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

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Three schools of thought in a time of rival states (cards A to C). Card A, a compare chart (columns School | Key figure | What brings order): Confucianism | Confucius (about 551 to 479 BCE) | rulers who set a good example; filial piety (children's respect and care for parents); Daoism | Laozi (nothing certain is known of him) | living in step with nature, the Dao or Way; Legalism | Han Fei (lived in the 200s BCE) | strict laws, with rewards and punishments. Card B, a timeline written for this sheet: Spring and Autumn period, 770 to about 475 BCE. Warring States period, about 475 to 221 BCE. In both periods, rival states competed for power, and in the Warring States period they fought one another often. The Qin state united China in 221 BCE. Card C, a note written for this sheet: The Analects is a collection of sayings and conversations of Confucius. His students collected them after his lifetime.

2. 1.

   Which thinker on card A lived about 551 to 479 BCE and taught that rulers should set a good example, Bo asks?

   • Laozi, who was born about 551 BCE
   • Confucius, who taught strict laws with rewards and punishments
   • Confucius, who taught that rulers should set a good example
   • Han Fei, who taught that rulers should set a good example
3. 2.

   Card A says filial piety means children's respect and care for parents. Which action shows it, Esme asks?

   • A ruler gives rewards to people who obey the laws
   • A farmer lets a field rest for a winter
   • A child ignores a parent's advice and follows a personal plan
   • A child helps a parent each day and speaks politely to elders
4. 3.

   Card A says Confucius lived about 551 to 479 BCE. About how many years did he live, Jun asks?

   • About 1,030 years
   • About 72 years
   • Exactly 72 years
   • About 479 years
5. 4.

   Card A says Daoism looks to living in step with nature. Which action fits, Kira asks?

   • A child learns to respect and care for a parent each day
   • A ruler writes strict laws with a punishment for each mistake
   • A farmer plants with the seasons and does not force growth
   • A state fights its rivals until one state rules the rest
6. 5.

   An adviser wants people to follow orders, and card A names Han Fei's school. Which plan fits that school, Luz asks?

   • Ask the elders of each town to vote on each new law
   • Leave people alone so they can live simply and follow the way of nature
   • Post clear laws, with rewards for obeying and punishments for not
   • Set a good example each day and hope the people copy it
7. 6.

   Card B lists three events. Which list puts them in order, earliest first, Milo asks?

   • Spring and Autumn period, Qin unites China, Warring States period
   • Spring and Autumn period, Warring States period, Qin unites China
   • Qin unites China, Warring States period, Spring and Autumn period
   • Warring States period, Spring and Autumn period, Qin unites China
8. 7.

   Card C says the Analects is a collection of sayings of Confucius. Who collected them, and when, Noah asks?

   • Han Fei, in the 200s BCE
   • A Qin ruler, after uniting China
   • His students, after his lifetime
   • Confucius himself, while he taught
9. 8.

   A student calls the Analects the exact words of Confucius. How careful should that claim be, using card C, Pia asks?

   • Not careful: the Analects is a book Confucius wrote by his own hand
   • Not careful: Han Fei checked the sayings in the Analects
   • Careful: his students collected the sayings after his lifetime
   • Careful: people in that age could not yet write things down
10. 9.

    How does card A show Confucianism differing from Legalism, Tala asks?

    • Confucianism trusts strict laws; Legalism trusts good examples
    • Both trust rewards and punishments, though they use different words
    • Confucianism trusts nature's way; Legalism trusts the family
    • Confucianism trusts good examples; Legalism trusts strict laws
11. 10.

    Card B says Qin united China in 221 BCE, which ended the Warring States period. What does that show about the period, Zee asks?

    • Qin split China into many smaller states, which ended the fighting
    • The fighting among rival states ended when one state ruled them all
    • The Spring and Autumn period began in 221 BCE
    • China stayed in one piece for the thousand years that followed the Qin