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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 paramount to the state?

2. When was this power of tea shown?

3. Beyond curating, he wrote several books, lectured extensively, and submitted articles to _______________ journals.

4. What does Zennism mean?

5. Tea is ________.

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What might a typical Westerner see in the tea ceremony?

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

5. What happened during the Mongol invasion of China?

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

7. Who began modernization in Japan? What did modernization do to Japan, according to the author?

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

9. How does Zennism oppose Buddhism?

10. What is the history of Taoism and tea?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Stereotypes exist for both the West and the East.

Part 1) Describe stereotypes of each. How have these stereotypes come about? How do they affect the relationships between the East and the West?

Part 2) What does the writing of this book reveal about the stereotypes between the East and the West? What does this reveal about the author's feelings towards the West?

Part 3) What stereotypes exist in your own community? How do these stereotypes come about? How do they affect relationships between various groups in your community? How do these stereotypes affect you?

Essay Topic 2

Tea masters have done much for Japanese culture.

Part 1) What have tea masters done for Japanese culture? How has this influence come about?

Part 2) What influence has Japanese culture, and essentially the tea master, had on Western culture? How has Western culture also influenced Eastern culture? Is this blending of cultures good? Why or why not?

Part 3) Who influences the culture in the U.S.? How are U.S. citizens, and the West as a whole, affected by this influence?

Essay Topic 3

Okakura tells the story of the Last Tea of Rikyu.

Part 1) Describe the Last Tea of Rikyu. Why does he tell this story? What does it illustrate? What does it reinforce?

Part 2) How does this story compare to our own folk tales? What commonalities exist? What differences exist?

Part 3) Why might the author have ended this book with this story? How does this ending affect the reader?

(see the answer keys)

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