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.

   Card B describes rival states in this age. Why did thinkers of the time ask how to bring order, Ari asks?

   • Farmers left their fields, so thinkers looked for a way to bring them back
   • Peace had spread across the states, so thinkers explained why
   • Qin had already united China, so thinkers asked how to keep it whole
   • Rival states competed for power, so thinkers asked how order could be kept
3. 2.

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

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

   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 farmer plants with the seasons and does not force growth
   • A ruler writes strict laws with a punishment for each mistake
   • A state fights its rivals until one state rules the rest
5. 4.

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

   • Post clear laws, with rewards for obeying and punishments for not
   • 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
   • Set a good example each day and hope the people copy it
6. 5.

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

   • Spring and Autumn period, Warring States period, Qin unites China
   • Warring States period, Spring and Autumn period, Qin unites China
   • Qin unites China, Warring States period, Spring and Autumn period
   • Spring and Autumn period, Qin unites China, Warring States period
7. 6.

   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
   • Confucius himself, while he taught
   • His students, after his lifetime
8. 7.

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

   • Not careful: Han Fei checked the sayings in the Analects
   • Not careful: the Analects is a book Confucius wrote by his own hand
   • Careful: people in that age could not yet write things down
   • Careful: his students collected the sayings after his lifetime
9. 8.

   Which claim does card A support, Ren asks?

   • The three schools agreed that strict laws and punishments bring order
   • The schools offered different answers to the same question of order
   • Daoism and Legalism both taught that rulers should lead by example
   • Confucius and Laozi lived at the same time, about 551 BCE
10. 9.

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

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

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