
E) six thousand characters,including an alphabetic component.

Question 38

In an effort to foretell the future,the Shang made use of

A) a careful examination of the movements of the planets.
B) sheep's entrails.
C) oracle bones.
D) prophetic visions brought about by consuming soma.
E) tea leaves.

Question 39

Preserved oracle bones have helped to reveal the day-to-day concerns of the Shang royal court.

Question 40

The powerful southern rival to the Zhou were the

A) Xia.
B) Yangzi.
C) Chu.
D) Huang He.
E) Yu.

Question 41

In what ways was the Zhou dynasty the foundation for Chinese thought and society?

Question 42

Discuss the influence of ancient China.What ancient innovations continued to shape Chinese thought over the centuries? How did the ancient Chinese influence their neighbors?

Question 43

Examine the social structure of early China.Describe the lives of the peasants and slaves.

Question 44

Examine the Xia and Shang dynasties.What influence did these early dynasties have on later Chinese history?

Question 45

Describe the political and cultural relationship between the state of Chu and the Zhou dynasty.

Question 46

What does the "mandate of heaven" tell us about the philosophy,religion,and social structure of the ancient Chinese?

Question 47

Look at the picture of peasants preparing their field for cultivation on page 100.What was the life of the Chinese peasant like? Did the mandate of heaven help the plight of the peasants?

Question 48

Look at Map 5.1,the Xia,Shang,and Zhou dynasties,2200-256 B.C.E.Trace the expansion of Chinese political power.How did the major contributions of these three dynasties relate to their geographical location?

Question 49

In what fundamental ways was the mandate of heaven different from other governmental systems in the ancient world? What were the limitations of the mandate of heaven?

Question 50

Banpo was the capital during the last centuries of the Shang dynasty.

Question 51

What can the Book of Songs tell us about life in ancient China? Compare the Book of Songs to other literary works of the ancient world.How does life in China differ from life in other societies?

Question 52

How important was the development of writing to the ancient Chinese? Trace the evolution of this practice.

Question 53

The following lines are drawn from the Book of Songs: "Of all the men in the world/There are none equal to brothers." How does this reflect the importance of the family in ancient China? Was there a connection between the structure of the family and the structure of the state?

Question 54

A poem from the Book of Songs contains the lines,"Large rats! Large rats! / Do not eat our millet." Who are the rats in this poem? What was life like for the Chinese peasants during the Zhou dynasty? How common was this type of protest from any peasants of the ancient world?

Question 55

Early Chinese society has been described as being uniquely secular.Is this a fair assessment? Why or why not? Explain your answer by comparing the importance of religion in China to its importance in other early societies.

Question 56

Examine Map 5.2,China during the Period of the Warring States,403-221 B.C.E.Why were the Zhou rulers losing control over China? In what ways did this period of confusion set the stage for true unification under the Qin dynasty?

Question 57

Discuss the role of women in early Chinese society.Why was China such a strongly patriarchal society? How did the role of women change over the centuries?

Question 58

What could the use of oracle bones tell us about the ancient Chinese Shang dynasty? Was this practice nothing more than superstition? Did other ancient societies attempt to foretell the future?

Question 59

Examine the role that changing technology played in the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

Question 60

Examine Chinese political history from the Yangshao society through the decline of the Zhou dynasty.What were the major themes and turning points during this period?

Question 61

Examine the section from the Book of Songs regarding family solidarity (see Textbook: Sources from the Past: Family Solidarity in Ancient China).How does this poem reflect the Chinese emphasis on family?

Question 62

Describe the different social orders that developed during the first three dynasties.

Question 63

Look at the representation of the evolution of Chinese characters on page 105.How did the characters evolve from the early figures to the later ones? What role did writing play in the advancement of Chinese society?

Question 64

Describe the relationship between the Chinese society under the dynasties and the people of the steppe lands.How did these cultures differ? How did they influence each other?

Question 65

What is the relationship between patriarchy and ancestor worship in early China?

Question 66

Examine the section from the Book of Songs regarding peasants (see Textbook: Sources from the Past: Peasants' Protest).In what ways does this poetry serve as social criticism? How unusual would such criticism be in the ancient world?

Question 67

Examine the picture of the Shang oracle bone on page 104.What was the idea behind the oracle bones? Was there more to this practice than simple superstition?

Question 68

What do the legends of the three sage-kings tell us about the matters of greatest importance to the people of the early east Asian societies?

Question 69

What do we know about writing and literature during the Zhou? Why is our knowledge so limited?

Question 70

What was the relationship between the culture of the Yellow River and that of the Yangzi valley?

Question 71

How did the physical features of the land and waters in east Asia influence the development of the culture?