End of Unit Quiz (Ancient China)

Question 1

Dynasties

Answer 1

A line of hereditary ruler of a country.

Question 2

The Great Wall

Answer 2

A system of fortified walls with a roadway along the top, constructed as a defense system for China against the nomads of the regions that are now Mongolia and Manchuria: completed in the 3rd century b. c., but later repeatedly modified and rebuilt.

Question 3

Mandate of Heaven

Answer 3

The ‘Mandate of Heaven’ was used to justify the rule of the king or the emperor.

Question 4

Terracotta Army

Answer 4

The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of the Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210-209 BCE with the purpose of protecting the emperor in his afterlife.

Question 5

Philosophy

Answer 5

The study of the fundamental knowledge, reality and existence.

Question 6

Confucianism

Answer 6

A system of philosophical and ethical teachings founded by Confucius and developed by Mencius.

Question 7

Silk Road

Answer 7

The Silk Road was an ancient trade route that linked the Western world with the Middle East and Asia. It was a major conduct for trade between the Roman Empire and China.

Question 8

Daoism/Taoism

Answer 8

A Chinese philosophy based on writings of Lao-tzu, advocating humility and religious piety.

Question 9

Central Government

Answer 9

Central government consists of all administrative departments of the state and other central agencies whose responsibilities cover the whole economic territory of a country, except for the administration of social security funds.

Question 10

Censorship

Answer 10

Censorship id the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done one the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive or inconvenient, Censorship can be conducted by governments, private institutions and other controlling bodies.

Question 11

Legal Code

Answer 11

Law code, also called Legal Code, a more or less systematic and comprehensive written statement of laws. Law codes were complied by the most ancient peoples.

Question 12

Warring States

Answer 12

Leaders of the feudal states declared independence. It was troubled by two hundred years of violence and warfare. It benefited from the guidance of philosophers who fought king.

Question 13

Standardization

Answer 13

The process of making something conform to a standard.

Question 14

How the Shang dynasty ruled:

Answer 14

The Shang Dynasty was a monarchy governed by a series of kings, 29 or 30 in total, over the course of almost 600 years. The king was served by officials who held specialized positions of authority and function; and the officials belonged to a hereditary class of aristocrats, usually related to the king himself.

Question 15

How the Zhou dynasty ruled:

Answer 15

The government of the Zhou was based on the feudal system. The emperor divided the land into fiefs that were usually ruled by his relatives. The nobles who ruled the fiefs basically owned the farmers who worked their lands.

Question 16

How the Qin dynasty ruled:

Answer 16

Qin organized the empire by introducing centralization, which is a central governing system. Then he organized China into 36 provinces and then each province was divided into counties. The county leaders were important to the province heads and the heads reported to the central government, which then reported to the emperor. An official would be dismissed if they failed to follow his policies. Also, because rebellions would try to break out, Shi Huandi reported for all the noble families to move to the capital and their spies watched over them. Shi Huang ruling families sent political officers to the capital, so they would work harder and not be corrupt.

Question 17

How the Han dynasty ruled:

Answer 17

Emperor Gaozu, formerly known as Liu Bang, founded the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty would become one of the most important and long-lasting dynasties in all of Chinese history. It would rule China for over four hundred years, from 206 BCE-220 CE, and ushered in a golden age of peace, prosperity, and development.

Question 18

What the Shang dynasty is famous for:

Answer 18

Shang Contributions to Chinese Civilization. The Shang made many contributions to Chinese civilization, but four in particular define the dynasty: the invention of writing; the development of a stratified government; the advancement of bronze technology; and the use of the chariot and bronze weapons in warfare.

Question 19

What the Zhou dynasty is famous for:

Answer 19

Stronger and more effective farm tools were built, so they were able to use the food for trade and also for their own people.
They started using irrigation and fertilizer to increase the amount of crops that were being produced.
The Zhou built roads, this way trade and transportation would be easier, which also caused the new cities to start being built. Once this happened they were able to expand the empire more.
Coins were also invented, which made trade across the Zhou empire easier. It is similar to what we use today except that we use credit cards more often.

Question 20

What the Qin dynasty is famous for:

Answer 20

The main achievement of the Qin is the fact that it unified China, creating the first dynasty ruled by the first emperor Qin Shi Huang. Other well-known achievements are the creation of the Great Wall and a large army of Terracotta Warriors.

Question 21

What the Han dynasty is famous for:

Answer 21

The Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) is known its long reign and its achievements, which included the development of the civil service and government structure; scientific advancements such as the invention of paper, use of water clocks and sundials to measure time, and development of a seismograph.

Question 22

How the Zhou dynasty was taken over:

Answer 22

Zhou used Mandate of Heaven because Shang was corrupt

Question 23

How the Qin dynasty was taken over:

Answer 23

Qin had military power after the Warring State period.

Question 24

How the Han dynasty was taken over:

Answer 24

Han had a revolution due to harsh laws.

Question 25

Similarities between the Shang and Zhou:

Answer 25

The Shang dynasty created the form of writing with the oracle bones, which then turned into pictographs and this is similar to the Zhou dynasty because the Zhou dynasty supported artists and poets.
Both the Shang and Zhou dynasty grew large until they were taken over by another dynasty or because of war.
They both invented weapons that helped them through war. They might have been different tools, but the Shang dynasty could have helped influence the Zhou dynasty, which rubbed off on them and helped them with their weapons.
They both spoke the same language, wore the same clothes and wrote the same way.

Question 26

Differences between the Shang and Zhou:

Answer 26

Both dynasties occupied the center of the government, although the Zhou dynasty gave more power to individual states and this allowed them to set up their own walled capital cities.
The last king of the Shang dynasty only cared about his enjoyment and because of this many people came to resent him leading warriors to refuse to defend during the attack of Zhou. Whereas when the Zhou king was taken over he was respected by most of his people and he always did well for the empire.
Shang started the oracle bones, but then Zhou stopped using them, which is the difference between them both

Question 27

Similarities between the Qin and Han:

Answer 27

The Han kept many of the Qin’s rules and policies, but instead of setting harsh punishments. They encouraged them. The Han also kept the Qin laws in place, but did not include the harsh punishments as well.

Question 28

Differences between the Qin and Han:

Answer 28

Han changed the Qin’s harsh rules, encouraged learning and lowered taxes and these were all cruel policies that the Qin started, but this is also the reason why they lost power. The emperor of the Han also asked for advice from a Confucius scholar and this is how he knew he had to change the harsh punishments.

Question 29

Legalism

Answer 29

Legalism in ancient China was a philosophical belief that human beings are more inclined to do wrong than right because they are motivated entirely by self-interest and require strict laws to control their impulses. It was developed by the philosopher Han Feizi (l. c. 280 - 233 BCE) of the state of Qin.

Question 30

Confucianism

Answer 30

Confucius believed that human character was formed in their family as well as because of education.
The love and respect of the family are virtue and personal duties to family and supersede obligations to the state (If the father told you one thing and the ruler told you another thing, you would listen to the father, not the ruler because he rulers were so bad at the time).
He created the duke which declared that fathers and sons shall protect each other.

Question 31

Daoism/Taoism

Answer 31

Daoism is deeply linked with other branches of thought like Confucianism and Buddhism.
Dao/Tao means path (to find your path and then follow it, it will lead you through life as long as you follow it). Dao is “The way of the world”, which is also the path to virtue, happiness and harmony.
Tao te Chin is like a bible that contains the information of Daoism.
The main is to make time for stillness (“To the mind that is still the whole world surrenders”).

Question 32

Confucious

Answer 32

He believed a good ruler inspires others to follow or to rule by example (no army, violence or harsh punishments). Because of all the solutions he found for the Chinese problems he was known as the “First Teacher”.

Question 33

Laozi

Answer 33

Laozi said if you do not have an open mind you do not see the beauty of the world.
Daoists believed that a good ruler shall take little action and this way people could live a simple life.

Question 34

Shi Huangdi

Answer 34

Qin Shi Huangdi, the first Qin Emperor, was a brutal ruler who unified ancient China and laid the foundation for the Great Wall. China already had a long history by the time its states were unified under its first emperor.

Question 35

Liu Bang

Answer 35

Liu Bang (256–195 BC), also called Emperor Gaozu when he ruled, was the first emperor of the Han Dynasty from 202 BC till his death. Rising from a humble peasant background, he became an outstanding politician, strategist, and finally emperor.

Question 36

Natural borders/Physical features

Answer 36

The geography of Ancient China shaped the way civilization and culture developed. The large land was isolated from much of the rest of the world by dry deserts to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the east, and impassable mountains to the south.
China’s natural barriers to the west, south, and east helped to protect these early people from invasion. China’s natural barriers include seas - the China Sea and the Yellow Sea, both located in the Pacific Ocean. These seas provide a huge coastline, which provided trade routes and easy access to food.

Question 37

2 Biggest rivers

Answer 37

Two great rivers run through China Proper: the Yellow River in the north, and the Yangtze (or Yangzi ) River to the south. In fact, most of China Proper belongs to the drainage-basins of these two rivers. Both originate to the far west in the Tibetan Plateau. The much smaller Xi River cuts through southern China.

Question 38

Silk Roads

Answer 38

Where was the silk road and what was it used for?
The silk road crossed Asia connecting China to central and southwest Asia.
It was used for trade, but before that it was used for travel. The silk road was used for trade routes, which were different ways people could travel to transport the trade.
It connected China to Europe and was used to transport goods.
How did the silk road benefit China?
The silk road benefitted China because it was a path for the exchange of ideas allowing China to grow technologically. For example paper was invented and it was then spread across the west along the silk road. Another benefit was that different beliefs started in China such as Buddhism, which started in China during the Han along the silk road. The silk road improved chinese food by changing the way of cooking and this happened by grapes, sesame and onion being brought into China along the silk road.