1.1: State building in East China

Which best describes the political structure of Song China?

• Decentralized feudal rule

• A highly bureaucratic state with officials chosen by civil service exams

• A theocracy led by Buddhist monks

• A confederation of independent city-states

What was the purpose of the civil service exam in Song China?

• To choose officials based on noble birth

• To recruit talented officials based on Confucian knowledge

• To train military leaders in strategy

• To determine who could own land

The civil service exam system is most directly associated with which concept?

• Aristocracy

• Meritocracy

• Vassalage

• Democracy

Which group had the greatest advantage in preparing for the civil service exam?

• Women

• Merchants

• Aristocrats

• Peasants

What crop, introduced from Vietnam, helped fuel Song China’s population growth?

• Millet

• Champa rice

• Wheat

• Sorghum

Which innovation most directly increased Song China’s iron and steel production?

• Gunpowder

• Coal mining

• Printing

• Waterwheels

Which of the following best illustrates Song China’s “economic revolution”?

• The growth of cities and commercialization

• The decline of long-distance trade

• The shift away from agriculture to nomadic herding

• A focus on subsistence farming

Which invention would have most directly supported maritime trade during the Song dynasty?

• Gunpowder weapons

• The compass

• Movable type printing

• Porcelain kilns

Which of the following is an example of patriarchy in Song China?

• Civil service exams for all men and women

• Equal inheritance rights for daughters and sons

• The spread of foot binding among elite women

• The participation of women in government

How did foot binding reinforce patriarchy?

• It gave women greater independence from men

• It limited women’s mobility and emphasized dependence on men

• It allowed women to gain access to education

• It increased women’s role in political life