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 do not force things; Legalist rulers use strict laws
   • Both use rewards and punishments, but Legalism uses more of them
   • Daoist rulers lead like a father; Legalist rulers do nothing unnatural
   • Daoist rulers use strict laws; Legalist rulers do not force things
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 war needs soldiers to fight and farmers to feed people
   • A state at peace needs soldiers and farmers more than a state at war
   • 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?

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

   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 dropped Confucian ideas and ended the 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
6. 5.

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

   • Whether order comes from strict laws or from good examples
   • Whether children owe respect to parents, with Legalists saying yes and Confucians no
   • Whether the Qin or the Han came first, since each school claimed one
   • Whether rulers should live simply with few desires, as Legalists taught
7. 6.

   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 posts new strict laws each season and punishes mistakes
   • A ruler who leads by acting as a father to the people
   • A ruler who lets farmers plant and trade without new orders
8. 7.

   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
   • The state's laws were meant to be copied inside each family
   • Families sent grain to their rulers each autumn
   • Each family was meant to run a small state of its own for the ruler
9. 8.

   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
   • At least about 780 years
   • Exactly 250 years
10. 9.

    Which find would best show that the Han taught the Confucian classics to officials, Ren asks?

    • A Qin record from 215 BCE listing Legalist rules
    • A Han record listing strict laws and punishments for officials
    • A painting of a Han farmer working in a field
    • A Han school record listing Confucian classics as lessons
11. 10.

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

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