HIST021 East Asia to 1600

Quiz#2 (5 in total, 6% each)

1. The Qin-Han model (1 point)

The Qin-Han model references the idea that historians have about the two CHinese
Dynasties where they view the two as one entity. The Qin-Han model is comparable
to the Greek and Roman empires in Europe, leaving remnants of a unified state in
their wake, though it falls short where Rome was never unified again, and China was.
Seeing that the Qin-Han Dynasty lasted for 400 years, its understandable that
important aspects of culture and society were carried on after their loss of power.
Its historical significance is as one of the earliest large powers on the planet, and it
laid the cultural foundation for China's future.

2. How’s women’s status in early East Asia? Please use the reading about Mencius’s mother
in “Women’s Virtues and Vices” as an example to elaborate on both the ideal and practices
(2 points)
Most writers and scholars of the time did not care enough about women to even
write much about them, though Han scholar and bibliographer Liu Xiang, who wrote
Biographies of Heroic Women, cared enough to write a whole book on what he deemed as
women of antiquity, with many of them realizing a singular virtue that Xiang views as
humanistic and selfless, such as self-sacrifice for husband or father, or loyalty to a ruler.
Mencius' mother was a woman that Xiang wrote about who exemplefied multiple qualities,
Xiang writing about many of the choices she made that made a good influence on the life of
her son, explaning to him the philosophy behind her reasoning. The significance of this is
that it allows us to get a better insight into daily life in early China; writing about life at
home and writing about women gives us a different perspective than that of a philosopher,
ruler, or historian.

3. Which historical document is the following passage from? Please bolded the correct
answer (1 point):
“The learned men: “Confucius observed, ‘The ruler of a kingdom or head of a family does
not worry about his people’s being poor, only about their being unevenly distributed. He
does not worry about their being few, only about their being dissatisfied.’”
• “The Debate on Salt and Iron”
• “Women’s Vices and Virtues”
• “Two Avengers”

4. How did Confucianism impact the state’s vision in regulating economy? Please use the
quote in question#3 to briefly explain (2 points).
Confucianist beliefs played a large role in all kinds of decision-making by people
throughout early China, and his words of wisdom of course not only cover the practices of
rulers but their disposition. He advised that rulers focus not on the poor vs the rich, but the
inequality between the two, and similarly, not how many subjects he has, but how satisfied
they are.