China's Tang and Song dynasties: printing, the compass and paper money
Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence
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Printing in China (cards A to C; summaries in our words). Card A, dynasty dates: the Tang dynasty ruled China from 618 to 907 CE, and the Song dynasty from 960 to 1279 CE. In the 53 years between, rival rulers split the land. Card B, a printed scroll dated 868 CE, made in the Tang years and found in a cave among thousands of documents sealed in the early 1000s: it was printed from carved wooden blocks, and a note at its end gives the date and says it was made to be given away. Card C, Shen Kuo, a Song official and scholar, in a book written about 1088: he reports that a commoner named Bi Sheng made movable type from baked clay in the 1040s. Each piece held one character, and the pieces could be taken apart and used again.
Who wrote card C, and how long after Bi Sheng's work, Ari asks?
- The printer of the 868 scroll, writing in the Tang years
- A historian of our time, writing about Song printing today
- Bi Sheng, the maker, writing in the same year as the work
- Shen Kuo, a Song scholar, about 40 years after the work
Card B was made in 868 and card C was written about 1088. About how many years apart are they, Bo asks?
- About 53 years
- About 40 years
- About 120 years
- About 220 years
A student says, "Card B proves printing was invented in 868." How strong is that claim, Esme asks?
- Weak: a scroll found in a cave cannot be used as evidence about printing
- Strong: card C agrees that the scroll was the first printed text made
- Weak: the scroll shows printing existed by 868, not that it began then
- Strong: a scroll with a date on it shows the exact year printing began
Card B's end note says the scroll was made to be given away. What does that suggest about its purpose, Jun asks?
- The maker wanted to keep the writing hidden from ordinary people
- The maker wanted copies to reach many people through carved blocks
- The maker was preparing the way for Bi Sheng's movable type
- The maker wanted to record the prices of goods sold in a crowded market
Cards B and C describe two kinds of printing. What do the two cards together support, Kira asks?
- Movable type came first, and block printing came about 170 years later
- Block printing was in use by 868, and clay type came in the 1040s
- Movable type replaced block printing as soon as Bi Sheng made it
- Both kinds of printing were invented by people with no official rank
What changed in how pages were made between card B and card C, Luz asks?
- Nothing changed, because both cards show printing from carved wood
- Printing moved from a Tang capital to a Song capital
- Pages once carved as one block came to be set from reusable pieces
- Printing moved from small reusable pieces to single carved blocks
Shen Kuo wrote card C decades after Bi Sheng's work. How should a historian treat his report, Pia asks?
- As proof of each detail, because an official of the Song wrote it
- As worthless, because it was written after the work was done
- As useful evidence, but one that other sources should confirm
- As Bi Sheng's own words, since the book describes his clay type
How many years did the Song dynasty rule, using the dates on card A, Ren asks?
- 319 years
- 2,239 years
- 289 years
- 329 years
Suppose a new scroll printed from blocks and dated 800 CE were found. What would it change, Tala asks?
- It would make card B false, since two scrolls cannot both be old
- It would show that movable type began in the year 800
- It would show nothing, since scrolls cannot be dated
- It would show block printing was used before card B's year
Card C says clay pieces could be taken apart and used again. How might that change printing, Zee asks?
- A printer could set many pages without carving a new block each time
- A printer no longer needed paper or ink to make a book of any kind
- Readers could learn to read without a teacher
- A printer could print just one page, again and again, from the same set