WH Unit 1 and 2 Test

“The civil service examination system was squarely based upon the Confucian classics and upon recognized commentaries on those classics. The examination system was the basic support for the ongoing study of the Confucian classics during late-imperial times and could be said to have been the impetus behind the school curriculum that was followed all over China, even at the level of the village school for young boys. … What this curriculum meant, among other things, was absolute mastery of key Confucian texts.” — Asia for Educators, Columbia University What was the primary purpose of the Song civil service exams?

• To select military officers based on battlefield experience

• To fill bureaucratic posts with Confucian-trained elites

• To evaluate candidates’ skill in foreign diplomacy

• To certify artisans for state workshops

What social function did foot binding serve in Song China?

• It improved women’s ability to weave silk at home

• It denoted high status and enforced patriarchal control

• It marked women as officially married

• It served as a ritual to improve mobility

"He took sticky clay and cut it in the form of characters. Each character was as thin as the edge of a coin. He baked them in the fire to make them hard. He had a plate made of iron, and he coated it with a mixture of resin, wax, and paper ash. When he wanted to print a page, he would set the type on the plate, and when the plate was full, he would heat it until the type stuck fast. Then he would ink it and print.” Which Song Dynasty invention is being described in the passage above?

• Papermaking

• Movable type printing

• Gunpowder

• Magnetic compass

“The House of Wisdom, or Bayt al-Hikma, founded in early 9th-century Baghdad during the reign of the Abbasids, is one of history's greatest symbols of the quest for knowledge and the desire for religious coexistence.” Why was the House of Wisdom significant?

• It served as a military academy

• It centralized the translation and study of Greek and Roman works

• It issued coinage for trade

• It organized pilgrimages to Mecca

“During the Islamic Golden Age, scholars like Al-Khwarizmi revolutionized mathematics through works such as Kitab al-Jabr wa’l-Muqabala. This seminal text not only introduced systematic methods for solving equations.... The treatise offered practical applications in trade, inheritance, and land measurement, marking a pivotal moment in mathematical history and influencing scholars across cultures for centuries.”

This excerpt highlights Islamic achievements in which field?

• A. Astronomy

• B. Algebra

• C. Medicine

• D. Architecture

What role did monsoon winds play in Southeast Asian trade?

• They prevented ships from reaching the continent

• They dictated seasonal sailing schedules for Indian Ocean voyages

• They forced traders to travel only by land

• They limited commerce to the dry season

What does this artwork from Angkor Wat reveal about Khmer religious practice?

• Strict adherence to Islam

• Fusion of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs

• Exclusive worship of Confucian ancestors

• State rejection of religion

“Atop the towering temple, the priest raised his obsidian blade to the sky, its edge catching the morning sun. Below, the city of Tenochtitlan pulsed with life, unaware of the sacred debt being repaid above. The drums thundered, echoing the heartbeat of the gods. With solemn precision, the priest offered the lifeblood of the chosen, a gift to Huitzilopochtli, the sun god locked in eternal battle against darkness. Only through this offering, they believed, would the sun rise again and the world endure.” What Aztec practice is being depicted in the passage above?

• Use of the death whistle in war

• Tending to Chinampas garden

• Human Sacrifice on a temple

• Government roles are being appointed

"Carved into the bones of the Andes, stone platforms climbed skyward like giant steps. Fitted without mortar, they held back the slope and cradled rich soil brought from below. Even where frost bit the high air, the Incas drew life—potatoes, maize, and quinoa thriving in narrow bands of green. Water from glacial streams flowed through stone canals, nourishing each level in turn. More than farmland, these were marvels of mountain-born ingenuity". This passage refers to which Inca innovation?

• Alpaca herding

• Terrace farming

• Road construction

• Gold smelting

""The merchants came first—silent caravans crossing the Sahara, their camels laden with salt, gold, and the words of the Prophet. In the markets of Gao and Timbuktu, they spoke of Mecca and Medina, of a faith that bound distant lands. Kings listened. Some, like the ruler of Mali, embraced the new religion, not by force, but by choice—drawn to its laws, its literacy, its link to powerful allies. Mosques rose beside palaces. Arabic script flowed across scrolls and stone. Islam did not conquer West Africa with the sword—it arrived on the backs of traders and in the hearts of scholars.” How did Islam spread into West Africa according to this account?

• Through mass migration of Arabs

• Via trade networks and the efforts of scholars

• Through conquest by the Ottomans

• By forced conversion under Mansa Musa