First Review Sheet, HSTAS 211

Schirokauer Chapter 1.

Words to be able to identify

Shang dynasty Zhou dynasty Book of Songs Duke of Zhou Mandate of Heaven

Objective questions (there may be more than one correct answer to multiple choice questions)

1. Compared to other ancient civilizations, Chinese civilization depended more heavily on

a. animal husbandry

b. hunting

c. crop agriculture

d. fishing

2. In North China, the dominant river is ________, and in South China the ________.

3. Name a Neolithic settlement in North China __________.

4. In Neolithic cultures in North China, people grew crops like millet, but did not yet raise any animals. (T/F)

5. The Shang dynasty had all the characteristics associated with the emergence of civilization: cities, occupational specialization, complex social organization, and the use of writing. (T/F)

6. The Chinese written language is not alphabetic, and thus there is no representation of pronunciation, only of meaning. (T/F)

7. The Shang kings divined using ________ bones and ________ shells to address questions to the spirits.

8. The Shang people worshipped a supreme god whose powers far exceeded those of the ancestral spirits and other ordinary deities. (T/F)

9. The changes in the appearance and function of the bronzes between Shang to Zhou are evidence that in Zhou dynasty ancestor worship was no longer considered important. (T/F)

10. Zhou feudalism was different from medieval European feudalism mainly for its appeal to bonds of ________ rather than to contractual agreements.

11. In the Zhou dynasty, the Shang “supreme god” was gradually superseded by ________, or tian.

12. One of China’s oldest classics, _________________, offers evidence about daily activities of the ordinary people in the Western Zhou.

13. According to Chinese legend, ________, the first of five founding rulers, invented government institutions.

14. ________ was a hero for Confucius, and was embellished in later times as the model statesman and philosopher. The Rites of Zhou was attributed to him.

15. The ancient divination book ________ consists of sixty-four trigrams and interpretations.

Short essay questions:

i. Why is the Chinese writing system historically significant?

ii. What role did ancestors play in early Chinese religion?

iii. Why did the Zhou political system decline?

Schirokauer Chapter 2.

Words to be able to identify

Eastern Zhou Spring and Autumn Period Warring States Period Confucius Analects the Way (Dao) Mo Zi Mencius Zhuang Zi Lao Zi Legalism Chu Qin Five Agents

Objective questions

1. Whereas China during the early Western Zhou constituted a unified empire, during the Eastern Zhou it is better thought of as a ________ system.

2. The Eastern Zhou period was a time of

a. political stability

b. economic development

c. demilitarization

3. Tools made of ____________ led to advances in agriculture during the Eastern Zhou.

4. The Chu poetry can be found in

a. The Book of Songs (Shi jing)

b. The Book of Change (Yi jing)

c. The Songs of the South (Chu ci)

d. The Songs of Spring and Autumn (Chunqiu)

5. The Confucian Five Relationships include the relationships between father and son, ________and ________, ________ and ________, ________ and ________, and ________ and ________.

6. For Confucius, the interaction between men is governed by li, a term which encompasses the meaning of

a. sacred ritual, ceremonial, and propriety

b. unconditional trust, devotion and commitment

c. faithfulness and humanity

d. filial piety, obedience, and non-being

7. For Confucius, a true gentle man (junzi) is

a. of noble birth

b. a good military leader

c. humane and wise

d. learned and trustworthy

8. The collection of Confucius' sayings is called the ________.

9. During the age of philosophers, ________ was famous for advocating universal love.

10. In the debate on human nature, ________ was the leading philosopher who stressed that human nature was basically good.

11. According to Mencius, the ________ can be revoked if the ruler lacks virtue.

12. The political ideal of Lao Zi was

a. sure punishments and sure rewards

b. a return to primal simplicity

c. a benevolent government and submissive people

d. a multistate system

13. In Daoism, the eternal, self-activating, omnipresent, and ultimate reality is called ________.

14. In one strand of Chinese thought, the natural world is generated through the interaction of ________ and ________.

15. The state of Qin adopted the ________ school's political theory.

16. The state of Qin completed its conquest in the year ________.

17. Which sequence of periods is correct?

a. the Warring States, the Spring and Autumn, the Shang, and the Western Zhou

b. the Spring and Autumn, the Warring States, the Shang, and the Western Zhou

c. the Shang, the Western Zhou, the Spring and Autumn, and the Warring States

d. the Western Zhou, the Shang, the Warring States, and the Spring and Autumn

Short essay questions:

a. What social changes occurred during the Eastern Zhou period?

b. What were the most important ways the Daoists differed from the Confucians?

c. What were the most important ways the Legalists differed from the Confucians?

Schirokauer Chapter 3.

Words to be able to identify

Liu Bang Emperor Wu Changan Luoyang Xiongnu Wang Mang Sima Qian

Objective questions

1. Which sequence of dynasties is correct?

a. Han, Wei, Qin, Xin

b. Han, Xin, Wei, Qin

c. Qin, Xin, Han, Wei

d. Qin, Han, Xin, Wei

2. Despite the great difference in the administration system between the Qin and the Han, the two dynasties adopted same ideology. (T/F)

3. The physical integration of Qin China was fostered by a program of road building. The roads were used by the army but also facilitated trade between different regions. (T/F)

4. The Qin unified its territories by standardizing weights, measures, coinage, and ________ .

5. Because of Qin’s hostility to Confucianism, the histories written by later historians have a strong anti-Qin bias. (T/F)

6. In stead of “king” (wang), the Qin dynasty adopted a new title, ________ (huangdi), to convey the ruler’s sovereignty over all the people. The title remained in use until ______.

7. As a fortification against “barbarians,” the Qin built the __________.

8. According to some historical records, the First Emperor of the Qin

a. converted to Confucianism in his later years and died in peace

b. had no heirs, so the Qin dynasty ended with his death

c. was scared of rebellions and had never left his palace

d. obsessed with the search for an elixir of everlasting life

9. The Han dynasty was established in

a. 202 A. D.

b. 202 B. C.

c. 322 A. D.

d. 322 B. C.

10. The central government of the Han maintained close supervision of local affairs and the families of notables were hardly even able to dominate the local power structure. (T/F)

11. Under the Han, the main method of official recruitment was through a system of

a. Competitive written examinations

b. Hereditary noble ranks

c. recommendation by central or high local officials

12. Although Han emperors employed various ideas and traditions, Emperor Wu declared __________ to be the orthodox ideology.

13. In an attempt to stabilize prices, the Han government set up a system of official warehouses for the storage of commodities. (T/F)

14. During the Han dynasty, the government encountered troubles and challenges in the northern and northwestern frontiers where the ________ tribes lived.

15. When the Han dynasty was restored after Wang Mang, the dynasty moved its capital from Changan to _____________.

16. After 100 A. D., besides the consort families, the ________ became a major element in court politics.

17. Sima Qian and Ban Gu were two great

a. generals

b. poets

c. historians

d. musicians

18. A characteristic literary genre of the Han dynasty was

a. the rhapsody (fu)

b. the novel (xiaoshuo)

c. the short story (chuanqi)

d. the regulated poem (lüshi)

19. A basic work on Confucian moral teachings to gain popularity in the Han was

a. The Book of Changes

b. The Lessons for Parents

c. The Classic of Filial Piety

d. The Five Relations

Short essay questions

a. What made men trained in the Confucian classics useful to the Han rulers?

b. Describe the international situation during Han times.

c. How was China governed in Han times?

Schirokauer Chapter 4.

Words to be able to identify

Three Kingdoms Northern Dynasties Southern Dynasties Four Noble Truths karma Mahayana bodhisattva equal field system

Objective questions

1. Which sequence is correct:

a. Northern and Southern Dynasties, Chen, Jin

b. Northern Wei, Liang, Three Kingdoms, Jin

c. Three Kingdoms, Liang, Northern Dynasties

d. Three Kingdoms, Western Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties

e. Wei, Northern Zhou, Northern Wei, Chen

2. Gautama Siddhartha, the founder of Buddhism

a. is best thought of as a mythical figure

b. wrote a series of religious texts called sutras

c. lived in India at the time of Confucius

d. had no followers during his life time

3. Buddhism had entered China during the Han dynasty, but did not gain much popularity until the collapse of the dynasty weakened faith in Confucianism. (T/F)

4. The term Buddha means

a. “Discontented One”

b. “Suffering One”

c. “Delighted One”

d. “Enlightened One”

5. A Buddhist life involves vegetarianism, celibacy, abstinence from alcohol, as well as the daily worship of ancestors. (T/F)

6. In China, Avalokitesvara (Guanyin), who was famed for the shining quality of his mercy, was gradually transformed into a feminine figure. (T/F)

7. During the period of division

a. the Northern Wei was the most successful state

b. the “barbarians” ruled in the North

c. five dynasties succeeded each other in the South

d. literacy decline so much that there are no great literary works from the period.

8. The rulers of the Northern Wei were not Chinese, but _________.

9. In 494 the Northern Wei moved their capital to _______, which had earlier been the capital of ___________.

10. To overcome cultural barriers, early Buddhist apologists

a. argued that Buddhism was compatible with the Chinese heritage

b. transcribed Buddhist texts by using Chinese characters to represent each Sanskrit sound

c. wore either Confucian dress or Daoist garments

d. adapted to Chinese emphasis on filial piety by allowing monks to marry

11. In the South, Buddhism was popular among the aristocracy, but never won the personal patronage of rulers. (T/F)

12. The unification of China came from the South, which was militarily the strongest area. (T/F)

Short essay questions

1. How did Chinese rulers respond to the spread of Buddhism?

2. How did the north and south differ during the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties?

3. What forms of culture flourished during the period of division?