World History Practice Test: Ancient India and China
- Ancient India and China
- 10 questions
- 12 minutes
Ten questions on the early civilizations of South and East Asia. Tip: separate ideas about religion and philosophy from ideas about government and dynasties.
Tap an option to mark your answer. You can change your mind, or tap the same option again to leave the question blank. The correct answers and explanations appear when you finish the test.Tap an option to answer; tap it again to leave the question blank.
Your result
- 0 correct
- 0 wrong
- 0 blank
-
Question 1
Archaeologists studying Mohenjo-daro and Harappa in the Indus Valley were especially impressed by what feature of these cities?
Correct answer: D
Indus Valley cities had planned streets, standard bricks and drainage systems around 2500 BCE. Their script has still not been deciphered.
-
Question 2
In which language were the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of India, composed?
Correct answer: B
The Vedas were composed in an early form of Sanskrit and passed down orally for centuries. Pali is the language of early Buddhist scriptures.
-
Question 3
In the traditional Hindu varna system, which group was made up of priests and scholars?
Correct answer: A
Brahmins were at the top of the varna system. Kshatriyas were rulers and warriors, Vaishyas were merchants and farmers, and Shudras were laborers.
-
Question 4
According to the Four Noble Truths taught by the Buddha, what is the cause of suffering?
Correct answer: C
The Buddha taught that suffering comes from craving and that following the Eightfold Path can end it. He rejected the idea that caste decided a person's spiritual worth.
-
Question 5
Which Maurya emperor was so troubled by the bloodshed of his war against Kalinga that he turned to Buddhism and spread its teachings through edicts carved on stone?
Correct answer: D
Ashoka ruled in the 200s BCE and promoted nonviolence and tolerance after the Kalinga war. Chandragupta founded the Maurya Empire, and Akbar was a much later Mughal ruler.
-
Question 6
Mathematicians in ancient India developed the numerals 0 to 9 that Arab scholars later carried to Europe. What are these numerals called today?
Correct answer: C
The name honors both the Indian origin and the Arab transmission of the system. Roman numerals had no zero and no place value.
-
Question 7
In ancient China, what was the Mandate of Heaven?
Correct answer: A
Floods, famine or revolt were seen as signs that a dynasty had lost the Mandate, which justified replacing it. The idea goes back to the Zhou dynasty.
-
Question 8
Which thinker taught that society stays in harmony when people respect their parents and fulfill their duties in proper relationships?
Correct answer: B
Confucius stressed filial piety and five key relationships, such as ruler and subject. Laozi founded Daoism, and Han Feizi was a Legalist.
-
Question 9
Qin Shi Huang, who united China in 221 BCE, is known for which of these actions?
Correct answer: A
The first emperor made one script, one currency and one system of measures. The Forbidden City was built much later, in the Ming dynasty.
-
Question 10
During the Han dynasty, what was the Silk Road?
Correct answer: D
The Silk Road was many overland routes, not one road. Silk, spices, ideas and religions such as Buddhism traveled along it.
Questions you leave blank are not counted as wrong.
More History tests
HistoryWorld History Practice Test: The Middle Ages in EuropeMiddle Ages in Europe10 questions12 min HistoryWorld History Practice Test: Ancient Mesopotamia and EgyptAncient Mesopotamia and Egypt10 questions12 minHistoryWorld History Practice Test: Ancient GreeceAncient Greece10 questions12 minHistoryWorld History Practice Test: The Roman Republic and EmpireRoman Empire10 questions12 minHistoryWorld History Practice Test: The Islamic Golden AgeIslamic Golden Age10 questions12 minHistoryWorld History Practice Test: Renaissance and ReformationRenaissance and Reformation10 questions12 minHistoryWorld History Practice Test: The Age of ExplorationAge of Exploration10 questions12 min