Deck 4: Unification and the Consolidation of Civilization in China

Question 1

As the Zhou ability to control their vassals decreased, China entered

A) the era of the Mongol dynasty.
B) a long period of political conflict and social turmoil.
C) the era of the Shang dynasty.
D) a period of Doric invasions.

Answer 1

a long period of political conflict and social turmoil.

Question 2

Which of the following was a result of the period of political confusion following the fall of the Zhou dynasty?

A) Chinese civilization failed to produce another dynasty for centuries.
B) The shi ceased to play a significant role in Chinese government.
C) Feudalism became the dominant form of political organization in Chinese society.
D) Philosophers sought to find ways to end the conflict and create more permanent and unified political systems.

Answer 2

Philosophers sought to find ways to end the conflict and create more permanent and unified political systems.

Question 3

Who were the Shi?

A) Military commanders.
B) Peasants.
C) The scholar gentry.
D) The family of the emperor.

Answer 3

The scholar gentry.

Question 4

Which of the following was NOT characteristic of the period of warfare following the decline of the Zhou?

A) Failure of the merchant class
B) Neglect of public works such as dikes, canals, and roads
C) Increased taxation and conscription of the peasantry
D) Spread of disease as armies roamed throughout China

Question 5

During most of his life, Kung Fuzi or Confucius

A) served the Han emperors as their chief court advisor.
B) advocated abolition of the ?shi? as dangerous opponents of a centralized state.
C) wandered searching for the ideal ruler.
D) remained atop a mountain in contemplative seclusion.

Question 6

Loyal disciples collected Confucius?s sayings in the

A) Kung Mao.
B) Analects.
C) Book of Lord Shang.
D) Book of Dao.

Question 7

Which of the following most accurately describes Confucius?

A) An active administrator and advisor
B) A religious teacher similar to the Jewish prophets and Buddha
C) Emperor
D) A social philosopher obsessed with the need for order and harmony

Question 8

In the opinion of Confucius, the wise men best able to administer the government could only come from the

A) military vassals.
B) shi.
C) eunuchs.
D) families of the emperors.

Question 9

According to Confucius, for what reason should superior men rule?

A) To enrich their families and earn distinction
B) To establish the glory of the emperor
C) To establish the glory of the regional aristocracy
D) To serve society as a whole

Question 10

Which of the following was NOT one of the ties of loyalty and obedience that held together Confucius?s concept of social order?

A) Father/son
B) Merchant/peasant
C) Husband/wife
D) Ruler/subject

Question 11

Which of the following represents the fundamental belief of Mencius, one of Confucius?s disciples?

A) Humans were by nature inclined to goodness and ought to be ruled in that fashion.
B) Humans were inclined to be lazy and evil and ought to be ruled strictly.
C) Humans should retreat from society and seek oneness with nature.
D) Government should be rigorous and based on strict laws harshly executed.

Question 12

Which of the following represents the views of Sunzi, one of Confucius?s disciples?

A) Humans were by nature inclined to goodness and ought to be ruled in that fashion.
B) Humans were inclined to be lazy and evil and ought to be ruled by authoritarian government.
C) Humans ought to retreat from society and seek oneness with nature.
D) Government should be rigorous and based on strict laws harshly executed.

Question 13

Which of the following represents the political viewpoint of the Legalists?

A) Humans were inclined to goodness and ought to be ruled with compassion.
B) Humans were inclined to be lazy and evil but ought to be governed with a sense of compassion.
C) Humans should retreat from society and seek oneness with nature.
D) Government should be rigorous and based on strict laws harshly executed.

Question 14

Which of the following represents the philosophical viewpoint of Laozi?

A) Humans were inclined to goodness and ought to be governed in a compassionate fashion.
B) Humans were inclined to be lazy and evil and ought to be governed rigorously.
C) Humans ought to retreat from society and seek oneness with nature.
D) Government ought to be authoritarian and based on strict laws harshly executed.

Question 15

The philosophy espoused by Laozi was called

A) Confucianism.
B) Daoism.
C) Legalism.
D) Shintoism.

Question 16

What philosopher believed that a good man was one who ?Treats his betters as betters, Wears an air of respect, Who in serving father and mother, Knows how to put in his whole strength.?

A) Confucius
B) Mencius
C) Sunzi
D) Laozi

Question 17

Which philosopher said, ?I take no action and the people are reformed. I enjoy peace and the people become honest. I do nothing and people become rich. I have no desires and people return to the good and simple life??

A) Confucius
B) Mencius
C) Sunzi
D) Laozi

Question 18

Which philosopher said,?The nature of man is evil: his goodness is acquired. His nature being what it is, man is born, first, with a desire for gain. If this desire is followed, strife will result and courtesy will disappear??

A) Confucius
B) Mencius
C) Sunzi
D) Laozi

Question 19

Which philosopher said,?Personal cultivation begins with poetry, is made firm with rules of decorum, and is perfected by music??

A) Confucius
B) Mencius
C) Sunzi
D) Laozi

Question 20

Which philosopher said,?When it is left to follow its natural feelings human nature will do good. That?s why I say it is good. If it becomes evil, it is not the fault of man?s original capability??

A) Confucius
B) Mencius
C) Sunzi
D) Laozi

Question 21

The Qin state was regarded as ?barbarian? at least in part because

A) it was located in the newly developed southern regions of China near the Yangze river valley.
B) it refused the service of the shi.
C) the Qin originated as pastoral nomads entrusted with defending the western frontier of China.
D) it was located in the less civilized eastern portions of China.

Question 22

The Qin were successful as a result of significant social and political changes. Which of the following was NOT a reform of the Qin rulers?

A) Freeing of the peasants from bondage to local lords
B) Creation of a bureaucracy of ?shi? to replace the weakened local vassals
C) Conscripting the freed peasants to enlarge their armies
D) Creating armies composed almost entirely of foot soldiers

Question 23

The founder of the Legalist school of political philosophy wrote the

A) Analects.
B) Book of Lord Shang.
C) Sacred Soil of China.
D) Sayings of Shi Huangdi.

Question 24

Which of the following was NOT a political viewpoint of the Legalists?

A) The power of China?s rulers should be absolute.
B) The state?s main concern was to enforce strict laws with harsh punishments.
C) The ruler should promote the welfare of the people.
D) The major objective of the ruler was to enhance the strength and wealth of the state.

Question 25

Shi Huangdi

A) promoted Confucian philosophy.
B) attempted to alleviate the harsher aspects of Legalist political philosophy.
C) believed in the essential goodness of humans.
D) was so concerned about controlling ideas in the Qin state that he proposed the burning of all books other than Legalist tracts and a few other official volumes.

Question 26

The emperor responsible for the reunification of China after the collapse of the Zhou was

A) Han Wudi.
B) Han Feizi.
C) Shi Huangdi.
D) Shang Yang.

Question 27

Which of the following statements best represents Shi Huangdi?s approach to the vassal states and regional aristocracy?

A) He destroyed most of the vassals of the previous dynasty and appointed his relatives to rule in the regions.
B) He strengthened the hand of the regional vassals to destroy the growing power of the shi.
C) Shi Huangdi was never able to curb the authority of the vassal states and was restricted to ruling in Qin.
D) He destroyed the regional vassals and replaced them with Qin bureaucrats.

Question 28

Shi Huangdi was famed for his public building projects. Which of the following is his most famous monumental structure?

A) The royal palace at Beijing
B) The Great Wall of China
C) The Shinto temple at Loyang
D) The Confucian library at Xianyang

Question 29

What was the capital city of the Qin empire?

A) Loyang
B) Anyan
C) Beijing
D) Xianyang

Question 30

Which of the following statements best describes the political philosophy of Shi Huangdi and his government?

A) They were opposed to any political philosophies other than the officially approved Legalist doctrines.
B) The Qin government was essentially Daoist.
C) Shi Huangdi and his advisors followed the political philosophy of Mencius, one of Confucius?s disciples.
D) Shi Huangdi?s government applied the concepts of many political philosophies including Confucianism and Daoism.

Question 31

The overthrow of the Qin dynasty was begun by

A) the regional vassals of the Qin.
B) shi advisors within the imperial government.
C) outraged Daoist political philosophers.
D) two disgruntled peasants who had been conscripted for a building project.

Question 32

What was the most significant accomplishment of the Qin dynasty?

A) The strengthening of the aristocracy against the shi
B) The unification of China under a ?shi? bureaucracy
C) The reordering of the regional states to strengthen the feudal system
D) Their ability to last for four centuries

Question 33

Which of the following works was written by Sunzi?

A) Analects
B) Book of Lord Shang
C) The Art of War
D) Mahabharata

Question 34

Which of the following was NOT a change in warfare brought about by the philosophy of Sunzi?

A) Bluffs, saboteurs, and threats were employed before armies were sent to war.
B) Shi bureaucracies were excluded from the process of warfare.
C) Weather conditions and the advantages of terrain determined the time and place of battle.
D) Discipline and regular formations replaced individual combat as the rule for military engagement.

Question 35

The founder of the Han dynasty was

A) Sunzi.
B) Han Feizi.
C) Han Wudi.
D) Liu Bang.

Question 36

Who were the most formidable external enemies of the Han dynasty?

A) The Hsiung-nu nomads.
B) The shi.
C) The Koreans.
D) The Vietnamese.

Question 37

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the territorial expansion of the Han dynasty?

A) The Han were unable to expand their territories due to constant wars with the rulers of the states.
B) The Han actually lost territories to the raids of the Hsiung-nu and other nomadic invaders.
C) The Han temporarily defeated the Hsiung -nu and dramatically expanded Chinese territory to the east and south.
D) The Han were able to expand their territories by conquering the Gupta civilization of India.

Question 38

Which of the following most accurately describes the political philosophy of the Han?

A) The Han continued the Legalist political philosophy of the Qin dynasty.
B) The Han suppressed the Legalists and adopted the political philosophy of Laozi.
C) The Han suppressed the Legalists and adopted the political philosophy of Confucius.
D) The Han suppressed the Legalists and adopted the political philosophy of Shang Yang.

Question 39

Which of the following statements was NOT an aspect of the shi administration during the Han dynasty?

A) Confucian teachings became institutionalized with the creation of an imperial university
B) Knowledge of Confucian teachings became essential to employment and promotion in the Han administration
C) Formal examinations for government positions were established at the beginning of the last century B.C.
D) Legal codes were made even harsher

Question 40

During the Han dynasty, the shi evolved as a result of intermarriage with other social groups into the

A) scholar-gentry.
B) educated peasantry.
C) merchant elite.
D) feudal aristocracy.

Question 41

What was the status of women during the Han dynasty?

A) Women enjoyed equal status with males during the Han dynasty.
B) Despite the Confucian requirement for female deference to males, women during the Han had more freedom than during later dynasties.
C) Despite the Confucian requirement for male deference to females, women had less freedom than during later dynasties.
D) The demeaned status of women was represented by their inability to share in family property.

Question 42

Which of the following statements concerning the peasantry during the Han dynasty is true?

A) No peasants held land during the Han dynasty.
B) Peasants during the Han dynasty were freed from conscription for public works and military service.
C) Many peasants had little or no land and worked for well-to-do landlords.
D) The peasantry enjoyed general prosperity during the Han dynasty.

Question 43

During the Han dynasty, the emperors lived

A) in the state of Qin on the western frontier.
B) in an imperial agricultural village in the countryside.
C) in a walled precinct just outside the capital city.
D) in the ?forbidden city,? a walled precinct within the capital city.

Question 44

Which of the following statements concerning the architecture of the Han capital city is NOT true?

A) Nearly all buildings within the capital were made of brick of a standardized size and construction.
B) Most of the buildings within the capital city were oriented toward the south.
C) The aristocrats and the scholar-gentry lived in an imperial complex just outside the imperial palaces.
D) Most houses were roofed in glazed tiles with upturned edges.

Question 45

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the degree of urbanization in Han China?

A) The capital at Xianyang may have numbered as many as 250,000 people, but there were few other cities.
B) China may have been the most urbanized civilization in the world with many large cities numbering in the thousands.
C) As a result of the constant warfare during the Han dynasty, few cities were able to survive.
D) Aside from walled agricultural complexes dominated by the regional aristocracy, there were few walled cities.

Question 46

Which of the following statements is probably true?

A) The scholar-gentry held merchants in great esteem.
B) The merchant class virtually disappeared as a result of the diminution of trade.
C) China was the most technologically backward of all the classical civilizations.
D) China was the most technologically innovative and advanced of all the classical civilizations.

Question 47

Which of the following was NOT a technological innovation of the Han period in China?

A) Brush pen and paper
B) Rudders and compasses for improved navigation
C) Gunpowder and cannon
D) Advanced mining techniques

Question 48

Chinese art during the Han classical period

A) concentrated on the development of monumental sculpture.
B) was uninspired and generally of poor quality, due to the Chinese concentration on the sciences.
C) was most advanced in the area of painting.
D) was largely decorative often reflecting the geometric precision of Chinese calligraphy.

Question 49

What family related to the Han emperors by marriage temporarily succeeded in overthrowing the Han in 9 C.E..?

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

Question 50

The period of the later Han dynasty was politically troubled by struggles for power between

A) the families of the imperial wives and the feudal lords of the states.
B) the families of the imperial wives, the scholar-gentry, and the imperial eunuchs.
C) the emperors and the Gupta civilization of India.
D) the scholar-gentry and the regional kings.

Question 51

What is the basis of Confucian teachings?

Question 52

How did the ideas of Confucius and Daoism differ? Which had a greater impact on later Chinese political philosophy?

Question 53

Despite the brevity of the dynasty, the Qin established the foundations of a united China.
What were these significant political and social reforms?

Question 54

In what ways was Han China similar to Qin China? In what ways were they different?

Question 55

What is the cycle of dynastic government that the authors suggest was established during the Han dynasty?