Choose the letter of the best answer.
1.
How did the development of China compare with that of India and Mesopotamia?
A)
China engaged in much more long-distance trade with other civilizations.
B)
China had many more cultural breaks in its history.
C)
China had no written language.
D)
China had little contact with other people in Eurasia.
2.
How is the dominant soil type in the Yellow River basin, loess, best defined?
A)
Hard-packed earth difficult to dig into
B)
An iron-rich soil with a reddish tint
C)
A loose, wind-driven soil that is easy to till
D)
A loose, sandy soil that is not very fertile
3.
What was the predominant agricultural activity in the Yangzi River basin?
A)
Wheat farming
B)
Rice farming
C)
Cotton farming
D)
Vegetable farming
4.
Approximately when did the Chinese begin to practice agriculture?
A)
10,000 B.C.E.
B)
5000 B.C.E.
C)
1000 B.C.E.
D)
750 B.C.E.
5.
What funerary custom did Neolithic cultures in China share?
A)
Exposure of corpses to wild animals
B)
Ritual dismemberment of the corpse
C)
Burning of corpses in public pyres
D)
Use of coffins and burials
6.
Which Chinese dynasty was the first to have writing, cities, and metalworking?
A)
Xiongnu
B)
Shang
C)
Zhou
D)
Yangzi
7.
What was Anyang?
A)
An ancient legal philosophy
B)
A mythical Chinese ruler
C)
The Shang capital for more than two centuries
D)
A vision of the unity of nature
8.
The palaces, temples, and altars in Anyang were built on what?
A)
Concrete foundations
B)
Loess fields
C)
Stilts above the ground
D)
Rammed-earth foundations
9.
Why were many of the homes at Anyang built partly below ground?
A)
Because of a lack of building materials
B)
As a means to conserve heat
C)
For protection against attacks
D)
For spiritual reasons
10.
According to texts found in Shang royal tombs, what important role did Shang kings fulfill?
A)
They were also philosophers.
B)
They were considered to be gods.
C)
They were the dynasty’s most important merchants.
D)
They were military chieftains.
11.
Where did the Shang kings obtain the slaves that provided them with one of their most important sources of revenue?
A)
They were often men and women taken as war captives.
B)
They were people who were in debt to the king.
C)
They were orphans who were taken by the king and sold into slavery.
D)
They were the king’s former concubines, who were often sold into slavery.
12.
Shang warriors’ weapons were tipped with what?
A)
Iron
B)
Steel
C)
Bronze
D)
Bone
13.
In addition to leading his kingdom, what other important role did the Shang king fulfill?
A)
He controlled all trade.
B)
He was a master of the healing arts.
C)
He served as the high priest.
D)
He was considered a reincarnation of Di.
14.
Which of the following is a true statement about the underground tombs built for Shang kings?
A)
All were constructed from wood, and few exist today.
B)
They were quite simple compared with those of other ancient civilizations.
C)
Their contents reveal that the Shang practiced human sacrifice.
D)
The coffins indicate that bodies of nobility were partly mummified.
15.
What did the people who volunteered to be buried with deceased Shang kings and consorts usually have with them?
A)
Pets
B)
Family members
C)
Spell books
D)
Grave goods
16.
From what material were the tools of Shang farmers made?
A)
Bronze
B)
Stone
C)
Iron
D)
Wood
17.
The development of more complex forms of social organization in Shang China coincided with the mastery of what skill?
A)
Ship building
B)
Pottery making
C)
Silk weaving
D)
Metalworking
18.
In Shang culture, what was a taotie?
A)
A priest who lived in a temple
B)
A message intended for a god
C)
A tool used to write
D)
A stylized animal face image
19.
How was the Chinese system of writing similar to that in Egypt and Sumer?
A)
All three were logographic systems.
B)
Each symbol in all three systems represented a spoken syllable.
C)
Each of the three was an early alphabetical system.
D)
It was impossible to express abstract concepts in any of the three systems.
20.
Which of the following facilitated communication between China, Vietnam, and Japan?
A)
Japan, Korea, and Vietnam adopted the Chinese script for writing.
B)
All three societies used the same spoken language.
C)
Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and China developed a common sign language.
D)
All three used the same phonetic script for writing.
21.
When did the Zhou rise up and overthrow the Shang?
A)
Around 3150 B.C.E.
B)
Around 2250 B.C.E.
C)
Around 1400 B.C.E.
D)
Around 1050 B.C.E.
22.
According to the Book of Documents, what did a ruler have to do to retain the Mandate of Heaven?
A)
Govern in the best interests of the people
B)
Expand his territorial holdings
C)
Remain humble and discreet
D)
Make sacrifices to the gods
23.
What is a likely reason that the Zhou leadership created the theory of the Mandate of Heaven?
A)
They needed a way to convince the Zhou princes to fight.
B)
They needed a way to win the loyalty of the priestly class.
C)
They wanted to win over the conquered Shang.
D)
They wanted to gain the support of the peasantry.
24.
Who helped the Zhou kings rule their newly conquered kingdom?
A)
Local, native warlords
B)
A powerful, centralized bureaucracy
C)
Family members and other loyal followers
D)
Military experts from Korea and Japan
25.
In 771 B.C.E., the Zhou capital was moved to what city after the king was killed and replaced by his son?
A)
Anyang
B)
Chang-an
C)
Beijing
D)
Luoyang
26.
Why is the Book of Songs especially valuable for people studying early Zhou China?
A)
It serves as the best source for understanding everyday life at various social levels.
B)
It explains the complexity of the Mandate of Heaven.
C)
It tells the story of China’s first musicians.
D)
It is a political manual much like India’s Arthashastra.
27.
The development of which of the following helped to promote economic expansion in the early Zhou period?
A)
Writing
B)
Iron technology
C)
Laws
D)
Education
28.
What Shang religious practice became less common in the Zhou period?
A)
The building of tombs for the dead
B)
The sacrifice of animals to the ancestors
C)
Human sacrifice
D)
Peasants’ perception of heaven as divine
29.
What new military technology did the Chinese develop around 350 B.C.E.?
A)
The longbow
B)
The crossbow
C)
The mace
D)
The cannon
30.
Around 350 B.C.E., Chinese soldiers began wearing armor made largely from what material?
A)
Steel
B)
Chain mail
C)
Bamboo
D)
Leather
31.
The need for a chariot-riding aristocracy was diminished by the introduction of what military advancement?
A)
Iron weapons
B)
Cavalry
C)
Camel saddles
D)
Leather armor
32.
In The Art of War, Sun Wu argued that military success required what?
A)
Great heroism from every man under command
B)
That orders by commanders be followed without question
C)
A leader who believed that surrender was the greatest dishonor
D)
A king who was willing to lead troops into battle
33.
How did the seven states that emerged out of the Warring States Period compare with the Zhou state?
A)
They were more centralized than the Zhou.
B)
They were less militarized than the Zhou.
C)
They were geographically larger than the Zhou.
D)
They traded less with other states than the Zhou.
34.
What are the traditional dates for the life of Confucius?
A)
551–479 B.C.E.
B)
187–102 B.C.E.
C)
430–363 B.C.E.
D)
315–274 B.C.E.
35.
According to Confucius, what was the basic unit of society?
A)
Kingdom
B)
Family
C)
Village
D)
Individual
36.
How many cardinal relationships did Confucius emphasize?
A)
One
B)
Three
C)
Five
D)
Seven
37.
According to Confucius, which relationship was the only relationship based on mutual obligations between equals?
A)
The relationship between father and son
B)
The relationship between ruler and subject
C)
The relationship between husband and wife
D)
The relationship between friend and friend
38.
Confucius redefined the term gentleman (or junzi) as which of the following?
A)
A man of noble birth and status
B)
A religious priest
C)
A man of moral cultivation
D)
A successful merchant
39.
How did Confucius view the class distinctions that existed in Chinese society?
A)
He believed that class distinctions should not exist.
B)
He believed that there should be more class levels and deeper distinctions between them.
C)
He believed that only the uneducated should be divided by class.
D)
He minimized class distinctions and believed talent could elevate a person socially.
40.
What was the ultimate virtue according to Confucius?
A)
Piety
B)
Humanity
C)
Physical strength
D)
Humility
41.
Why did Mencius believe that a benevolent ruler would be successful?
A)
He would never be invaded or attacked.
B)
He would be proclaimed a god.
C)
He would be able to intimidate his subjects.
D)
He would have his subjects’ loyalty.
42.
A follower of Confucius, Mencius claimed what about human beings?
A)
That human nature is fundamentally good
B)
That people need to serve their rulers without question
C)
That people can never learn to recognize right from wrong
D)
That people should govern themselves
43.
The thinker Xunzi argued that
A)
people will always be corrupted by experience.
B)
human nature is fundamentally good.
C)
there is no point in trying to change human nature.
D)
people are born selfish and greedy but can be trained to be good.
44.
What advantage did Xunzi have when compared to Confucius and Mencius?
A)
He had considerable political experience.
B)
He offered broad ideas that were less developed and detailed.
C)
He trained to be a priest and thought heaven should be involved in human affairs.
D)
His father had been a philosopher as well.
45.
Unlike Confucius, Xunzi was willing to discuss which of the following?
A)
Ethics
B)
Morality
C)
Religion
D)
Education
46.
According to the philosophy of the Laozi, people would be better off if they did what?
A)
Traveled more
B)
Knew less
C)
Learned to read
D)
Developed new tools
47.
What was the Zhuangzi?
A)
The second text written by Laozi that discussed politics
B)
A work that questioned whether life was better than death
C)
A text written to refute the ideas of Confucius
D)
An essay that concerned itself mostly with political thought
48.
According to advocates of Legalism, what characteristics should the ideal government have?
A)
Government should be bureaucratic and authoritarian.
B)
Government should put an end to social hierarchy.
C)
All governmental leaders should be highly moral and pious.
D)
Government should be small and weak.
49.
Under Qin legalist principles, in addition to taxes, subjects owed the state which of the following?
A)
Proof of education
B)
Labor service
C)
Worship of the emperor
D)
Animal sacrifice
50.
What do yin and yang represent?
A)
Good and evil forces in nature
B)
Complementary masculine and feminine principles
C)
Skills of ritual and music
D)
Distinct entities that are opposing forces
Answer Key
1.
D
2.
C
3.
B
4.
A
5.
D
6.
B
7.
C
8.
D
9.
B
10.
D
11.
A
12.
C
13.
C
14.
C
15.
D
16.
B
17.
D
18.
D
19.
A
20.
A
21.
D
22.
A
23.
C
24.
C
25.
D
26.
A
27.
B
28.
C
29.
B
30.
D
31.
B
32.
B
33.
A
34.
A
35.
B
36.
C
37.
D
38.
C
39.
D
40.
B
41.
D
42.
A
43.
D
44.
A
45.
C
46.
B
47.
B
48.
A
49.
B
50.
B
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