Chap 10 Reading Quiz
1. What was the political influence of Buddhism in the Tang Empire? P. 272
A) It taught strict obedience to a hierarchy.
B) It taught oneness with nature.
C) It encouraged the leader to weld the people into a harmonious society.
D) It taught that the king was descended from a god.
2. The Tang Empire is considered “cosmopolitan” because 273
A) it mixed styles, goods, and cultures from every part of Asia.
B) the peasants were mandated to live in the cities.
C) public education was mandatory.
D) the government fully supported artists, musicians, and dancers.
“I cannot make a tree grow or flourish’ [said the gardener]. . . . ‘All I do is avoid hindering a tree’s growth—I have no power to make it grow.’ ‘Would it be possible to apply this philosophy of yours to the art of government?’ asked the questioner. ‘My only art is the growing of trees,’ said [the gardener]. ‘Government is not my business.’”
Liu Zongyuan, Chinese scholar-official, circa 800 C.E.
3. The ideas expressed in the passage were most strongly influenced by which of the following?
(A) Buddhism
(B) Confucianism
(C) Daoism
(D) Environmentalism
4. A historian of Tang China (618–907 C.E.) would probably find the passage by Liu Zongyuan most useful as a source of information about which of the following?
(A) Levels of taxation
(B) The main cause of peasant unrest
(C) Ideas about proper governance
(D) Agricultural techniques
5. The Tang Empire declined when 275
A) earthquakes and tidal waves destroyed coastal cities.
B) plague swept the capital.
C) the Grand Canal silted up and the government couldn't afford to dredge it.
D) political decay and military decline undermined the social order.
6. Whom did the Tang blame most for growing instability in the empire? 276
A) Buddhists
B) Confucians
C) Christians
D) Daoists
7. The people of the Liao Empire of the Khitans 278
A) had a pastoral tradition and were excellent horsemen.
B) constructed the foundation of the Koryo Empire.
C) made the city now known as Beijing its capital.
D) were the builders of the Great Wall.
8. Historians believe that Song technological innovations led to 279
A) widespread pollution and destruction of Song society.
B) constant warfare due to competition for resources.
C) abandonment of their traditional work ethic.
D) the Song coming close to having an industrial revolution.
9. By instituting civil service examinations for entrance into the government bureaucracy, the Song 282
A) ensured that only the wealthy elite would retain positions of power.
B) recruited the most talented men for government service.
C) tried to limit the number of civil servants.
D) drove the most talented people out of the country.
10. Which of the following was a Korean innovation that was borrowed by the Chinese? 285
A) Ink making
B) Calligraphy
C) Woodblock printing
D) Movable type
11. Japanese emperors 287
A) seldom wielded any real political power.
B) required the Mandate of Heaven to maintain power.
C) came from constantly changing lineages.
D) maintained tight political control.
12. Vietnam's economic and political life centered on the Red River valley in the north and the ________ River valley in the south. 287
A) Champa
B) White
C) Yellow
D) Mekong
13. Which of the following statements about the Chinese “tribute system” is true?
A) The tribute system operated at the end of wars of conquest and was designed to humiliate the conquered people.
B) China’s neighbors in the pre-modern period often refused to submit to the rituals of the tribute system, resenting China’s assumption of superiority.
C) The tribute system was an exploitative “one-way street,” with foreign states paying tribute to China but the Chinese government offering nothing in return.
D) The Chinese government often gave other states gifts that were in fact worth more than the tribute that those states paid to China.
14. “Now Buddha was a man of the Barbarians who did not speak the language of China and wore clothes of different fashion. His sayings did not concern the ways of our ancient kings, nor did his manner of dress conform to their laws”. –Han Yu
Which of the following best interprets the passage above?
A) Buddhism is welcomed in China because it conforms to Chinese culture.
B) Buddha is a barbarian who couldn’t dress.
C Buddha and his followers do not conform to
Chinese ways.
D) Buddhism should not empower women.