Although Japan’s official relations with China’s Tang dynasty ended in the late ninth century, contacts with the continent were never completely severed, and throughout the tenth and eleventh centuries, private traders continued to operate out of Kyushu (western japan) particularly the ancient port of Hakata.Moreover, the imperial court, even though it steadfastly refused to dispatch its own missions again to China, kept officials permanently stationed at a command post near Hakata to oversee the import trade and to requisition choice luxury goods for sale and distribution among aristocrats. And when the Taira warrior clan became influential in the western provinces in the twelfth century, they naturally took a keen interest in-and eventually monopolized-the highly profitable maritime trade with China. This trade would lead to a renewed influence of China on the intellectual life of Japan.
1.Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information,
A.Although the imperial court did not send missions to China again, it stationed officials near Hakata to oversee imports and perform other trade-related duties.
B.The imperial court had little reason to establish relations with China again because it could obtain luxury goods through the port city of Hakata.
C.Even though the imperial court tried to block trade with China, aristocrats continued to import luxury goods through the port city of Hakata.
D.Although the imperial court decided to end trade with China, it was unable to prevent its own officials at Hakata from trading with the mainland.
2.The word “keen” in the passage is closest in meaning
A.specific
B.gradual
C.intense
D.shared
China of the Sung dynasty (960-1279) was a changed country from the expansionist, cosmopolitan land of Tang times that the Japanese had so assiduously copied several centuries earlier. Yet despite political difficulties and territorial losses, the Sung was a time of great advancement in Chinese civilization. No doubt most of the developments of the Sung in art, religion, and philosophy would in time have been transmitted to Japan. But the fortuitous combination of desire on the part of the Sung to increase its foreign trade with japan and the vigorous initiative taken in maritime activity by the Taira clan greatly speeded the process of transmission.
3.According to paragraph 2, compared to the Tang dynasty, the Sung dynasty
A.dealt with fewer political problems
B.controlled a smaller amount of territory
C.was less concerned with religion and philosophy
D.was less interested in maintaining trade relationships
4.Paragraph 2 suggests that the author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements about interaction between Japan and China during the Sung dynasty?
A.Chinese civilization advanced in part because of the influence of Japanese art, philosophy, and religion that was introduced through foreign trade.
B.The transmission of China’s intellectual influence was inevitable, but a combination of factors caused this influence to progress more quickly than it might have otherwise developed.
C.The diminished trade activity between japan and China also decreased China’s political and cultural influence on japan.
D.If it had not been for the Taira clan’s influence on maritime trade with China, most Chinese works of art, religion, and philosophy would probably have remained unknown in Japanese culture.
One of the earliest and most important results of this new wave of cultural transmission from the continent was a revival of interest in Japan of pure scholarship, The imperial court at Nara, following the Chinese model, had founded a central college in the capital and directed that branch colleges be established in the various provinces.The ostensible purpose of this system of colleges, which by the mid-Nara period (710-784) had evolved a fourfold curriculum of Confucian classics, literature, law, and mathematics, was to provide a channel of advancement in the court bureaucracy for the sons of the lower(including the provincial) aristocracy. But in actual practice very little opportunity to advance was provided,and bestowal of courtier ranks and offices continued to be made almost entirely on grounds of birth. Before long, the college system languished, and the great courtier families assumed responsibility through private academies for the education of their own children.Moreover, as the courtiers of the early Heian period(794-1185) became increasingly infatuated with literature, they almost totally neglected the other fields of academic or scholarly pursuit. Courtier society offered little reward to the individual who, say patiently acquired a profound knowledge of the works of Confucius; yet it liberally heaped laurels upon and promised literary
5.The word ” profound’ in the passage is closest in meaning to
A.deep
B.long lasting
C.new
D.improved
6.According to paragraph 3, which of the following was true about the college system of the Nara period?
A.Its primary purpose was to train teachers to teach academic subjects such as literature, law, and mathematics.
B.It originated in the provinces before it became centrally established in the capital.
C.It was based on a similar system that existed in China.
D.It emphasized the importance of Confucian classics over other subjects.
7.In paragraph 3, the author discusses the kinds of social advancement available to the lower aristocracy during the Nara period in order to
A.illustrate how closely the Japanese educational system followed the Chinese model
B.help explain one reason why the Nara college system declined over time
C.indicate why some courtier families avoided private academies for the education of their children
D.explain why the Nara college system succeeded in addressing the needs of the provincial lower aristocracy
The Sung period in China, on the other hand, was an exceptional age for scholarship, most notably perhaps in history and in the compilation of encyclopedias and catalogs of artworks This scholarly activity was greatly facilitated by the development of printing, invented by the Chinese several centuries earlier.Indeed,Japanese visitors to Sung China were much impressed by the general availability of printed books on a great variety of subjects, including history, Buddhism, Confucianism,literature, medicine, and geography, and carried them in ever greater numbers back to Japan. ▉By the time of the Taira supremacy, collections of Chinese books had become important status symbols among upper-class Japanese. ▉The great Taira leader Kiyomori is said, for example, to have gone to extravagant lengths to obtain a1,000-volume encyclopedia whose export was prohibited by the Sung. ▉Some courtiers confided in their diaries that they had little or no personal interest in these books but nevertheless felt constrained to acquire them for the sake of appearances. ▉Yet the Chinese books brought to Japan at this time, in the thousands and even in the tens of thousands, not only provided the basis for many new libraries but also motivated the Japanese to print their own books and to a great extent stimulated the varied and energetic scholarly activities of the coming medieval age.
8.Paragraph 4 answers all of the following questions EXCEPT:
A.For what types of scholarship was the Sung period best known?
B.Did printing play a role in the development of Sung scholarship?
C.How did the technology used in Chinese printing influence Japanese printing methods?
D.What was the social impact of the ownership of Chinese books during the period of Taira supremacy?
9.Look at the four squares [▇] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?
In fact, books became so desirable that some people were willing to obtain them by any means.
10.Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the 3 answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. (This question is worth 2 points.) Drag your choices to the spaces where they belong. To review the passage, click on view text.China had a significant early intellectual influence on Japan.
A.The effect of the japanese system of education during the Nara period was to give the children of both courtiers and the aristocracy an equal chance for advancement.
B.The early Heian period in japan at first focused mostly on literature but gradually expanded to other areas of study.which greatly enriched the pursuit of scholarship.
C.Private trading between China and japan continued even after official relations between the countries were ended in the late ninth century.
D.As the Taira warrior clan’s dominance began to diminish, the Sung increasingly restricted the exporting of books from China to Japan.
E.Trade between Sung China and Japan resulted in a wave of transmission of Chinese scholarship and ideas, often in the form of books.
F.The sung dynasty period in China was a time of enormous intellectual and cultural growth, especially in the areas of art.religion, and philosophy.
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