Name:Period/#:
Answer the following questions based on the documents provided and your knowledge of history. You don’t have to TTQA, but you do need to write in complete sentences.
Document 1a
Document 1b
... The Mongols had developed a composite bow made out of sinew and horn and were skilled at shooting it while riding, which gave them the upper hand against ordinary foot soldiers. With a range of more than 350 yards, the bow was superior to the contemporaneous [co-existing] English longbow, whose range was only 250 yards. A wood-and-leather saddle, which was rubbed with sheep’s fat to prevent cracking and shrinkage, allowed the horses to bear the weight of their riders for long periods and also permitted the riders to retain a firm seat. Their saddlebags contained cooking pots, dried meat, yogurt, water bottles, and other essentials for lengthy expeditions. Finally, a sturdy stirrup enabled horsemen to be steadier and thus more accurate in shooting when mounted. A Chinese chronicler recognized the horse’s value to the Mongols, observing that “by nature they [the Mongols] are good at riding and shooting. Therefore they took possession of the world through this advantage of bow and horse.”...
Source: Morris Rossabi, “All the Khan’s Horses,” Natural History, October 1994
1a)What advantage did the stirrup give to Mongol warriors?
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1b)What did the combined technology of the composite bow and the stirrup enable the Mongols to do?
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1c) Describe another technology that made Mongolian conquests successful.
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Document 2
... Though much of what the Mongols wrought [brought about] on their westward march was destructive, some benefits were reaped from their forays [raids] into Europe and conquests in Muslim areas. By example, they taught new ways of making war and impressed on their Turkic and European enemies the effectiveness of gunpowder. As we have seen, Mongol conquests facilitated [aided] trade between the civilizations at each end of Eurasia, making possible the exchange of foods, tools, and ideas on an unprecedented scale. The revived trade routes brought great wealth to traders such as those from north Italy, who set up outposts in the eastern Mediterranean, along the Black Sea coast, and as far east as the Caspian Sea. Because the establishment of these trading empires by the Venetians and Genoese provided precedents [examples] for the later drives for overseas expansion by peoples such as the Portuguese and English, they are of special significance in global history....
Source: Robert Guisepi, “The Last Great Nomadic Challenges – From Chinggis Khan to Timur,” The Mongols, International World History Project online
2)Identifytwo changes that resulted from the interaction between Europeans and Mongols.
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Document 3
“The Mongols promoted inter-state relations through the so-called "PaxMongolica" — the Mongolian Peace.Having conquered an enormous territory in Asia, the Mongols were able to guarantee the security and safety of travelers. There were some conflicts among the various Mongol Khanates, but recognition that trade and travel were important for all the Mongol domains meant that traders were generally not in danger during the 100 years or so of Mongol domination and rule over Eurasia” … “In particular, the Mongols initiated the Ortogh, or merchant associations, that helped merchants who were in the business of long-distance trade. They also increased the availability of paper money and reduced some of the tariffs imposed on merchants. The result was an extraordinary increase of trade across and throughout Eurasia “
Source: Columbia College of East-Asian Studies
3a)Explain how the Mongolian Peace impacted trade.
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3b) Whatnegative effects did increased trade during the Pax Mongolia have on society?
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Document 4
It is also true that the Mongols eliminated one of the most basic of Chinese institutions — the civil service examinations. The examinations remained banned until 1315, and even after the ban was lifted, they were no longer the only means to officialdom for the Yuan Dynasty, the dynasty that the Mongols founded in 1271 C.E., as they had been in the past.
The Mongols perceived China as just one section of their vast empire. And they classified the population of their domain in China into a hierarchy of four groups — with the native Chinese at the bottom. The Mongols, of course, were at the top; then came the non-Han, mostly Islamic population that was brought to China by the Mongols to help them rule; third were the northern Chinese; and at the very bottom of the rung were the southern Chinese.
The Mongol rulers were somewhat distrustful of the Confucian scholar-officials of China because they represented a different path for China than that which they themselves had conceived. These scholars, and other native Chinese, thus were not eligible for some of the top positions in the ruling government.
Source:The Mongols in World History by Morris Rossabi
4a)How was Chinese society ordered under Mongol rule?
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4b) Explain how the Mongols altered [changed] China’s government.
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Document 5
5) Describe three technologies/strategies that made the Mongols successful in warfare.
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Document 6
6a) Define cultural diffusion and give an example of it from the document above.
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6b) Why does the illustration above support the idea that China was experiencing a Golden Age at this time (under the Tang and Song)?
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Document 7
7a)Based on the chart, make two points explaining how there is an opportunity for social mobility (movement of people) in this class structure.
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7b) Why are merchants located at the bottom of the class structure?
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Document 8
8) How did the Civil Service exam impact China’s government and development?
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Document 9
Invention / Date / Description / ImpactGun Powder / 900 CE / Explosive powder made from mixture of saltpeter,
Sulfur, and charcoal / First used for fireworks, then weapons, technology spread west within 300 years.
Magnetic Compass
(for navigation) / 1100 CE / Floating magnetized needle that always points north-south; device had existed in China for centuries before it was adapted by sailors for use at sea / Helped China become a sea power; technology quickly spread west
Mechanical clock / 725 CE / Clock in which machinery (driven by running water) regulated the movements / Early Chinese clocks short –lived; idea for mechanical clock carried by traders to medieval Europe
Paper money / 960 CE / Paper currency issued by Song government to replace cumbersome strings of metal cash used by merchants / Contributed to development of large-scale commercial economy in China
Porcelain / 600 CE / Bone-hard white ceramic made of a special clay and a mineral found only in China / Became a valuable export-so associated with Chinese culture that it is now called “china”, technology remained a Chinese secret for centuries
Printing / Block printing:
735 CE / Block printing; one block on which a whole page is cut / Printing technology spread to Korea and Japan
Technological Inventions & Cultural Innovations of Tang and Song China
9a) Choose two inventions from the Tang/Song Dynasties and explain how they helped China achieve a Golden Age.
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9b) How would the two inventions that you choose influence the rest of the world?
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