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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. How does the man who came to judge Ts'ui for his crime know him?

2. When Ts'ui-hsien's husband goes to jail, what happens to him?

3. Whose nephew starts up a gang that attacks Ts'ui?

4. When is Jen's wife's supposed killer brought to trial?

5. When Jen's wife is abandoned, what situation does she find herself in?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why is Jen able to survive the beating?

3. Why is Wang in a desperate situation after her lover leaves her?

4. How is Jen's punishment lessened and what does it say about the Chinese system?

5. How does Kao get involved in Jen and Wang's marital dspute at the temple?

6. What is Chinese law regarding adultery?

7. How is the woman Wang described in Chapter 5?

8. What does Huang realize about Wang's death from her body?

9. What is Jen's punishment for killing his wife?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Explain the role of women in rural China in the 1600s when the women in the stories and the main narrative are living their lives. What precedents do they feel compelled to follow? What restrictions do they have? What freedoms did they have that 21st century women do not have?

Essay Topic 3

What public systems are maintained in the county of T'ang-Ch'eng via taxes? What private or Imperial systems are maintained? Who builds and maintains this infrastructure? Is taxation thus beneficial to the individual citizen? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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