GH World History
Chapter 8 and 9—Study Guide
The Unification of China and State Society and the Quest for Salvation in India
Please include page numbers for all of the guided reading questions
Terms:
1. Acupuncture
2. Bureaucracy
3. The Civil Service
System
4. Civil Service Exam
5. Autocracy
6. terra-cotta soldiers
7. filial piety
8. Great Wall of China
9. Pax Sinica
10. Yellow Turban
Uprising
11. Stupas
22. Wang Mang
23. Han Feizi
24. Xiongnu
25. Siddhartha Gautama
 Buddah
26. Maurya
27. Chandragupta Maurya
28. Ásoka
29. Gupta Rulers
30. Chandra Gupta
31. White Huns.
32. Monks
33. Pilgrims
12. Ascetic
13. Inoculation
14. Arabic Numerals
Individuals / People
15. Confucius (Kongzi)
16. Mencius (Mengzi)
17. Junzi
18. Laozi
19. Cheng—“Shih
Huang Ti”
20. Liu Bang
21. Liu Ch’e (Han
Wudi)
Places:
34. Silk Road
35. Indian Ocean Sea Lanes
36. Taklamakan Desert
37. Nalanda
38. Ajanta Caves
39. Chang’an
40. Antioch
41. Java
42. Bactria
43. Kush
Empires / Kingdoms
44. Qin Dynasty
45. Han Dynasty
46. The Classical Period
47. Mauryan Empire
48. Gupta Empire
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Philosophies/Religions
49. Legalism
50. Confucianism
51. Dualism
 Yin and Yang
52. Daoism
 Dao
53. Buddhism
 Theravada Buddhism
 Mahayana Buddhism
54. Jainism
55. Charvaka
Literary Works
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
the Five Classics.
Analects
Dao-de-jing
Rock Edicts
Panchantantra
Four Noble Truths
Eight-Fold Path
Lessons for Women
The Book of Lord Shang
Chapter 8—Guided Reading—Please include page numbers for all of the guided
reading questions
The Unification of China
1. Who was the first great Chinese historian? What did he do to anger the ruler and
how was he punished?
2. Identify the Chinese dynasty that went further than the Persian emperors in their
efforts to foster cultural unity?
3. What arose from the proper ordering of human relationships?
4. Identify who were considered Confucian “superior individuals” and describe their
role in society.
5. When discussing qualities that were essential to good character, what term did
Confucius use?
6. Through the efforts of Confucius, what became the core texts of traditional
Chinese education?
7. What was at the heart of Mencius’s philosophy?
8. The Daoist thinkers spoke of wuwei, that stood for what?
9. How did Shang Yang and Han Feizi hope to control China’s subjects?
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10. According to the Legalist philosophies of the Qin, what were the foundations of a
state’s strength?
11. Identify at least 4 of the Qin Shihuangdi’s policies.
12. Identify the Chinese emperor who was notorious for his hatred of Confucianism
and describe his important contributions to China.
13. How many terra-cotta soldiers were unearthed?
14. Who was the founder of the Han dynasty?
15. What marks the dividing line between the Former Han and the Later Han?
16. What was the Han philosophy of rule?
17. Who was the most powerful Han emperor, known for his administrative
centralization and imperial expansion?
18. Identify the group of people and their leader, who were considered the greatest
military threat to the Han dynasty.
19. What happened as the Han dynasty became more powerful and wealthy?
20. Who carried out reforms so revolutionary that he is known as the “socialist
emperor?
 Chapter 8 MAP AND DBQ QUESTIONS
1. Examine Map 8.1, China under the Qin dynasty, 221-207 B.C.E. How was Qin
Shihuangdi able to create a state that large? How successful were his methods in
the long run?
2. Examine the defensive walls on Map 8.1, China under the Qin dynasty, 221-207
B.C.E. Why were they constructed in the north? Were there reasons for
constructing the walls other than purely defensive ones?
3. Compare maps 8.1 and 8.2. How was the Han state different than the Qin?
Discuss the threat posed by the Xiongnu.
4. Look at the illustration on page 158 of the terra-cotta army surrounding the tomb
of Qin Shihuangdi. What could this picture tell us about the splendor of the First
Emperor’s reign? Can this picture also give us an insight into the workings of Qin
Shihuangdi’s mind?
5. What does the burial suit on page 164 tell us about the life and death of the
wealthy classes during the Han period? How did this compare to the lives of
peasants during this period?
6. Examine the painting of Confucius on page 151. How is he represented in this
picture? There were no contemporary portraits of Confucius. What role might a
later artist play in helping to create a lasting image of a historical figure?
7. Examine the Han gentlemen represented in the illustration on page 164. How
would their lives have been different from that of a peasant? What did Confucius
mean when he discussed the creation of a gentleman?
8. In the section from the Analects (see Textbook: Sources from the Past: Confucius
on Good Government), Confucius points out that, “When a prince’s personal
conduct is correct, his government is effective without the issuing of orders. If his
personal conduct is not correct, he may issue orders, but they will not be
followed.” How is this statement representative of Confucian thought? In what
ways does it disagree with Legalist philosophy?
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9. Read the section from the Analects (see Textbook: Sources from the Past:
Confucius on Good Government). How do these quotes relate to basic Confucian
notions such as ren, li, and junzi?
10. Examine the feature on Laozi (see Textbook: Sources from the Past: Laozi on
Living in Harmony with Dao). What is the Daoist view of virtue? How can it be
used to rule a state? Relate these ideas to those of Confucius.
Possible SAQ Topics—
1. Why was China such a strongly patriarchal society?
2. Analyze how religion and or belief systems generated conflict or reduced conflict
within or among societies.
3. Outline the essential ideals of Confucianism and/or Daoism
4. Explain the gender roles in Confucianism.
5. Why did the political chaos of the Period of the Warring States give rise to
philosophies such as Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism?
6. Discuss the concept of yin and yang and explain how it represents the relationship
between men and women.
7. Explain factors that allowed religious and/or philosophical views to spread.
Chapter 9 State, Society, and the Quest for Salvation
in India
Guided Reading
1.
2.
3.
4.
Where does some of the best information about early Indian history come from?
Who did the Mauryan emperor Ashoka fight his bloodiest battle against?
What was one of the biggest financial problems of the later Mauryan period?
What happened after the collapse of the Mauryan empire in India? Who
controlled the northwest territory?
5. What caused the success and timing of trade, through the Indian Ocean basin?
6. How did the two great Indian epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana portray
women?
7. What was one of the most pronounced examples of patriarchal dominance in
ancient India?
8. What was one of the biggest transformations of the caste system during Gupta
period?
9. What was the greatest social contribution of the Jains?
10. What is the Indian work that deals with a dialogue between the warrior, Arjuna,
and his charioteer, Krishna?
11. Why did Buddhism eventually lose popularity in India?
12. How did early Buddhism evolve into Mahayana Buddhism? How did that help
spread the religion?
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Possible SAQ Topics—
1. How did the status of women evolve from the Vedic Age to the Gupta era?
2. Compare and contrast how Hinduism and Buddhism distinguished one’s role and
function in society based on gender.
3. Compare and contrast Jainism and Buddhism.
MAP QUESTIONS:--MUST COMPLETE AND HAVE IN NOTEBOOK
1. Page 171—Map 9.1—answer question.
ADDITIONAL READING—
1. Page 169-170—EYEWITNESS: Megasthenes: A Greek Perspective on Classical
India
2. Page 183—Sources from the Past
3. Page 185—Sources from the Past
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