HIST241 Final Exam - Pre-Modern Northeast Asia | Practice Test / Quiz / MCQs

1. Utilizing a powerful ruler and six smaller bureaus staffed by administrative officials, the Unified Shilla Dynasty in Korea modeled their government on what other state?

They developed a unique model of government that featured two kings and a council of senators.The Au Lac Kingdom in VietnamSui Dynasty ChinaHeian Japan

2. The Mongols of the Yuan Dynasty attempted to balance the influence of Mongol and Chinese cultural practices and traditions in the arts.Which of the following statements best describes how they accomplished this?

While the Mongols dismissed and attempted to erase most Chinese cultural practices, they did utilize the Chinese language over their own native tongue, and decreed that all forms of literature be written in Chinese.The Mongols forced many Chinese artists to adopt traditional Mongol motifs in their paintings, but encouraged the Mongol shamans to adopt Confucian and Daoist teachings in their religious practices.The Yuan court built a new theater in Daidu and eventually abandoned the celebration of Mongol practices and traditions.The Mongols supported Chinese painters and playwrights, but retained much of their own cultural practices and rituals, such as scattering mare's milk and praying for the assistance of the sky god Tenggeri.

3. Wang Mang, a minister and nephew of the empress, led a successful takeover of the Han Dynasty from 9 to 23 CE.Ultimately, he was assassinated and the Han returned to power for which of the following reasons?

He attempted to revert back to the Legalist policies of the Qin and banned all practice of Confucian teachings.His failed military campaigns against the Xiongnu and his poorly executed attempts at redistributing land and instituting social welfare programs angered the aristocrats, and later the majority of the population.His economic policies were so successful that his brief dynasty attracted the attention of the Mongols, who invaded the capital and killed Mang, but were eventually driven out by Mang's supporters, who called themselves the Red Eyebrows.Mang conquered much of the Xiongnu territory and successfully redistributed the captured land to the gentry class, angering the poor.

4. Not all of the Legalist doctrines employed by the Qin Dynasty proved to be detrimental to Chinese society.Choose the following statement that highlights a lasting influence of the Qin Dynasty and its Legalist policies.

All of these.The Qin view of history as something that could be harmful and should not be relied upon by present students led the Han and other dynasties to abandon their emphasis on the Zhou Dynasty texts and instead focus students on learning from current events.The Qin legal code, which included harsh punishments such as dismemberment for minor offenses, was adopted by the Han and other successive dynasties due to its great popularity with the Chinese people.The Qin standardized coinage, and weights and measures, and divided up their territory into forty-two administrative districts that have remained roughly the same in modern China.

5. Choose the following staple crop and method(s) for harvest used by the Vietnamese people since 8000 BCE, both in the mountains and on the coast.

They developed two ways by which to cultivate rice—a dry method that was used in the more mountainous regions, and a wet method that took advantage of irrigation techniques used in conjunction with rivers.The Vietnamese cultivated wheat in the open prairies to the east of the Mekong River.The Vietnamese have primarily relied on fishing and only planted crops in limited quantities.The prehistoric Chinese taught the Vietnamese how to grow millet, which became their staple crop.

6. As it was for the Portuguese and the Dutch, what was the primary motivation for the English to attempt to establish a direct sea-route with China, India, and other lands of what was considered 'the Far East'?

They hoped to minimize the economic power of Spain, the main adversary to all three empires.They wanted to find a way around the middlemen in Italian ports and the Middle East, who inflated the prices of Asian goods and commodities such as silk and spices.The English looked to colonize areas of Asia in order to send the poor, unemployed peasants from Britain and Ireland there with the hopes of giving them a fresh start in a new land.Gold and silver drove the English to Asia, as they were out to stabilize their economy and population in the wake of the Black Death.

7. Macau, a settlement on a peninsula near the mouth of the Pearl River, became an important city in Asia for what reasons?

The city served as an Asian base for Jesuit missionaries where they built St. Paul College around 1572, and later constructed the immense Madre de Deus Church.The Dutch built Macau on an island off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan, and were the only Europeans allowed to trade with the Japanese from this key port.The city served as an Asian base for Jesuit missionaries where they built St. Paul College around 1572, and later constructed the immense Madre de Deus Church / It was a trading base for the Portuguese and a critical point in the Estado da IndiaIt was a trading base for the Portuguese and a critical point in the Estado da India.

8. Why did the Han Dynasty decide to invade the northern area of Vietnam in 111 BCE?

The Han viewed the Vietnamese as barbarians who needed to be civilized.The Han learned of the great wealth of the region through the travels of Zhang Qian.The Au Lac Kingdom failed to negotiate a treaty with the Han and posed a substantial military threat to the southern Han territory.The Legalist Han Dynasty needed conscript laborers for their massive public works projects.

9. With the rise of the Kamakura bakufu, the daimyo played key roles in the governance of the shogunate.Keeping the daimyo in check often proved to be a difficult task, as political intrigues often threatened the leadership of the shogun and emperor.Who were the daimyo?

Provincial warlordsJapanese people who lived in the northernmost islands of the chainImperial ministersBuddhist monks

10. Name the technology/commodity, attributed to Ts'ai Lun (ca. 105 CE), first used as a unit of currency by the Song Dynasty, that would later lead to monetary inflation due to its overuse by the Yuan and Ming Dynasties.

SilverPaperPorcelainGunpowder

11. The Tang capital of Chang'an was a diverse city that included a mix of domestic and foreign cultures, traditions, people, and goods, indicative of the growing trade networks of the Silk Road. Which of the following would NOT have been commonplace in the city during the Tang Dynasty?

Explosives, and cannons and other firearms, used by soldiers for military purposes.Parks in full bloom, with artists and poets gathered along the shores of lakes and ponds attempting to become famous in both art and politics.A Nestorian Christian missionary engaged in discussion with a Buddhist monk outside an elaborate Daoist temple.A market in the western part of the city full of Asian fruits and vegetables, as well as Indian spices and traders from abroad.

12. During the Heian period, Japan began a time of cultural introspection that included which of the following?

All of these.The publication of the morality play 'The Tale of the Heike,' an epic that focused on the Fujiwara family and their political dealings with the Chinese.A compilation of poems sponsored by the emperor and written entirely in kana, a new phonetic Japanese script, rather than the traditional Chinese language.The court's adoption of Confucian beliefs, rather than Shinto and Buddhist philosophies.

13. Confucian philosophy is situated in the middle ground between the extreme doctrines of legalism and the flexible emphasis on nonaction advocated by what other Chinese school of thought?

MencianismTaoism/DaoismBuddhismMarxism

14. In an attempt to control the Indian Ocean spice trade, the Portuguese did what?

They established the Estado da India (State of India), an interconnected network of trading posts and fortresses—such as its capital Goa—situated in strategic locations along the Indian Ocean basin.The Portuguese founded the East India Company in 1600 CE and traded directly with merchants in present-day India and Indonesia.In order to overpower the other colonial naval powers, the Portuguese built a fearsome naval armada that outgunned the navies of Spain and England combined.They negotiated treaties with local kings and chieftains that guaranteed protection from other colonial powers (such as Spain and England) in exchange for exclusive rights to trade spices.

15. Bronze, an alloy that contains a mixture of copper and tin, became a key part of the material culture (including weapons, art, and ritualistic objects) of which two early Chinese dynasties?

Qin and HanZhou and QinLongshan and XiaShang and Zhou

16. During the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols spent a great deal of money and manpower in building the new capital of Daidu and extending the Grand Canal to their new city.Though Yuan officials managed these projects well, what infrastructure project suffered, and eventually led to deep unrest among the population?

The Yuan failed to maintain the massive walled fortifications protecting the dynasty's borders, allowing the Xiongnu to successfully invade Daidu and unseat the Mongols.The Yuan failed to protect the trade routes, and hordes of roving bandits took a heavy toll on merchant caravans, inciting the merchant and artisan classes to rebel against the Mongols.The new summer capital of Shangdu utilized large amounts of conscript labor.The peasants of northern China suffered greatly when a drought struck, while most farmers were away working on the new city.The Mongols failed to manage flood control on the Yellow River.When floods devastated the region in the 1340s CE, thousands of peasants became homeless, fueling the eventual rebellion that ended the Yuan Dynasty.

17. Located in northwestern China, which of the following locations houses a complex of 492 cave temples decorated, beginning in 366 CE, with frescoes and sculptures?This complex represents the spread and influence of what religion in China?

Longmen, ShintoismLuoyang, ConfucianismDunhuang, BuddhismChang'an, Daoism

18. Though Hideyoshi feared the subversive potential of mass conversions to Christianity in Japan during the sixteenth century, his efforts (along with those of Tokugawa Iemistu) ultimately had what dramatic economic and culture effect on the islands?

The Ming Dynasty sided with the Christian missionaries and engaged the Shogunate in a war.The successor of Iemistu, Nobunaga, converted to Christianity and made it the official religion of the Shogunate.The Japanese converts to Christianity staged a successful revolt that overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate.With only a few exceptions, this policy isolated Japan, closed its borders to foreigners, and kept the Japanese people from leaving the islands.

19. Buddhism entered Korea during the Three Kingdoms period and flourished under the Unified Shilla period.What effect did Buddhism have on the Korean people during these two eras?

Though royals and elites became devout Buddhists, the general population failed to connect with the message of the religion, so it fostered disunity between the peasants and the aristocrats.Due to its teachings concerning social status, the royal family, along with aristocrats, converted to Buddhism, as did much of the population, helping to unify the state.Korean monks chose to adapt the religion to their own local customs rather than traveling to China or India to learn Buddhist teachings.Therefore, the Korean people created their own unique brand of Buddhism.The aristocracy rejected Buddhism in favor of Confucian teachings, but the religion took hold with the lower classes, leading to a diverse religious atmosphere in Korea during this era.

21. The Chinese had a profound impact on the art and architecture of Vietnam from the first century BCE until the tenth century CE.Which of the following statements best describes this impact?

The Vietnamese directly influenced the art of the Tang Dynasty, in which 'dinh' (community meeting halls) featured traditional Vietnamese motifs of animals and birds.The Vietnamese utilized the artistic and architectural designs brought by Chinese occupation forces, but generally adapted them to their own local customs by adding traditional motifs.The Vietnamese found the art and architecture of the Chinese to be fundamentally superior to their own, so they universally adopted it with few modifications.While the Vietnamese originally built houses similar to the Chinese, they turned to the Champa kingdom, a Hindu culture in Southeast Asia, for their artistic influences.

22. According to Confucian thought, the 'junzi,' or 'superior man/gentleman/scholar,' exhibits which of the following character traits?

He wants to see clearly, hear distinctly, practice righteousness, and be a virtuous man above all else.He excels in his speech, is modest in his actions, and is often insincere.He is willing to improperly obtain riches and fulfill desires, and is often struck with fear and anxiety.All of these.

23. At the beginning of the Tokugawa period, Japan threw out the 'southern barbarians' and began a period of relative isolation.Which of the following actions would Tokugawa Ieyasu have taken if you (a Japanese citizen) chose to travel to the island of Decima to trade with the Dutch?

You would have been banished from Japan and never allowed to return.Nothing.This was the only permissible contact with a group of Europeans during this period.You would have been sentenced to death.No Japanese citizen in this era would have been permitted to freely leave the islands.You would have been forced to stay with your family in Edo under the surveillance of the emperor

24. The Shang Dynasty capitalized on their use of bronze metallurgy to maintain their dynastic power and wealth.Which of the following items did the Shang NOT make using bronze?

Ceremonial court recordsCommon toolsWeaponsChariots

25. Tokugawa Ieyasu employed a number of strategies by which to keep the daimyo in check and maintain an era of peace.Which of the following was NOT one of those strategies?

All daimyo were required to visit the capital at least once a year.Tokugawa heavily taxed the daimyo to the point that none of them could afford to finance a rebellion.Each daimyo sent members of their immediate family to live in the capital as quasi-hostages.He allotted lands in proximity to the capital to the daimyo in proportion to their allegiance to Ieyasu during the late Ashikaga period.

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25 Questions

❤ If you liked Fatskills, consider supporting us by checking out The Life Manuals You Never Got.

About | Explore | User Guide | Topics | Subjects | Doubt Solver | Career Aptitude Test | Answers | Free Tools | What Should We Know? Privacy | Terms |

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All trademarks, logos and brand names are the property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, trademarks and brands does not imply endorsement.

About | Explore | User Guide | Topics | Subjects | Doubt Solver | Career Aptitude Test | Answers | Free Tools | What Should We Know?
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Without work one finishes nothing. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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