Confucius and other early Chinese thinkers: ideas about order and government

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Ideas about order, and what the Qin and Han did with them (cards A to D). Card A, a compare chart (columns School | Government | People and family): Confucianism | rulers lead by good example, not force, like a father to the people | filial piety is the root of the other virtues; the family is the model for the state; Daoism | rulers do nothing unnatural (wu-wei) and do not force things | people live simply, with few desires, in step with nature; Legalism | rulers control people with strict laws, rewards and punishments | people must work hard in the fields and serve in the army. Card B, a history note written for this sheet: The Qin dynasty ruled from 221 to 206 BCE, and Legalist advisers guided it. The Han dynasty followed and ruled from 206 BCE to 220 CE. The Han kept a government of officials and added the Confucian view that officials should be educated and good. Card C, a history note written for this sheet: In 136 BCE, the Confucian classics became the base of official education under the Han. Card D, a context note written for this sheet: From about 475 to 221 BCE, rival states fought one another.

2. 1.

   How does Daoism differ from Legalism on government, according to card A, Ari asks?

   • Daoist rulers use strict laws; Legalist rulers do not force things
   • Daoist rulers do not force things; Legalist rulers use strict laws
   • Daoist rulers lead like a father; Legalist rulers do nothing unnatural
   • Both use rewards and punishments, but Legalism uses more of them
3. 2.

   Card D says rival states fought one another. Why might a state like that favor the Legalist idea that people serve in the army and work the fields, Bo asks?

   • A state at peace needs soldiers and farmers more than a state at war
   • A state at war needs soldiers to fight and farmers to feed people
   • A state at war wants its farmers to leave the fields for trade
   • The other states in the period followed Legalism once the fighting began
4. 3.

   A classmate says: 'Legalism and Confucianism both want order, so they agree on how to get it.' How strong is that claim, Esme asks?

   • Strong: card A says both treat the family as the model for the state
   • Weak: both want order, but card A shows different methods
   • Strong: card A says both rely on strict laws and punishments
   • Weak: card A says Legalism is a Confucian idea
5. 4.

   Cards B and C both describe the Han dynasty. What do the two cards show together, Jun asks?

   • Legalist advisers wrote the classics the Han used in schools
   • The Qin made the Confucian classics the base of education in 221 BCE
   • The Han ended the government of officials in 136 BCE
   • The Han kept officials and built education on the Confucian classics
6. 5.

   Card B describes the Qin and then the Han. What changed, and what stayed the same, Kira asks?

   • The Han added Confucian ideas and kept a government of officials
   • The Han added Legalist ideas and kept the Confucian classics out of school
   • The Han changed everything about how China was governed
   • The Han dropped Confucian ideas and ended the government of officials
7. 6.

   A Legalist adviser and a Confucian teacher meet. About what would they most likely disagree, Luz asks?

   • Whether the Qin or the Han came first, since each school claimed one
   • Whether order comes from strict laws or from good examples
   • Whether rulers should live simply with few desires, as Legalists taught
   • Whether children owe respect to parents, with Legalists saying yes and Confucians no
8. 7.

   Card A says Daoist rulers practice wu-wei, which means they do nothing unnatural and do not force things. Which ruler action fits, Milo asks?

   • A ruler who sends envoys to rival states to make treaties
   • A ruler who leads by acting as a father to the people
   • A ruler who posts new strict laws each season and punishes mistakes
   • A ruler who lets farmers plant and trade without new orders
9. 8.

   Card A calls the family 'the model for the state' in Confucianism. Why would that idea make rulers act like a father to the people, Noah asks?

   • Family respect was meant to be copied between ruler and people
   • Each family was meant to run a small state of its own for the ruler
   • The state's laws were meant to be copied inside each family
   • Families sent grain to their rulers each autumn
10. 9.

    Confucius lived until 479 BCE, and Han Fei lived in the 200s BCE, which begin in 299 BCE. At least how many years passed between them, Pia asks?

    • About 479 years
    • At least about 180 years
    • Exactly 250 years
    • At least about 780 years
11. 10.

    Which statement is supported by cards A and B together, Tala asks?

    • The Qin used Legalist ideas, and the Han added Confucian ones
    • The Qin used Confucian ideas, and the Han dropped them
    • Both the Qin and the Han ended the government of officials
    • Daoism became the main guide of the Han state and its officials