Ghost Stories of Ancient China: Beware of Po, Hun Quiz

Which of the following describes two MAIN ideas from the article?

• There are many different types of ghosts in Chinese culture; most ghost stories are told to children to teach them to treat each other politely.

• People in ancient China believed you had to honor the gods before you could dig a grave; the water ghost could only move on after its victim took its place.

• The Chinese still celebrate Ghost Month; people are sure to face their shoes away from the bed because they fear a ghost might end up sleeping there.

• The hungry ghost is the most famous type of ghost in Chinese culture; people wore amulets to protect themselves against dangerous water ghosts.

Read the sentences from the article.

If this was not done right, the soul of the dead would return to haunt the living. The Chinese buried their loved ones with their favorite objects and food. This was the spirit of someone who had drowned and whose body was never buried properly. If one does not give them any, they can curse the person and bring disaster on their home and loved ones.

What two MAIN ideas does this evidence support?

• The Chinese believed that if a person did not have a proper funeral, they'd return as ghosts. Dead Month is the time when the dead are said to come back to visit the living.

• People gave proper funerals so the dead would not come back and haunt them. There were many types of ghosts who haunted people in different ways.

• In China, ghost stories are often told to children to teach them important lessons. The Chinese believed that different ghosts haunted in different ways.

• The Chinese believed there were two parts of the soul: the po and the hun. During Ghost Month, people follow many rules to make sure the ghosts are not upset.

Read the paragraph from the section "The importance of proper burial."

In China, the ground under the earth was considered the property of the gods. Cemeteries were located outside of towns and cities in rural areas. There were earth spirits there known as Tudi Gong. One could not dig a grave without first honoring the spirits who owned the land.

Which phrase from the paragraph helps the reader understand what "rural" means?

• under the earth

• property of the gods

• outside of towns and cities

• There were earth spirits there

The word "mourn" is essential to understanding the traditions the Chinese followed in order to prevent the dead from coming back as ghosts.

Which sentence from the section "The importance of proper burial" BEST explains what "mourn" means?

• The Chinese buried their loved ones with their favorite objects and food.

• The dead then had to be mourned for an appropriate amount of time.

• During this time, they had to wear special mourning clothing and could not attend parties or listen to music.

• If any of these rules were broken, the soul of the dead would return to Earth.

Which statement would be MOST important to include in a summary of the article?

• People in ancient China were required to mourn the death of a parent or grandparent for three years.

• The people in ancient China believed that a proper burial and funeral were essential to reaching the afterlife.

• The shui gui were only allowed to move on when they drowned another person in the water that they haunted.

• During Ghost Month, the Chinese leave the front rows of theaters open so that ghosts will have a place to sit.

Which two of the following sentences include central ideas of the article?

1. The po and the hun, when they returned to haunt the living, were generally known as guei.
2. The Chinese believed that breathe, or qi, was the vital energy on which life depended.
3. The ancient Chinese developes many practices and traditions to protect themselves from ghosts.
4. Many shops close during the festival so that the ghosts will not be disturbed by living shoppers.

• 1 and 2

• 1 and 3

• 2 and 3

• 3 and 4

Read the selection from the section "Types of ghosts."

A particularly dangerous ghost was the shui gui (water ghost), which was the spirit of someone who had drowned and whose body was never buried properly. The shui gui haunted the waters where they died and lured people in to drown them. The victim's spirit took its place and waited for the next person who could be caught off-guard.

Which word from the selection helps you understand that the water ghost was tricky?

• drowned

• haunted

• lured

• caught

Read the selection from the section "Views of ghosts and practices."

A practice still observed in China today is the Ghost Festival, a celebration to appease the souls of the dead so they will not bother the living.

Which two words would BEST replace "observed" and "appease" in the selection above?

• recognized and satisfy

• watched and calm

• noticed and please

• honored and upset