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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 a job that Jen's wife can do as a single woman?

2. With the lack of public order and security, what is a big problem in one of P'u Sung-Ling's stories?

3. Who narrates the story regarding the arrest of Jen's wife's supposed killer?

4. What is the pile near the mat that Huang notices?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do you think Spence named the book The Death of Woman Wang?

2. How does Li protect Ts'ui Meng's wife?

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

4. How does the boy that Ts'ui Meng befriended rescue him?

5. How does Jen place the blame of Wang's death on Kao?

6. Why is Kao made to pay for Wang's burial?

7. What is the conflict between a local farmer and another Wang family?

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

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

10. Describe Ts'ui Meng in The Feud.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the story of Ts'ui Meng, Ts'ui Meng kills a woman who tortured and killed her mother-in-law and also her husband. Is he justified in his action? Was he just? Did Ts'ui Meng have the right to take the law into his own hands? What character traits are revealed by his actions?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

How is sexuality portrayed in the story of Woman Wang? When is it acceptable to be sexual and to whom in Chinese society at the time? When is sexual freedom punished by the law? Describe in relationship to the fictional stories presented by P'u Sung-ling and the real life story of the Woman Wang.

(see the answer keys)

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