Deck 4: Agrarian Centers and the Mandate of Heaven in Ancient China, 5000-481 B.C.E

Question 1

Wanguo is the Chinese term describing its mythical period down through the end of the third millennium BCE as the land of:

A) ten thousand states.
B) milk and honey.
C) five thousand kings.
D) a unified monarchy.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

One of the earliest compilations of ancient Chinese writings available, the Shujing or Book of History, is an important documentary source of information regarding China's:

A) First three emperors.
B) Construction of the Great Wall.
C) Adoption of Buddhism.
D) First three dynasties.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The concept of tian or "Heaven" which had, by the end of the Zhou era, become the guiding force in nearly every major Chinese religious and philosophical tradition:

A) represented a turning point toward a less abstract and a more personalized approach to religion.
B) was of minor importance in the evolution of religious thought in China.
C) represented a turning point toward a more abstract and universal approach to religion.
D) had its origins in the Xia era.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In the "well-field system" of land division:

A) each square li is approximately one square mile
B) each square li consists of 900 mou
C) each mou is approximately half an acre
D) each square li was divided into a grid of five plots

Question 5

The Shang dynasty was responsible for importing which of the following military technological advances into China?

A) The cannon
B) Gunpowder
C) Land mines
D) The chariot

Question 6

Ancient Chinese writing consisted of two basic types of characters:

A) pictographs and ideographs
B) mimeographs and hectographs
C) pictographs and hectographs
D) ideographs and mimeographs

Question 7

The Zhou system of decentralized government, in which rule was conducted by landowners who owed loyalty and military service to their superiors and protection to those under them, was called fengjian, meaning:

A) imperialism
B) republicanism
C) feudalism
D) Confucianism

Question 8

The historical and philosophical concept of the "Mandate of Heaven" arose from the recorded practices of:

A) The Zhou Dynasty
B) The Xia Dynasty
C) The Shang Dynasty
D) The Sage Kings

Question 9

The following was not one of the idealized rulers known as the Sage Kings:

A) Pu-Yi
B) Shun
C) Yao
D) Yu

Question 10

Of all the innovations commonly associated with Chinese culture, the following is perhaps the one with the longest-lasting impact:

A) paper
B) writing system
C) gunpowder
D) compass

Question 11

The most far-reaching agricultural innovation in the area south of the North China Plain was the development of:

A) barley
B) millet
C) rice
D) corn

Question 12

Which of the following ranks devised by Zhou rulers referred to commoners?

A) hou
B) shi
C) shuren
D) qing

Question 13

The system of state relations in which less powerful states directly or implicitly agree to defer to the lead of the most powerful state is called:

A) republicanism
B) feudalism
C) filial piety
D) hegemony

Question 14

The principal deity in Shang religion was known as:

A) shi
B) Wu Ding
C) jing
D) Shangdi

Question 15

The Shujing acclaims Yu, the last sage King, as:

A) the founder of Taoism.
B) the tamer of the Yellow River.
C) the tamer of the Mongol hordes.
D) the tamer of the Harappans.

Question 16

The most extensive distinctive culture found south of the Yangzi River basin in central China is:

A) Erlitou
B) Dapenkeng
C) Yin
D) Hangzhou

Question 17

The following was not a characteristic of the Shang Dynasty:

A) Its social and political organization was kinship-based.
B) Its rulers were idealized as sages.
C) It emphasized military power and efficiency of command.
D) Local leaders were employed by the ruling families as regional officials.

Question 18

The capital city at Erligang was characteristic of the:

A) late Xia or early Shang period
B) late Shang or early Zhou period
C) late Zhou period
D) early Xia period

Question 19

The decline of the Zhou Dynasty was described in:

A) The decline of the Zhou Dynasty was described in:
B) The Spring and Autumn Chronicles
C) The Shujing
D) The Book of Odes (Shijing)

Question 20

Which of the following is not a characteristic of Banpo Village, located on the outskirts of Xi'an?

A) It is perhaps the most studied of Neolithic sites across China.
B) It was a "painted pottery" culture that flourished from 5000 to 3500 BCE.
C) Its inhabitants produced implements such as axes, chisels, and knives.
D) It was surrounded by a wall, as protection against its neighbors.

Question 21

Client States are:

A) states that are independent from more powerful ones
B) states that are constantly at war with more powerful ones
C) states that are dependent on or partially controlled by more powerful ones
D) states that seek to compete with more powerful ones

Question 22

Shang characters found on oracle bones:

A) are composed of roughly 26 distinct symbols.
B) are considered to be the most advanced examples of Chinese writing.
C) have no relation whatsoever to modern Chinese characters.
D) are considered to be the earliest known examples of Chinese writing.

Question 23

The ancient Chinese written language:

A) was rejected as a means of presentation by non-Chinese speakers.
B) had a very loose association with court ceremonial functions.
C) enjoyed a kind of spiritual dimension usually lacking in other world languages.
D) required only a short time to master, given the small number of characters.

Question 24

Bronze casting techniques prevalent in China originated in:

A) Western Asia
B) Southeast Asia
C) Egypt
D) Japan

Question 25

The suitability of the southern regions of China for __________ cultivation, as with the Gangetic societies of India, resulted in rapid growth and high population.

A) Wheat
B) Rice
C) Tea
D) Barley

Question 26

The perimeter of the _________ settlement is surrounded by a defensive ditch, with 40 homes arranged around a rectangular central structure believed to be a clan meeting house.

A) Xi'an
B) Dapenkeng
C) Longshan
D) Banpo

Question 27

After ____________, the Longshan and other late Neolithic cultures were at a point where a transition to a society marked by large towns and even small cities was becoming discernable.

A) 5000 BCE
B) 2000 BCE
C) 4000 BCE
D) 200 BCE

Question 28

According to Chinese legend, the Yellow Emperor's rule was followed by that of the three ___________ kings, who set the example for strong moral leadership and passed power to the land's most worthy men.

A) Sage
B) Brother
C) Warrior
D) Jade

Question 29

The Erlitou excavation, dated to perhaps 2000 BCE, reveals a walled city containing what is believed to be the foundation of China's first ______________.

A) Teahouse
B) Temple
C) Palace
D) Jade factory

Question 30

The chariot was possibly introduced to Shang China through interaction with _____________ around 1300-1200 BCE.

A) Mesopotamians
B) Egyptians
C) Harappans
D) Indo-Europeans

Question 31

The presence of bronze mirrors in the tomb of Fu Hao suggests that ____________.

A) There was an international trade in these items.
B) Domestic manufacture of bronze had reached a high level of sophistication.
C) The wives of the emperor were obsessed with their appearance.
D) Looters did not consider them valuable.

Question 32

The Spring and Autumn Chronicles depict a world in which repeated attempts are made to create a stable political and social order among the 15 major ___________ states.

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

Question 33

A civil war in and ultimate partition of the state of Jin in _____________ marked the formal opening of the Warring States period.

A) 403 BCE
B) 221 BCE
C) 722 BCE
D) 1766 BCE

Question 34

By the late Zhou period, the hierarchy of patriarchy and the growing influence of notions of ____________-felt among members of a family headed by a father-were becoming established.

A) Generation gap
B) Euthanasia
C) Filial piety
D) Uxoriousness

Question 35

Even today, the written character for "family" or "household" is represented by a character depicting a _______________.

A) Woman in a kitchen
B) Pig under a roof
C) Child in a cradle
D) Fire in a hearth

Question 36

In the (perhaps idealized) _____________, individual families would work one of eight plots, while a common plot would provide rent and taxes to the landowner.

A) Big-rat system
B) Pieces-of-eight system
C) Feudal system
D) Well-field system

Question 37

As in other religious traditions, there was a movement in the Zhou period to go beyond the invocation of gods through proper sacrifice and divination rituals, or _____________, in order to seek insight into the forces that control the universe.

A) Asceticism
B) Formalism
C) Yoga
D) Unitarianism

Question 38

Written Chinese characters became increasingly stylized and moved away from ___________ or pictographic languages.

A) Hieratic
B) Alphabetic
C) Hieroglyphic
D) Magical

Question 39

Shang and early Zhou ritual vessels themselves, with their richly stylized ________ motifs-fanciful abstract reliefs of real and mythical animals incorporated into the design-are utterly unlike anything outside of east Asia.

A) Taotie
B) Shangdi
C) Huangdi
D) Longshan

Question 40

The written characters for "sun" and "moon" placed together came to mean "__________."

A) Planets
B) Hot
C) Time
D) Bright

Question 41

Chinese characters became the first written language for speakers of all of the following except:

A) Vietnamese
B) Korean
C) Persian
D) Japanese

Question 42

As in Gangetic India, ________ weapons, tool, and farm implements were instrumental in opening up new lands for cultivation and multiplying the deadliness of warfare.

A) Bronze
B) Iron
C) Gold
D) Jade

Question 43

In the poem "Cypress Boat," from the Book of Songs, a woman laments __________.

A) A broken engagement
B) The death of a child
C) Societal expectations of her marriage
D) Her father's disapproval of her fiancé

Question 44

Most historians would agree that geography is a ____________ factor, among many others, in determining how a civilization develops.

A) Destined
B) Conditional
C) Temporary
D) Sufficient

Question 45

___________ was the capital city of 13 Chinese regimes during its long history, and is the site of a sprawling tomb complex packed with life-sized terracotta soldiers.

A) Hangzhou
B) Wucheng
C) Beijing
D) Xi'an

Question 46

The ____________ River gets its name as the result of the loess-a light, dry, mineral-rich soil deposited by strong winds-that it picks up as it flows.

A) Pearl
B) Yellow
C) Yangtze
D) Red

Question 47

Rice grains found near the coastal reaches of the Yangtze River have been dated to ___________.

A) 17,000 BCE
B) 750 BCE
C) 7,000 BCE
D) 70 BCE

Question 48

The Book of History or Classic of Documents, the Shujing, provides information concerning China's first three dynasties, which include all of these except:

A) Xia
B) Han
C) Shang
D) Zhou

Question 49

China's first bronze ritual vessels and the world's earliest lacquered wood items attest the ______________ leaders' religious and social roles.

A) Shang
B) Lu
C) Zhou
D) Xia

Question 50

The Shang dynasty was characterized by growing rates of social ______________, as groups became more hierarchically arranged.

A) Stratification
B) Egalitarianism
C) Cohesion
D) Dissension

Question 51

An expeditionary force led by king Wu Ding in the late 13^th century BCE numbered more than ____________ men.

A) 1,500
B) 150,000
C) 13,000
D) 1,300,000

Question 52

The ________________ on Shang chariots permitted easy storage and repair.

A) Short reins
B) Single-occupancy carriage
C) Adaptable yoke (for cows)
D) Detachable wheels held by linchpins

Question 53

_______ states, which were dependent on or partially controlled by more powerful ones, were useful in Shang foreign relations.

A) Warring
B) Client
C) Concepts about the oneness of God
D) Ethnicity

Question 54

The Zhou Dynasty provided the backdrop for one of China's most enduring historical and philosophical concepts: the _______ of Heaven.

A) Too Much
B) Pursuit
C) Abandonment
D) Mandate

Question 55

The Zhou system of decentralized government called "fengjian" can be compared with European _______________, in which rule is held by landowners who owe obligations of loyalty and military service to their superiors.

A) Shogun
B) Feudalism
C) Communism
D) Capitalism

Question 56

By shrewd diplomacy and careful use of military power, Qi became the first "senior" or ba state in a system of ____________ in which the lesser Zhou states deferred to the ba state as the protector of the Zhou system.

A) Hegemony
B) Fascism
C) Feudalism
D) Confederacy

Question 57

Members of the _________ class, drawn from the lower aristocracy and wealthier commoners, would become some of China's most famous thinkers, starting with Confucius.

A) Jia
B) Wang
C) Shi
D) Lu

Question 58

The burial site of Fu Hao, the most prominent of the _____ wives of Wu Ding, was discovered in 1975, together with the sacrificial skeletons of 16 people and six dogs.

A) 33
B) 64
C) 4
D) 800

Question 59

Lady Ji of the state of Lu was praised for her ability to ______________.

A) Lead an army, although disguised as a man
B) Contract suitable marriages on behalf of her extended family
C) Control her husband's finances and direct his foreign policy
D) Instruct her son in the arts of government

Question 60

The principal Shang deity, ____________, presided over the spirit world, governed both natural and human affairs, and was assisted by the major ancestors of the dynastic line.

A) Xi or Shangxi
B) Deng or Shangdeng
C) Wu or Wushang
D) Di or Shangdi

Question 61

Throughout the long history of imperial China, the emperor retained the title of ___________, "son of heaven."

A) Tiananmen
B) Tianzi
C) Pu Ying
D) Beijing

Question 62

The Shijing, or ____________, covers a wide range of material, from observations on rural life to protests and cleverly veiled satire.

A) Spring and Autumn Chronicles
B) Oracle Bones
C) Book of History
D) Book of Odes / Songs

Question 63

Even in its archaic form, the Chinese writing system contained two basic types of characters, one of which was _____________, or pictures representing ideas.

A) Pictographs
B) Ideographs
C) Alphabetic letters
D) Cuneiform

Question 64

Chinese rulers have always been alert to the possibility that a ______________ change could be signaled by portents or natural disasters.

A) Climate
B) Intellectual
C) Ideological
D) Dynastic