Name: Answer Key
World I: Classical India and China Review Packet
Directions: Answer the following questions. They DO NOT need to be in complete sentences.
1. What is reincarnation?
-When an individual soul or spirit is born again and again until moksha is achieved.
2. What is Karma?
-Sum of good and bad actions atman carries from life to life
-Good and bad actions affect future life.
3. What is dharma?
-Buddhist doctrine or law
4. List the Four Noble Truths.
-Everything in life is suffering and sorrow
-The cause of all suffering is people’s selfish desire for the temporary pleasures of this world
-The way to end all suffering is to end all desires
-The way to overcome desires and attain enlightenment is to follow the Eightfold Path
5. What three gods are part of Brahman?
-Brahma, the creator
-Vishnu, the protector
-Shiva, the destroyer
6. What were Asoka’s accomplishments?
-Brought empire to its greatest heights
-Extensive roads
-Watering places
-Rest houses for travelers
-Religious toleration
7. How did the Aryans divide India into caste systems (two ways)?
by occupation and by race
8. Why was it so hard to invade the Indian subcontinent?
- because of the mountains to the northwest and northeast and water to the southwest and southeast.
9. List the three Chinese schools of thought and their founders.
-Confucianism/ Confucius
-Daoism/Laozi
-Legalism/Hanfeizi
10. Which dynasty killed Confucian thinkers and burned their books?
-The Qin Empire
11. What do Buddhists achieve when they reach nirvana?
-Enlightenment and a release from the cycle of reincarnation
12. Why did the Mauryan and Gupta empires decline?
-The Mauryan Empire was overrun by people fleeing from Asia
-The Gupta Empire was overrun by the Huns and other central Asian nomads
13. How were the three main rulers of the Gupta Empire connected?
-They were all related/ father, son, and grandson
14. Describe the building of the Great Wall in China.
-Built to protect the Qin dynasty
-Took 10 years to construct the 1,400 miles of wall
-Made of layers of earth pounded into wooden frames
-300,000 men built it; some soldiers and peasants were forced to work
15. What do Hinduism and Buddhism have in common?
-Both are religions
-Both believe in reincarnation and karma
-Moksha and nirvana are similar
-both were founded in India
16. How are Hinduism and Buddhism different?
-Buddhism has really no gods/ Hinduism has many Gods (polytheistic)
-Buddhism has no caste system/ Hinduism has a caste system
-Buddhism has a founder (Siddhartha Gautama)/ Hinduism has no single founder
17. Describe yin and yang.
-Two powers that together represent the natural rhythms of life
-Yin (shadow)/Yang (sunlit)
18. What type of government did Shi Huandgi form in China?
-Legalist
19. How did Confucius believe society should be organized?
-Social order, harmony, and good government could be restored if society was organized
around five basic relationships
20. How did Shi Huangdi unify China?
-A program of centralization
21. Which Chinese philosopher emphasized a respect for parents?
-Confucius
22. What technology did the Han dynasty develop?
-Paper
- more efficient plow, iron tools, the wheelbarrow, watermills to grind grain
-Invented the seismograph and the magnetic compass
23. How did Confucian teachings define women’s roles?
- women were involved, but men held the power and kept the family together
24. What did the Indian dynasties invent?
-Advancements in astronomy
-The decimal system
-The value of pi and zero
25. How did the Chinese government establish control over commerce and manufacturing?
-The government established monopolies (complete control over the production and
distribution) of salt mining, iron forging, coin minting, and alcohol brewing
26. What do Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva each represent?
-Brahma, the creator
-Vishnu, the protector
-Shiva, the destroyer
27. Which religion is associated with India and the caste system?
-Hinduism
28. Who spread Buddhism to China and other parts of Asia?
-Buddhist missionaries
29. Who is the Supreme God in Hinduism?
-Brahman
30. Who created the caste system?
-Aryans, a group of Indo-Europeans
31. Which religion is associated with the Four Noble Truths?
-Buddhism
32. What is moksha?
- the Hindu word for the release from samsara (reincarnation)
33. What was Siddhartha Gautama called by his followers?
-Buddha
34. What is nirvana?
-Buddha’s word for release from selfishness, which all could reach by following the Eightfold Path
35. Who was Chandra Gupta I?
-Came to power by marrying an old royal family, took control in 320 CE
36. Who was Chandragupta Maurya? Who was Kautilya?
-Killed Nanda king in 321 BCE and claimed the throne
-Mauryan Empire, advisor who wrote the ruler’s handbook Arthasastra
37. Who was Asoka?
-Chandragupta’s grandson who claimed throne in 269 BCE
-Brought Mauryan Empire to its greatest heights
38. What is the Arthasastra?
-Mauryan Empire, the ruler’s handbook
39. Who was Chandra Gupta II?
-Chandra Gupta I’s grandson and Samudra Gupta’s son
-Added Mediterranean trade to empire and used peaceful means to expand
40. What were the sacred texts of Hinduism?
-Upanishads and Vedas
41. How did Legalists achieve order in society?
-Rulers had absolute power backed by the military and controlled thinkers with strict laws
42. Why did Shi Huangdi build the Great Wall of China?
-To protect the Qin dynasty from attacks by northern nomads
43. What is a monopoly? What is one example from the Han dynasty?
-Complete control over the production and distribution of certain goods
-Salt mining, iron forging, coin minting, alcohol brewing
44. What advancements in math did the Gupta Empire make?
-Invented modern numerals and the decimal system and determined the value of pi and zero
45. What are the five basic relationships according to Confucius?
-Ruler and subject
-Father and son
-Husband and wife
-Older brother and younger brother
-Friend and friend
46. What are the castes in the Indian caste system in order from top to bottom?
-Brahmins (priests)
-Warriors
-Peasants or traders
-Laborers
-Untouchables (butchers, gravediggers, trash collectors)
47. What are the main achievements of the Phoenicians?
- traded with civilizations in the Fertile Crescent
- developed purple dye for clothing
- were considered to be the first world traders
48. Why was Cyrus (king of the Persians) so great?
- expanded the empire over 2,000 miles
- showed compassion to those he conquered
- used adaptation while conquering
49. What did the Kingdom of Kush pride themselves in doing?
- preserving the traditions and values of the Egyptians
50. What was the capital city of Nineveh known for?
- its expansive library collection of 25,000 clay tablets