Imperial China 7th Grade World History

China Reunites

After the end of the Han dynasty, China had no ______government.

The Sui dynasty restored order andunified China under the rule of emperors.

The most ambitious project under Emperor Yangdi was the Grand Canal, which helped unite China through trade and the economy began to grow.

Yangdi made life very hard for the Chinese people. He made farmers work on the ______and the Grand Canal.

The people also had to pay for these projects with high ______.

The farmers became so angry that they killed Yangdi and the Sui dynasty ended.

In a.d. 618, the Tang dynasty took over China and carried out many economic and civil reforms.

China had its first and most powerful female ruler, Empress Wu.

In the mid-A.D. 700s, however, the Tang dynasty began to have problems.

A new group of wandering people took control of central Asia and the ______, an important trade route.

Also, Chinese farmers and people in Tibet also rose up against the Tang.

The dynasty ended in A.D. 907.

Many Chinese adopted Buddhism during the Tang Dynasty.

Traders and missionaries from India had brought Buddhism to China in about A.D. ______.

The government began to fear the religion’s influence and destroyed Buddhist monasteries.

The Tang and Song dynasties backed a new understanding of Confucianism, called neo-Confucianism. It taught that people should be concerned about this world as well as the next.

Confucianism absorbed some Buddhist and other beliefs, and taught people to live in harmony with nature and to find peace of mind.

Tang and Song rulers used civil service examinations to hire government officials.

The examination system soon created a new class of leaders called the ______-officials.

In the past, jobs had been given to people because of their wealth, family, or friends. Now the government hired people based on their knowledge and ability to think.

People taking civil service examinations had to show how much they knew about Confucian writings.

Only ______could take the tests, and only rich people had enough money to help their sons study for the tests. It took years of study and only one out of every five men passed. Those who failed could become teachers, but they could never get a government job.

  1. 1.In A.D. 581, the ____ dynasty unified China under the rule of emperors.
  1. Sui
  2. Tang
  3. Song
  4. Ming
  1. After years of war, what major construction project helped unify China during the Sui dynasty?
  2. the Forbidden City
  3. the Silk Road
  4. the Great Wall
  5. the Grand Canal
  1. Who first brought Buddhism to China in the A.D. 100s?
  1. Mongol invaders
  2. poets and artists
  3. scholar-officials
  4. traders and missionaries
  1. Buddhist monks and nuns helped meet poor people's needs, and they were tolerated by early Tang rulers.

TRUE

.FALSE

  1. ____ were based on Confucian principles and helped establish a new class in China's society.
  1. Civil service examinations
  2. Buddhist principles
  3. Turkish nomads
  4. Scholar-officials
  1. Which was a key principle of neo-Confucianism?
  1. escaping suffering
  2. winning arguments
  3. building canals
  4. helping others
  1. During the Tang dynasty, candidates for civil service positions were judged by whom they knew and how wealthy they were.

TRUE

FALSE

  1. The Chinese rulers preferred Confucianism over Buddhism because it taught
  2. how to escape suffering.
  3. how to pass the civil service examination.
  4. the importance of being active in society.
  5. the use of terror in conquering enemies.

Chinese Society

During the Tang dynasty, Chinese ______improved their irrigation systems and developed new kinds of rice, which led to greater crop yields and population growth.

New roads and waterways built during the ______dynasty also improved conditions for travel and trade.

The ______reopened and trade thrived.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, the use of coal to make steel improved the quality of life for many Chinese. It was discovered by using coal for heating instead of wood.

They used steel products to build, farm, and defend China’s borders.

The Chinese developed a way to manufacture paper and to print books using wooden blocks and ink.

Later, Chinese printers developed movable type, which allowed them to print books more efficiently.

The Chinese made gunpowder for use in weapons and______.

One weapon was the fire lance. It was like an early gun. It helped make the Chinese army a strong force.

The Chinese also built large ships with sails and ______for steering.

Chinese sailors also began using the magnetic ______to help them find their way. The compass allowed ships to sail farther from land.

The Tang and Song dynasties were a golden age for Chinese culture.

The Tang dynasty was the great age of poetry in China. Chinese poetry often showed an appreciation of the world, such as the changes of the seasons.

Landscape paintings portrayed nature as a great unknowable force. Painters often wrote poems in calligraphy on their artworks.

calligraphy- ______

During the Tang dynasty, Chinese artisans became skilled at making porcelain, a light, fine pottery that became prized around the world.

  1. Which was a result of decisions by Tang rulers to give more land to farmers?
  1. Farmers enjoyed peace and order in the countryside.
  2. China's influence expanded around the world.
  3. Farmers moved to southern China
  4. China's population grew.
  1. China's trade increased because Tang dynasty rulers ____.
  1. paved the Silk Road
  2. had roads and waterways rebuilt
  3. used porcelain and wore silk robes
  4. encouraged foreigners to trade in China
  1. What discovery was a result of using coal for heating instead of wood?
  1. how to grow silk quickly
  2. how to paint landscapes
  3. how to create steel from iron
  4. how to make paper
  1. Tang-era Chinese used steel to make products like armor and farm tools because it was ____.
  1. shiny
  2. rare
  3. soft
  4. strong
  1. Which technological development immediately helped the Chinese economy during the Tang and Song dynasties?
  2. the use of coal for heating
  3. the printing process
  4. steel production
  5. shipbuilding
  1. Printing led to the invention of ____.
  1. guns
  2. poetry
  3. books
  4. calligraphy
  1. The development of the ____ helped make the Chinese army a powerful fighting force.
  1. fire lance
  2. steel stove
  3. printing press
  4. magnetic compass
  1. During the Tang and Song dynasties, writers best expressed their ideas through ____.
  1. calligraphy
  2. novels
  3. poetry
  4. paintings
  1. The use of a brush and ink to write beautiful characters on paper is called ____.
  1. porcelain
  2. landscape painting
  3. woodblock printing
  4. calligraphy

The Mongols in China

The Mongols became the first ______rulers of China.

They lived in clans, or groups of loosely-related families.

They were skilled warriors and ______who used terror to defeat their enemies.

They moved as the animals fed on Mongolia’s great steppes.

Steppes______

______united the Mongols and led them to conquer northern China.

The Mongols proved to be effective and peaceful rulers. Since many trade routes were now under Mongol control, people could trade in peace and grow rich.

By a.d.1279, Kublai Khan finished conquering China and established the Yuan dynasty. He set up the capital city in Khanbaliq (now Beijing).

The Mongols were culturally different from the Chinese and lived separately from them, but they were tolerant of China’s religions.

China prospered from trading overland and overseas. Goods came by ship from all over the world.

European travelers, such as ______, began to explore China’s vast empire.

The Mongols made China’s empire larger.

They took over Vietnam and northern Korea.

The Koryo rulers of Korea were allowed to stay in power because they accepted Mongol rule.

The Mongols forced the Koreans to build ______.

The Mongols tried to use these ships two times to take over Japan. Both times, huge storms destroyed the Mongol fleet.

  1. 1.The Mongols were a nomadic warrior people who lived in clans, or ____.
  1. family groups
  2. tent
  3. cities
  4. difficult environments
  1. Mongol warriors were greatly feared for their use of ____ in fighting their enemies.
  1. maps
  2. fire lances
  3. horses
  4. terror
  1. Who was Kublai Khan?
  1. a poet
  2. an explorer
  3. the first Yuan emperor
  4. the son of Genghis Khan
  1. The Mongols in China practiced Buddhism and respected the religions of others.

TRUE

FALSE

  1. Because the Mongols had their own language, laws, and customs, they ____.
  1. lived among the Chinese in order to become more like them
  2. insisted that the Chinese adopt Mongol ways and traditions
  3. did not mix socially with the Chinese
  4. sent their children to Chinese schools
  1. Who was the most famous European to live in China during the period of Mongol rule?
  1. Christopher Columbus
  2. Genghis Khan
  3. Kublai Khan
  4. Marco Polo
  1. The Mongols expanded China's empire by conquering Korea, Vietnam, and Japan.

TRUE

FALSE

John of Plano Carpini explained why the Mongols were skilled warriors.

"Their children begin as soon as they are two or three years old to ride and manage horses and to gallop on them, and they are given bows to suit their stature [size] and are taught to shoot; they are extremely agile [able to move quickly] and also intrepid [fearless]."

—from History of the Mongols, by John of Plano Carpini

  1. Drawing Conclusions Which statement best summarizes why the Mongols were skilled soldiers?
  1. They believed that children should be free to play.
  2. They made children fight their battles for them.
  3. They taught their children to hate other people.
  4. They were trained to ride horses and fight at a young age.

The Ming Dynasty

The Ming dynasty ruled China after the ______.

Ming rulers sponsored voyages of trade and exploration.

Later, Ming officials stopped the voyages because they believed the voyages were too costly.

They also thought these voyages threatened traditional Chinese culture.

Hong Wu set up his capital at ______.

He started the Ming, or “brilliant,” dynasty. Hong Wu brought back order, yet he was also a cruel leader.

His son became emperor in A.D. ______.

He took the name Yong Le.

To show his power as emperor, Yong Le moved the capital north to Beijing.

He built a large area of palaces and government buildings.

This area was called the Imperial City. The middle of the Imperial City was known as the Forbidden City.

This is where the emperors and their families lived for more than 500 years. The Forbidden City had beautiful gardens and many palaces.

You can visit the Forbidden City today if you go to China.

Ming emperors brought back the ______for government jobs.

They made the tests very hard. It took years to prepare for the tests.

One job that officials did was taking a census, or a count of the number of people in China. This helped them collect the correct amount of taxes.

Chinese culture grew under the Ming.

Traders and skilled workers became ______.

They wanted to be entertained and now could pay for it. During the Ming period, Chinese writers wrote many novels, or long, made-up stories.

The Chinese also liked seeing dramas on stage. ______used words, songs, dances, and costumes to perform stories.

Early Ming emperors were curious about the world outside of China. So they built a large group of ships to sail along China's coast and on the open sea to other countries.

From A.D. 1405 to 1431, Ming emperors sent the ships on ______trips.

They wanted to trade with other kingdoms.

They also wanted other rulers to see China’s power and make weaker kingdoms pay money to China. A Chinese Muslim named Zheng He led these trips.

After the death of Zheng He, government officials stopped the trips.

No more ships were built. Existing ships were even taken apart.

As a result, China’s trade with other countries went down. Ming officials were not able to cut off China from the outside world for good.

In A.D. 1514, ships from the European country of ______came to China.

It was the first direct contact between China and Europe since the time of Marco Polo.

The Portuguese wanted China to trade with them.

They also wanted the Chinese to become Christians.

China's rulers did not think that the outsiders were a threat.

In fact, the Chinese thought the Europeans were barbarians, or uncivilized people.

At first, the Chinese said they would not trade with the Portuguese.

By A.D. 1600, however, Portugal had built a trading post.

Still, trade between China and Europe was ______.

Even with little contact, ideas from Europe came to China.

Highly educated Christian missionaries arrived on European ships.

Their knowledge of science impressed the Chinese. However, not many Chinese became Christians.

After many years of wealth and growth, the Ming dynasty became weak. Dishonest officials took over the country.

They made farmers pay high taxes. The farmers ______.

Without law and order, people from north of China attacked.

These people, called the Manchus, defeated the Chinese armies. In A.D. 1644, they set up a new dynasty.

  1. The first Ming ruler, Hong Wu, restored law and order but was a(n)____ leader.
  1. powerful
  2. inexperienced
  3. wasteful
  4. harsh
  1. Which of the following was built during the early Ming dynasty and still stands today?
  1. the Grand Canal
  2. the Forbidden City
  3. the port of Macao
  4. the Great Wall
  1. A census helped Ming officials determine who ____.
  1. owed taxes
  2. worked for the government
  3. paid tributes to the emperor
  4. received new farm land
  1. Which of the following became popular during the Ming dynasty?
  1. landscape paintings
  2. nature poems
  3. novels
  4. new forms of dance
  1. Early Ming rulers built a large fleet of ships in order to ____.
  1. defend against a Mongol invasion
  2. expand China's influence abroad
  3. discover America
  4. improve European technology
  1. 7.Who led seven overseas expeditions between A.D. 1405 and 1431?
  1. Hong Wu
  2. Marco Polo
  3. Zheng He
  4. Yong Le
  1. What happened after Ming dynasty officials cancelled sea voyages?
  1. The Ming dynasty was quickly conquered by the Mongols.
  2. China saw its foreign trade go into a steep decline.
  3. China's shipbuilding industry increased production.
  4. China conquered new territories by land instead of sea.
  1. Since the days of Marco Polo, the ____ were the first Europeans to make contact with the Chinese.
  1. British
  2. French
  3. Portuguese
  4. Italians
  1. European missionaries had great success in converting Chinese people to Christianity.

TRUE

FALSE