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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. Who is arrested as being guilty of killing Jen's wife?

2. What happened to the man who was beaten that Ts'ui and his mother met?

3. When a husband died or even castrated himself, women often did what in China?

4. What is considered less valuable than a killer?

5. Under Chinese law, what is Jen supposed to do with his wife?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is done to placate Wang's ghost and why?

2. How does Ts'ui Meng try to avenge injustices meted out to Li?

3. Describe the family conflict around P'u Sung-ling's marriage.

4. What is Chinese law regarding adultery?

5. How does Ts'ui-hsien outwit her husband through magic?

6. What is the sad story P'u Sung-ling tells about a young woman and a nobleman?

7. How does Ts'ui Meng react to a wife murdering her husband and his mother and what does his mother do to appease the situation?

8. What is the story that P'u Sung-ling writes about a woman confronting rampaging soldiers?

9. How does Kao defend himself at the trial for the murder of Wang?

10. What does Huang discover at Jen's house?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

P'u Sung-ling shares stories of people with magical or supernatural powers.Do you think Hsiao-erh is heroic or exerts power in a positive or negative way? How does her story and triumph over natural disasters and poverty contrast with the real experience of citizens in T'ang-Cheng? Why do you think Spence included this story?

Essay Topic 2

Spence frequently describes the importance of virtue in relationship to widows. He points out that virtue is sometimes prompted by a desire for honor. Is this real virtue? Why or why not? Is this desire linked to cultural norms or human pride or both?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the Woman Wang. What was her role in the book? How does she relate to Jen? What was Spence trying to accomplish by describing the Woman Wang in the book?

(see the answer keys)

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