CHAPTER 9—THE EXPANSION OF CIVILIZATION IN SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
1. Explain the importance of the Silk Road to the spread of Buddhism.
2. Trace the outlines of societal hierarchies from hunter-gatherers to civilizations of the first millennium CE.
3. Explain what role different religions played in the history of India from the Aryan invasion to the Gupta dynasty.
4. Compare and contrast the Mauryan and the Gupta dynasties. Which had the most lasting impact on Indian society, and why?
5. What were the challenges that the geography of the Indian subcontinent presented as impediments to the imperial ambitions of the Guptas and the later Mughals?
6. How did the beliefs of followers of the Theravada and Mahayana branches of Buddhism differ? How did their positions reflect differing ideas about the likelihood of their followers achieving nirvana?
7. What was the significance, religious and otherwise, in the careers of the Chinese Buddhist monks, Fa Xian and Xuan Zang?
8. Discuss the reasons, religious and otherwise, which explain the decline of Buddhism in the land of its birth.
9. What factors might explain the success of Hinduism, first in the challenge of Buddhism and second, in the later challenge of Islam?
10. What factors, religious and non-religious, led to the successful establishment of Islam in India?
11. Using specific examples, discuss the impact of Islam on the art and architecture of India.
12. To what degree was religion a major influence in Indian art and literature? Cite representative examples from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam to illustrate and support your viewpoint.
13. How did local, Indian, and Chinese elements and influences interact to help shape the societies of early Southeast Asia? Were Southeast Asian cultures really unique, or were they largely based upon those of India and/or China?
14. Explain the impact of geography on the history of Southeast Asia.
15. How did the geographic features of Southeast Asia influence the developmental possibilities, and the subsequent evolution, of its two basic regions?
16. What were some of the factors that led many in Southeast Asia to adopt Theravada Buddhism?
SHORT ANSWER
Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
17. Kushan Kingdom
18. Kanishka
19. Silk Road
20. Fa Xian and Xuan Zang
21. Pataliputra
22. Guptas
23. Chandragupta I and Chandragupta II
24. Chola and Pallava
25. Bamiyan Buddhas
26. nirvana
27. Theravada
28. Mahayana
29. Hinayana
30. bodhisattva
31. bhakti
32. Hindu Kush
33. Mahmud of Ghazni
34. the Sind and Punjab
35. Rajputs
36. Delhi sultanate
37. Tamerlane
38. Samarkand
39. purdah
40. Devi
41. sati
42. Nanak and Sikhism
43. Deccan Plateau
44. Aryabhata
45. Ajanta caves
46. Ellora rock temple
47. rock paintings at Sigiriya
48. temple of Kailasantha
49. Mamallapuram
50. Sun Temple at Konarak
51. Mount Kailasa
52. Khajurao
53. Sanskrit
54. Kalidasa's The Cloud Messenger
55. nada, raga, and sitar
56. Dandin's The Ten Princes
57. the Irrawaddy, the Salween, the Chao Phraya, and the Mekong
58. Malay Peninsula
59. Pagan
60. Srivijaya and Majapahit
61. Strait of Sunda and Strait of Malacca
62. Thai and Burmese
63. Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat
64. Borobudur Temple
65. Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon
66. Easter Island
67. Maori
68. Bactria
69. Bamiyan
70. Pallavan kingdom
71. Kutub Minar
72. Samarkand
73. Sati
74. Ankor
MULTIPLE CHOICE
75. Which of the following describes the Kushan kingdom?
a.
It was an important intermediary in the Rome-China trade along the Silk Road.
b.
It was a significant force in curtailing the spread of Buddhism.
c.
It was primarily dependent on agriculture for its wealth.
d.
It was hostile to any cooperation between merchants and Buddhist monasteries.
e.
It was a successor state to Mongol rule in India.
ANS: A REF: p. 222
76. Where was the capital of the Kushan kingdom located?
a.
Pataliputra
b.
Bactria
c.
Kanchipuram
d.
Bombay
e.
Karakoram
ANS: B REF: p. 222
77. All of the following were true of the Kushan kingdom except
a.
trade between China and Rome served it well.
b.
the increasing appeal of Buddhism helped it to grow.
c.
it met a dubious end in the third century.
d.
under King Kanishka, Buddhism was outlawed and destroyed.
e.
King Kanishka was an ardent Buddhist.
ANS: D REF: p. 223
78. The Kushan kingdom
a.
was an important conduit for Buddhism from India to China.
b.
was inhabited by Mesopotamian peoples.
c.
defeated the Aryan invaders of India.
d.
was installed by the Mongols.
e.
None of the above.
ANS: A REF: p. 223
79. Who was the greatest of the Kushan rulers?
a.
Rurika
b.
Tiberius
c.
Chandragupta
d.
Kanishka
e.
Fa Xian
ANS: D REF: p. 223
80. The Buddhists who applied the term "lesser vehicle" to their rivals were eventually known as
a.
Mahayana.
b.
Hinayana.
c.
Theravada.
d.
Shi'ites.
e.
Sivas.
ANS: A REF: p. 225
81. In the divisions within Buddhism, those who followed the school of Theravada believed in
a.
the importance of strict attention to personal behavior as a means to escape the 'wheel of life'.
b.
a bodhisattva helping someone to achieve Nirvana.
c.
the divinity of Buddha.
d.
the possibility of only one reincarnation for each soul.
e.
the Twelve Fold Path.
ANS: A REF: p. 225
82. India's "golden age" is traditionally associated with the
a.
Maurya dynasty.
b.
Gupta dynasty.
c.
Tughluq dynasty.
d.
Angkor dynasty.
e.
Mughal dynasty.
ANS: B REF: p. 223
83. Which of the following was not a factor in the decline of Buddhism in India?
a.
Hinduism's increasing appeal
b.
Buddhism's reinforcement of the Indian caste system
c.
Hinduism's increasing religious ardor
d.
the growing attractiveness of bhakti to the Indian masses
e.
Buddhism's rejection of the caste system
ANS: B REF: p. 226
84. Mahayana Buddhism
a.
was a reinterpretation of Buddhism as a religion rather than a philosophy.
b.
regarded Buddha as a divine figure.
c.
regarded nirvana as a true heaven.
d.
developed an elaborate Buddhist cosmology.
e.
All of the above.
ANS: B REF: p. 226
85. Islam was spread through parts of India by the military advances of
a.
the Rajputs.
b.
Mahmud of Ghazni.
c.
the Nanaks.
d.
Samudragupta.
e.
Asoka.
ANS: B REF: p. 228
86. The transformation of Brahmanism into Hinduism was complete by the end of the
a.
2nd millennium BCE
b.
1st millennium BCE
c.
2nd millennium CE
d.
end of the 1st millennium CE
e.
2nd millennium CE
ANS: D REF: p. 228
87. Islam was introduced to north-western India by ____ peoples.
a.
Indo-European
b.
Dravidian
c.
Turkic
d.
Aryan
e.
None of the above.
ANS: C REF: p. 228
88. The Mongol khan from Samarkand who attacked the Islamic state of the Tughluq Dynasty was
a.
Tamerlane.
b.
Genghis Khan.
c.
Chalukya.
d.
Malmug Khan.
e.
Chandragupta XIV.
ANS: A REF: p. 230
89. Nanak
a.
was the last Mongol invader to successfully control the entire Indian subcontinent.
b.
was the favorite bodhisattva of the Mahayana Buddhists.
c.
renounced the Zoroastrian tradition of asceticism.
d.
founded a new religious movement, although he had originally tried to integrate Hindu and Muslim ideas and practices.
e.
conquered Delhi.
ANS: D REF: p. 233
90. Sikhism
a.
tried to blend Islam and Hinduism.
b.
practiced pacifism spite of attacks from Hindus and Muslims.
c.
ultimately provided a third religious alternative in Persian Afghanistan.
d.
was founded by Nanak, a guru in Tamiland, in the early 500s.
e.
followed the Five Pillars of Asoka.
ANS: A REF: p. 233
91. Most Indian Hindus
a.
adopted the Muslim custom of purdah.
b.
had largely converted to Islam by 500 C.E.
c.
ultimately accepted the Muslim tradition of having no castes.
d.
never adopted any non-Indian cultural practices.
e.
remained aloof from all Muslims.
ANS: A REF: p. 232
92. Indian religious groups
a.
were, aside from differences over one or two points, surprisingly alike.
b.
were strikingly different.
c.
were united in their support of an hierarchical social and religious structure.
d.
all possessed strong priestly groups.
e.
disagreed about the tradition of sati, which Hindus opposed and Muslims supported.
ANS: B REF: p. 232
93. The practice of 'sati'
a.
affected only upper-class women.
b.
was required of all Muslims in India.
c.
was an expression of hostility to one's lord, and thus often led to open rebellion.
d.
was a rite of manhood for Indian nobles.
e.
combined Buddhist and Jain practices.
ANS: A REF: p. 235
94. In rural India,
a.
most peasants worked large farms to which they held legal title.
b.
northern farmers in northern India usually grew corn and yams.
c.
southern farmers grew oats, barley and maize by the eighth century.
d.
a great deal of cotton was grown; more, indeed than anywhere else.
e.
slaves performed most of the manual labor.
ANS: D REF: p. 236
95. Under the medieval Indian land-use system
a.
most farmers gave their landlord their entire annual harvest.
b.
the landlord paid taxes to the local king in the form of manufactured goods.
c.
actual title to the farmland in the realm belonged to the king.
d.
most farmers owned about 35 acres per family.
e.
rajas worked the land themselves.
ANS: C REF: p. 236
96. Which of the following may have contributed to the decline in medieval Indian manufacturing and commercial activity within India?
a.
the establishment of highly centralized ruling federations
b.
the impact of the caste system, which restricted economic opportunities
c.
decreased tariffs between local jurisdictions
d.
a decline in foreign trade with Japan
e.
an exclusive preoccupation with religion and spiritual matters
ANS: B REF: p. 236
97. In medieval India
a.
trade was so small in scale that cities shrank and overall wealth declined.
b.
the Parsis dominated the Hindu priestly caste by the eighth century C.E..
c.
merchants were universally poor, a reflection of the areas hostility to merchants.
d.
cotton goods, spices and sandalwood were major exports.
e.
warfare disappeared.
ANS: D REF: p. 236
98. The group which dominated banking and the textile industry, and the group which dominated trade and manufacturing, respectively, were the
a.
Parsis and Jains.
b.
Jains and Sikhs.
c.
Muslims and Christians.
d.
Kutch and Mahayana Buddhists.
e.
Rajputs and Sunnites.
ANS: A REF: p. 236
99. Which of the following is not true about the caves of Ajanta?
a.
They served only as shrines that were nothing more than holes in the cliffs.
b.
They contain elaborate wall paintings relating to Buddha and his incarnations.
c.
They are great sources of historical knowledge of fifth-century India.
d.
They are examples of some of India's greatest artistic achievements.
e.
Most of them were carved in an eighteen-year period.
ANS: A REF: p. 237
100. One of the earliest freestanding structures on the Indian subcontinent is the eighth-century shore temple at
a.
Mamallapuram.
b.
Elephanta.
c.
Ellora.
d.
Bhubaneswar.
e.
Paliputra.
ANS: A REF: p. 238
101. Which of the following regions is considered to have been a major 'highway' of migrating peoples to Australia?
a.
the Malay Peninsula
b.
the Khyber Pass
c.
the Gobi Desert
d.
the Islands of Japan
e.
the Deccan Plateau
ANS: A REF: p. 239
102. Kalidasa
a.
was both a great military ruler.
b.
wrote Ramayana.
c.
combined poetry and prose as well as several languages in his plays.
d.
ended his life as a Sufi mystic.
e.
advised Asoka in the construction of the latter's pillars.
ANS: C REF: p. 239
103. The stringed instrument used in Indian music is called the
a.
nada.
b.
raga.
c.
sati.
d.
sitar.
e.
mandolin.
ANS: D REF: p. 239
104. Which of the following statements is not true about ancient Indian music?
a.
It was derived from Vedic chants.
b.
It had no spiritual connection at all.
c.
It emphasized the performer's creativity.
d.
Classical Indian music is based on a scale called a raga.
e.
Music played a major role in religious observances.
ANS: B REF: p. 239
105. The two major geographic components of Southeast Asia are
a.
the Rann of Kutch and the Irian tidal zone.
b.
an extensive archipelago (today's Indonesia and the Philippines) and a mainland zone from the Malay Peninsula north to China.
c.
the Mekong Delta and the Cao Highlands.
d.
the Sargasso Hills and the Red River plain.
e.
the Tienenman Valley and the Angkor Strait communities.
ANS: B REF: p. 239
106. The peoples recognized as being among the first migrants into Southeast Asia during the first millennium C.E. were the
a.
Vietnamese and Luo.
b.
Mon-Khmer and Javanese.
c.
Burmese and Thai.
d.
Thai and Munda.
e.
Desai and Inuit.
ANS: C REF: p. 239
107. One of the characteristics of Southeast Asia is that it was one of only few regions in Asia that
a.
was never unified under one government.
b.
had a low annual rainfall.
c.
was devoid of mountain ranges.
d.
played no role in major human migrations.
e.
None of the above.
ANS: A REF: p. 240
108. The Southeast Asian mainland kingdom formed in the ninth century was