China's Tang and Song dynasties: printing, the compass and paper money

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Song China's economy (cards A to C; summaries in our words). Card A, the Grand Canal: sections were joined into one waterway and finished by the Sui dynasty in 609. Today it runs about 1,776 kilometers from Beijing to Hangzhou. Grain grown in the rice lands of the south was carried north on it to feed officials and soldiers. Card B, paper money: in Sichuan, heavy iron coins were hard to carry in large sums, so around 1000 Chengdu merchants began giving out paper receipts, called jiaozi, for coins left with them. In 1023 the Song government set up an office in Chengdu to make the notes itself. Card C, Champa rice: Emperor Zhenzong, who ruled from 997 to 1022, had a fast-ripening rice from Champa (in what is now Vietnam) given to farmers. In some places it let farmers bring in two harvests a season. Historians estimate China's people at about 50 million in the mid-700s and about 100 million around 1100; early counts missed many people.

2. 1.

   The Sui finished the canal in 609. The government began making paper money in 1023. How many years apart are those dates, Ari asks?

   • 414 years
   • 1,632 years
   • 26 years
   • 424 years
3. 2.

   Card B links heavy coins to paper notes. Which step came between the two, Bo asks?

   • Farmers began bringing in two harvests a season
   • Iron coins were replaced by gold coins across the Song lands for good
   • Chengdu merchants gave out paper receipts for coins left with them
   • The government set up an office to make the notes itself
4. 3.

   A student says, "Card B shows paper money made the Song richer." How strong is that claim, Esme asks?

   • Weak: a card about money from long ago cannot be used as evidence
   • Weak: card B says why paper was used and who made it, not what it did to wealth
   • Strong: card B says merchants grew rich from the receipts they gave out
   • Strong: the government took over the notes, so paper money must have raised incomes
5. 4.

   Card B explains paper receipts. Which group does it show gaining a benefit from them, Jun asks?

   • Soldiers in the north, who were fed with grain from the south
   • Farmers, who could now bring in two harvests a season
   • Iron workers, who sold more coins once receipts spread through the town
   • Merchants, who could move large sums without hauling heavy coins
6. 5.

   Card A says grain moved north by canal. Card C says a fast-ripening rice reached farmers. What do they support together, Kira asks?

   • The cards disagree, because one is about 609 and the other the 1000s
   • The new rice was carried north on the canal after the emperor's order
   • More rice was possible and a canal existed, but no card links the two
   • The cards are about unrelated things, so they cannot be compared
7. 6.

   Historians estimate about 50 million people in the mid-700s and about 100 million around 1100. How did the number change, Luz asks?

   • It about doubled, rising by roughly 50 million
   • It reached 100 million, but the size of the rise cannot be found
   • It about tripled, rising by roughly 150 million
   • It about halved, falling by roughly 50 million
8. 7.

   A student says, "China had exactly 100 million people around 1100." How strong is that claim, Milo asks?

   • Strong: historians counted each person who lived in China around 1100
   • Weak: card C gives an estimate, and early counts missed many people
   • Weak: an estimate from long ago cannot be used as evidence now
   • Strong: card C gives 100 million as the total from a census
9. 8.

   What changed about who made paper notes between the first receipts and 1023, Noah asks?

   • Iron coins were made lighter, so no paper was needed
   • Nothing changed, because merchants went on making the notes
   • Merchants first made the receipts; then the government took over the notes
   • The government made the first receipts, then merchants took the job over later
10. 9.

    A Song official wants northern officials and soldiers fed. Which card best backs using the canal, Pia asks?

    • Card A: it shows southern grain was carried north on the canal
    • Card B: paper receipts show how the grain could be paid for in cities
    • No card: the cards give no evidence about moving grain
    • Card C: Champa rice shows farmers could raise more grain
11. 10.

    Card C says the emperor had the rice given out. Which source would best check this, Zee asks?

    • A folk song written down 700 years later about old harvests
    • A list of the canal's sections from the Sui years
    • A court record of the order, made in the same years
    • A school book printed this year that repeats the claim