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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. Taoism emphasizes what?

2. What did Taoism challenge?

3. 1898, Okakura resigned his official post in a state institution to found what?

4. What cannot be disputed is that, in his time, he was one of the greatest _____________ scholars, and his knowledge of this art was unparalleled.

5. Many Japanese treated heirlooms and traditional art as what?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Zennism oppose Buddhism?

2. Describe the Whipped Tea era.

3. How did tea begin?

4. Is it appropriate for Westerners to learn tea's origin and how it is used elsewhere? Why or why not?

5. Will the West ever truly understand the East? Why or why not? What stereotypes have formed? Are these stereotypes breaking down? Why or why not?

6. Describe Okakura's education.

7. Did all Japanese accept modern, Western attitudes and behaviors? How do you know this?

8. When did tea first arrive in the Western world? Who brought it?

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

10. What are the three distinct sides of Okakura?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tea began as a medicine and only gradually grew into a beverage.

Part 1) Describe the medicinal uses of tea. How did this gradually lead to tea being a beverage? How did this beverage then spread throughout the world?

Part 2) What are the three main tea eras? How did each begin? How is each era unique? What commonalities exist between these eras? What influenced how tea was made and how it was served? How important is the tea room in the tea service? How does the tea room reflect the tea master and the tea that is being served?

Part 3) How has the U.S. been affected by the spread of the popularity of tea? How is tea a part of our culture today? How does U.S. tea culture compare to the Japanese tea culture described in the book? Is one tea culture superior? If so, how? If not, why not?

Essay Topic 2

Man has a very long history with flowers.

Part 1) Describe man's long history with flowers. Why might flowers be important to man? How are flowers attractive to man?

Part 2) What is the Cult of Flowers? How does it reflect Japanese culture and philosophy? How is it connected to teaism?

Part 3) Describe the Western use of flowers. Do Westerners have respect for flowers? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Okakura was a complicated man and a study of contrasts.

Part 1) Support the statement above with details from the book. What is the purpose of knowing this information about the author? What does this information reveal about the purpose of this book?

Part 2) How does this information about the author affect you as the reader? Does it affect your opinion of Okakura's work and the information he provides in this book? Why or why not?

Part 3) How does your personality compare to Okakura's? Are you a complicated person full of contrasts? Are you straight-forward and always of a similar mindset? Are you somewhere in the middle? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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