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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the one thing that Yun and Shen Fu always had available when they had friends over to their home?

2. What does Yun point out does NOT happen when an insect dies, so she suggests Shen Fu study this?

3. The goal of many of Shen Fu's arrangement techniques is to make the plant look as though it had been grown from the _________.

4. The neighbor asks Yun if she knows the __________ with whom Shen Fu was drinking the night before, as they are on the return trip.

5. Shen Fu and Yun want to _______ themselves in the context of their love when they are reincarnated in their next lives.

Short Essay Questions

1. While it's not clear whether all of the transcripts will be found, what does the introduction say about the translation and what it is meant to do?

2. What does Shen Fu think that people with modest homes should try to do with their homes and their arrangements?

3. Why does the teacher send Shen Fu home in order to write his compositions for school, according to the book?

4. Why does the book become a national favorite for those who read it as the times of the day in China were much different?

5. What is the gift from a friend that Shen Fu receives when he is younger, which causes him to go into a lot of detail?

6. What does Shen Fu imagine the bug is when he is observing it out in nature, according to the book?

7. What did Yun's family laugh at her for which made her sheepish in the days leading up to her wedding with Shen Yu?

8. What does Shen Fu try to describe about the potting and the arrangement of flowers?

9. What is the interesting way that Shen Fu and Yun want to be reincarnated when they are born again in their next life?

10. What happens in the incident with the earthworm and Shen Fu when he is a child?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At times, Shen Fu feels guilty for having more fun blowing up bamboo than seeing the historical sites in the area.

Part 1: Do you think it's important to visit all of the historical sites in an area?

Part 2: Why do you think Shen Fu feels guilty for wanting to do something else?

Part 3: How do you think he might have been able to balance other activities with exploring history as well?

Essay Topic 2

Shen Fu's family continues to berate Yun, subtly referring to her as one of Shen Fu's many wives, though this is not the situation.

Part 1: Why do you think Shen Fu's family feels it is okay to berate Yun?

Part 2: How do you think you might react if you were Shen Fu and you heard your family attack Yun?

Part 3: Do you think a family should have the right to berate another member of the family?

Essay Topic 3

In his gardens, Shen Fu would create the illusions of other landscapes, with the use of rocks and plants.

Part 1: What is the value of creating illusions in one's life?

Part 2: Do you think that Shen Fu might have been trying to tell others in the world something about himself through his gardens?

Part 3: How do you think you might respond if you were to see one of Shen Fu's gardens?

(see the answer keys)

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