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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. America's own __________________ shows the power of tea.

2. What does Zennism mean?

3. Modernization came with a price, namely, the destruction of what?

4. What was the name of the book he wrote?

5. He died in 1913 after returning to Tokyo and contracting what disease?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Taoist beliefs? How did this affect the feelings toward authority and laws?

2. What is Zennism?

3. What was the opinion of tea?

4. What does the author say about Tao and Taoism?

5. Why is there so much fuss about tea?

6. How did tea begin?

7. What is the chief contribution of Taoism to Asiatic life? Describe this.

8. What are the three main tea eras? How are these eras significant?

9. How did Zen contribute to Eastern thought?

10. What are differences between China and Japan, regarding culture and tea?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tea is art and requires a tea master to bring out its "noblest qualities."

Part 1) How is tea art? What are the requirements for something to be a work of art, according to the author? What are tea's noble qualities?

Part 2) How does a tea master bring out the "noblest qualities" in tea? What else is a tea master capable of? How have tea masters helped to shape Japanese culture?

Part 3) What is an American art form? Who has been instrumental in the evolution of this art form?

Essay Topic 2

Okakura relates the Taoist tale of the Harp.

Part 1) Describe this tale. Why does Okakura relate this tale? How is it tied to Japanese culture? What does it reinforce?

Part 2) Describe a Western tale. What does it reveal about Western culture? How do the Eastern and Western tales compare?

Part 3) How do these tales illustrate the differences in Eastern and Western culture and thinking? How might they aid in building relations between the East and the West?

Essay Topic 3

The tea room, or Sukiya, is a simple cottage.

Part 1) Give a full description of a tea room, or Sukiya. What has influenced the design of a Sukiya? How has the Sukiya evolved over time? Why?

Part 2) Describe the Japanese tea ceremony. How are the design of the tea room and the service that takes place within connected?

Part 3) What structures exist in our culture that serve some sort of religious or ritualistic purpose? How is the ritual tied to the design of the structure?

(see the answer keys)

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