world history section ii total time 1 hour and 40 minutes
TRANSCRIPT
Page 1
2018 AP WORLD HISTORY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS
WORLD HISTORY
SECTION II
Total Time—1 hour and 40 minutes
Question 1 (Document-Based Question)
Suggested reading and writing time: 1 hour
It is suggested that you spend 15 minutes reading the documents and 45 minutes writing your response.
Note: You may begin writing your response before the reading period is over.
Directions: Question 1 is based on the accompanying documents. The documents have been edited for the
purpose of this exercise.
In your response you should do the following.
• Respond to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis or claim that establishes a line of reasoning.
• Describe a broader historical context relevant to the prompt.
• Support an argument in response to the prompt using at least six documents.
• Use at least one additional piece of specific historical evidence (beyond that found in the documents)
relevant to an argument about the prompt.
• For at least three documents, explain how or why the document’s point of view, purpose, historical
situation, and/or audience is relevant to an argument.
• Use evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify an argument that addresses the prompt.
1. Using the documents provided and your knowledge of world history, analyze the responses to the
spread of Buddhism in China.
Historical Background: Buddhism, founded in India in the sixth century BCE, was brought to
China by the first century CE, gradually winning converts following the collapse of the Han
dynasty in 220 CE. Buddhist influence continued to expand for several centuries. Between 220
CE and 570 CE, China experienced a period of political instability and disunity. After 570 CE,
the imperial structure was restored.
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Document 1
Source: According to Buddhist tradition, “The Four Noble Truths,” the first sermon
preached by the Buddha (563 B.C.E.-483 B.C.E.), India, fifth century B.C.E.
The First Nobel Truth is the Noble Truth of Sorrow, Birth is sorrow, age is sorrow, disease
is sorrow, death is sorrow, contact with the unpleasant is sorrow, separation from the
pleasant is sorrow, every wish unfulfilled is sorrow.
The Second Noble Truth is the Noble Truth of the Arising Sorrow; it arises from craving,
which leads to rebirth, which brings delight and passion, and seeks pleasure – the craving
for sensual pleasure, the craving for continued life, and the craving for power.
The Third Noble Truth is the Noble Truth of the Stopping of Sorrow. It is the complete
stopping of that craving, so that no passion remains, leaving it, being emancipated from it,
being released from it, giving no place to it.
The Fourth Noble Truth is the Noble Truth of the Way that Leads to the Stopping of
Sorrow.
Document 2
Source: Zhi Dun, Chinese scholar, author, and confidant of Chinese aristocrats and high
officials during the period when northern China was invaded by central Asian steppe
nomads, circa 350 B.C.E.
Whosoever in China, in this era of sensual pleasures, serves the Buddha and correctly
observes the commandments, who recites the Buddhist Scriptures, and who furthermore
makes a vow to be reborn without ever abandoning his sincere intention, will at the end of
his life, when his soul passes away, be miraculously transported thither. He will behold the
Buddha and be enlightened in his spirit, and then he will enter Nirvana. *
*Nirvana: the extinction of desire and individual consciousness
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Document 3
Source: Anonymous Chinese scholar, "The Disposition of Error," China, circa 500 C.E.
Question: If Buddhism is the greatest and most venerable of ways, why did the great sages
of the past and Confucius not practice it? In the Confucian Classics no one mentions it.
Why, then, do you love the Way of the Buddha and rejoice in outlandish arts? Can the
writings of the Buddha exceed the Classics and commentaries and beautify the
accomplishments of the sages?
Answer: All written works need not necessarily be the words of Confucius. To compare the
sages to the Buddha would be like comparing a white deer to a unicorn, or a swallow to a
phoenix. The records and teachings of the Confucian classics do not contain everything.
Even if the Buddha is not mentioned in them, what occasion is there for suspicion?
Question: Now of happiness there is none greater than the continuation of one's line, of
unfilial conduct there is none worse than childlessness. The monks forsake wives and
children, reject property and wealth. Some do not marry all their lives.
Answer: Wives, children, and property are the luxuries of the world, but simple living and
inaction are the wonders of the Way. The monk practices the Way and substitutes that for
worldly pleasures. He accumulates goodness and wisdom in exchange for the joys of
having a wife and children.
Document 4
Source: Han Yu, leading Confucian scholar and official at the Tang imperial court,
"Memorial on Buddhism," 819 C.E.
Your servant begs leave to say that Buddhism is no more than a cult of the barbarian
peoples spread to China. It did not exist here in ancient times.
Now I hear that Your Majesty has ordered the community of monks to go to greet the
finger bone of the Buddha [a relic brought to China from India], and that Your Majesty
will ascend a tower to watch the procession as this relic is brought into the palace. If these
practices are not stopped, and this relic of the Buddha is allowed to be carried from one
temple to another, there will be those in the crowd who will cut off their arms and mutilate
their flesh in offering to the Buddha.
Now the Buddha was a man of the barbarians who did not speak Chinese and who wore
clothes of a different fashion. The Buddha's sayings contain nothing about our ancient
kings and the Buddha's manner of dress did not conform to our laws; he understood neither
the duties that bind sovereign and subject, nor the affections of father and son. If the
Buddha were still alive today and came to our court, Your Majesty might condescend to
receive him, but he would then be escorted to the borders of the nation, dismissed, and not
allowed to delude the masses. How then, when he has long been dead, could the Buddha's
rotten bones, the foul and unlucky remains of his body, be rightly admitted to the palace?
Confucius said: "Respect ghosts and spirits, but keep them at a distance!" Your servant is
deeply ashamed and begs that this bone from the Buddha be given to the proper authorities
to be cast into fire and water, that this evil be rooted out, and later generations spared this
delusion.
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Document 5
Source: Zong Mi, a leading Buddhist scholar, favored by the Tang imperial household,
essay, "On the Nature of Man," early ninth century C.E.
Confucius, Laozi and the Buddha were perfect sages. They established their teachings
according to the demands of the age and the needs of various beings. They differ in their
approaches in that they encourage the perfection of good deeds, punish wicked ones, and
reward good ones; all three teachings lead to the creation of an orderly society and for this
they must be observed with respect.
Document 6
Source: Tang Emperor Wu, Edict on Buddhism, 845 C.E.
We have heard that the Buddha was never spoken of before the Han dynasty; from then on
the religion of idols gradually came to prominence. So in this latter age Buddhism has
transmitted its strange ways and has spread like a luxuriant vine until it has poisoned the
customs of our nation. Buddhism has spread to all the nine provinces of China; each day
finds its monks and followers growing more numerous and its temples more lofty.
Buddhism wears out the people's strength, pilfers their wealth, causes people to abandon
their lords and parents for the company of teachers, and severs man and wife with its
monastic decrees. In destroying law and injuring humankind indeed nothing surpasses this
doctrine!
Now if even one man fails to work the fields, someone must go hungry; if one woman does
not tend her silkworms, someone will go cold. At present there are an inestimable number
of monks and nuns in the empire, all of them waiting for the farmers to feed them and the
silkworms to clothe them while the Buddhist public temples and private chapels have
reached boundless numbers, sufficient to outshine the imperial palace itself.
Having thoroughly examined all earlier reports and consulted public opinion on all sides,
there no longer remains the slightest doubt in Our mind that this evil should be eradicated.
Pa
ge
5
So
urc
e C
hara
cter
isti
cs:
S.O
.A.P
.S.T
on
e
What
no
tes
shou
ld o
ne
tak
e as
on
e re
ads
the
sou
rces
?
Much
of
that
dep
end
s o
n t
he
qu
esti
on
bei
ng a
sked
, b
ut
ther
e ar
e se
ver
al c
om
mo
n c
har
acte
rist
ics
in e
ach
so
urc
e
that
one
sho
uld
loo
k f
or
bec
ause
any o
f th
ese
char
acte
rist
ics
can
in
flu
ence
ho
w a
so
urc
e sh
ou
ld b
e
inte
rpre
ted
/an
alyze
d.
Th
e ac
ron
ym
“S
OA
PS
Ton
e” i
s o
ften
use
ful
as a
gu
ide
for
thes
e ch
arac
teri
stic
s.
Su
bje
ct:
Wh
at i
s th
e m
ain
to
pic
of
this
so
urc
e?
Occ
asi
on
: W
hen
was
th
is s
ou
rce
pro
duce
d?
Was
it
crea
ted
fo
r a
par
ticu
lar
even
t o
r o
ccas
ion
, o
r ev
en
du
rin
g a
n e
ra w
hen
oth
er, si
mil
ar s
ou
rces
wer
e
pro
du
ced?
Au
die
nce
: W
ho
was
th
is s
ourc
e’s
inte
nd
ed a
ud
ien
ce?
Was
th
e so
urc
e w
ritt
en t
o b
e re
ad p
rivat
ely b
y a
spec
ific
per
son
(w
ho?)
, a
pub
lic
ann
ou
nce
men
t, o
r
an o
ffic
ial
pro
clam
atio
n?
Pu
rpo
se:
Wh
y w
as t
his
so
urc
e p
rod
uce
d? W
hat
was
the
pu
rpo
se o
r m
oti
vat
ion
of
the
wri
ter/
auth
or
of
the
sou
rce,
bas
ed o
n w
hat
lim
ited
in
form
atio
n y
ou
hav
e
abo
ut
them
? W
hat
eff
ect
did
th
e au
tho
r h
op
e th
is
sou
rce
wo
uld
hav
e? W
hat
did
th
e au
tho
r w
ant
the
read
er(s
) o
f th
is s
ou
rce
to d
o?
Sp
eak
er:
Wh
o w
as t
he
Sp
eak
er o
f th
is s
ou
rce?
Was
it
an o
ffic
ial
per
son
rep
rese
nti
ng
a g
over
nm
ent,
or
an
info
rmal
, an
on
ym
ou
s in
div
idu
al? U
sual
ly a
so
urc
e’s
auth
or
and
sp
eak
er a
re t
he
sam
e in
div
idu
al,
bu
t
occ
asio
nal
ly t
hey
may
act
ual
ly b
e d
iffe
ren
t. (
e.g
. a
spee
ch m
ay b
e w
ritt
en b
y a
sp
eech
wri
ter,
bu
t
spo
ken
by a
go
ver
nm
ent
off
icia
l)
Ton
e: I
s th
ere
any a
pp
aren
t to
ne
or
“vo
ice”
in
th
is
sou
rce
that
wo
uld
in
flu
ence
on
e’s
inte
rpre
tati
on? I
s
it f
ille
d w
ith
an
y a
pp
aren
t em
oti
on
? (
e.g
. sa
rcas
m,
exu
ber
ance
, an
ger
, d
isd
ain
, ad
mir
atio
n,
etc.
)
Un
der
lin
e an
y u
nu
sual
vo
cab
ula
ry i
n t
he
sou
rce
that
serv
es a
s a
clu
e to
th
is i
nte
rpre
tati
on
.
Page 6
Document 1 Document 2
Subject
Occasion
Audience
Purpose
Speaker
Tone
Page 7
Document 3 Document 4
Subject
Occasion
Audience
Purpose
Speaker
Tone
Page 8
Document 5 Document 6
Subject
Occasion
Audience
Purpose
Speaker
Tone
Nam
e: _
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
__
D
ate:
___
__ /
___
__ /
___
__
DB
Q: T
he
Sp
rea
d o
f B
ud
dh
ism
Org
an
izin
g t
he
Ev
ide
nce
1.
Usi
ng t
he
docu
men
ts p
rovid
ed a
nd
yo
ur
know
ledge
of
worl
d h
isto
ry,
anal
yze
the
resp
onse
s to
th
e sp
read
of
Bu
dd
his
m i
n C
hin
a.
His
tori
cal
Bac
kgro
un
d:
Bud
dh
ism
, fo
unded
in I
ndia
in t
he
sixth
cen
tury
BC
E,
was
bro
ught
to C
hin
a b
y t
he
firs
t ce
ntu
ry C
E,
gra
du
ally
win
nin
g
conver
ts f
oll
ow
ing t
he
coll
apse
of
the
Han
dynas
ty i
n 2
20 C
E.
Buddhis
t in
fluen
ce c
onti
nued
to e
xp
and
for
sever
al c
entu
ries
. B
etw
een 2
20
CE
and 5
70 C
E, C
hin
a ex
per
ien
ced
a p
erio
d o
f poli
tica
l in
stab
ilit
y a
nd d
isunit
y.
Aft
er 5
70 C
E,
the
imp
eria
l st
ruct
ure
was
res
tore
d.
Dir
ect
ion
s:
It’s
imp
ort
ant
to b
e at
ten
tiv
e to
th
e H
isto
rica
l Bac
kgr
ou
nd
. T
his
info
rmat
ion
isn
’t a
lway
s p
rov
ided
in a
DB
Q.
Rea
d t
he
His
tori
cal
Bac
kgr
ou
nd
fo
r o
ur
qu
esti
on
ab
ov
e a
nd
res
po
nd
to
eac
h o
f th
e fo
llo
win
g q
ues
tio
ns:
Wh
at h
isto
rica
l th
emes
do
es t
he
HB
’s i
nfo
rmat
ion
rel
ate
to?
___
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
___
Ho
w d
o t
ho
se t
hem
es r
elat
e to
th
e q
ues
tio
n?
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
Dir
ect
ion
s:
Mak
e a
tim
elin
e o
f th
e in
form
atio
n f
rom
th
e H
B b
elo
w a
nd
pla
ce y
ou
r so
urc
es in
th
e co
nte
xt o
f th
at i
nfo
rmat
ion
.
Dat
e o
f So
urc
e #
1
Dat
e o
f So
urc
e #
6
Dir
ect
ion
s:
No
w t
hat
yo
u’v
e an
aly
zed
all
of
the
Sou
rces
in
div
idu
ally
, it’
s ti
me
to s
tart
an
aly
zin
g t
he
char
acte
rist
ics
of
each
So
urc
e a
nd
co
mp
arin
g
tho
se c
har
acte
rist
ics
acro
ss s
ou
rces
. In
th
e sp
ace
bel
ow
, id
enti
fy s
om
e c
om
mo
n
C
ha
ract
eri
stic
…
(A r
esp
on
se t
o B
ud
dh
ism
)
…is
sh
are
d b
y t
he
se s
ou
rce
s…
…
as
sho
wn
by
th
ese
sp
eci
fic
wo
rds
fro
m t
he
so
urc
e
DBQ POSTERS
Conveniently, a DBQ was featured on the 2004 AP World History exam. In this exercise, I would like you to work with your elbow-buddy to create a poster that will outline the practice some strategies to analyze the documents, organize your essay, and formulating your thesis statement. responses.
Instructions:
Day 1:
Write the DBQ question at the top of the poster (later, you will write your thesis on the bottom)
Cut out one set of documents
Identify one document to use as an “anchor document” and tape or paste it in the center of your poster.
Separate the remaining documents into 2-3 groups that help you answer the question. Tape or paste the
documents onto your poster in groups. Name the groups and write the name above each group.
Write a brief analysis next to each document
Day 2:
Write a point-of-view statement for at least one document in each grouping (minimum of three total). A
“point-of-view” statement explains how the speaker’s background, intended audience, or purpose may have
impacted their statements. Examples of point-of-view statements from earlier activities in class are…
o Speaker: Han Fei was a government official during the Warring States Period. This period of political
chaos likely influenced his legalist philosophy that emphasized order and stability over morality.
o Audience: Euripides’s play The Bacchae was performed in public at a theatrical competition in Athens.
It’s likely that he intended this to be a public criticism of the subordinate role of woman in Ancient Greece.
o Purpose: The stele that depicts the god Shamash handing the legal code to Hammurabi was designed to
legitimize Hammurabi’s earthly political authority through the use of religious imagery.
Discuss the prompt and come up with a thesis statement that addresses all aspects of the prompt. Write the
thesis statement on the bottom of your poster.
After you have finished creating your poster, hang it around the room so that we can complete a Gallery
Walk to see how other students put together their DBQs.
Write an “I wonder…” (asking questions about the setup of a particular poster) and “I like…” statements
(complimenting a poster) for at least three other posters (back of this page).
Rubric:
CATEGORY 5 4 3 2 – 1 – 0
Knowledge of Concepts (DOCS)
The poster demonstrates higher level understanding of the documents.
The poster demonstrates an understanding of the documents.
The poster demonstrates recognition of the documents but not a clear understanding.
The poster demonstrates that the student is still struggling to understand the documents.
Knowledge of Concepts (DBQ)
The poster demonstrates higher level understanding of DBQ structure.
The poster demonstrates an understanding of DBQ structure.
The poster demonstrates recognition of DBQ structure but not a clear understanding.
The poster demonstrates that the student is still struggling to understand DBQ structure.
Organization and Preparation
The poster is of excellent quality and it is apparent that the student spent time in preparing it.
The poster is of good quality and it is apparent that the student spent some time.
The poster is of fair quality and seems rushed.
The poster appears to have been hastily created and appears messy or disorganized.
Directions All directions are followed. One direction was not
followed. Two directions were not
followed. Three or more directions
were not followed.
Comments:
Ga
lle
ry W
alk
(co
mp
lete
d F
rid
ay
)
G
rou
p:
Gro
up
: G
rou
p:
“I w
on
de
r…”
“I l
ike
…”
Suggested Generic DBQ Structure
OK, so now you've spent considerable time reading, analyzing, and organizing these sources. Can you still remember WHY you did all this work? Oh yeah, it was in order to answer the question!
The whole purpose of the DBQ is to test your ability to do what historians actually do: Develop arguments that are supported by evidence. It is important for you to represent the documents honestly. The interactions that you discuss in a DBQ are complex and nuanced. It is okay to acknowledge that complexity when constructing your thesis and writing your essay.
Introductory Paragraph • Background/Context (Optional. "Where does this question fall in the larger context of history?") • What (political / cultural / social / economic) (events / developments / processes) have
influenced the prompt? • Thesis statement: Use your grouping / timeline as a guide in how you will structure your argument
Anchor Paragraph • Analyze the anchor document
• Provide point-of-view (analysis of speaker, audience, or purpose) • Explain how the anchor document supports your thesis
• Explain how the anchor document braids together the different groupings from your introduction
Body Paragraphs • In each body paragraph that follows your thesis, you should…
• Discuss 1-2 documents from the same grouping. *You must discuss and successfully support your thesis using all six documents to score 2 points in the “Evidence” category of the DBQ rubric.
• Use the anchor document to help drive your analysis by comparing how each of the documents addresses the prompt.
• Explain how your analysis of the documents supports your thesis. • Provide point-of-view for at least one document in each grouping. *You must discuss the
point-of-view for at least 3 documents and explain how it is relevant to your reasoning or argument to score 1 point in the “Analysis and Reasoning” category of the DBQ rubric.
Concluding Paragraph • Restate and clarify the thesis. • Discuss the lasting implications of your overall analysis
Quick Tips • You should use no more than 4-5 works when quoting a document. Your reader knows what the
documents say. Don’t use quotes as a substitution for your own reasoning and analysis. • Cite the documents by mentioning the author or title of the document in the text. Try to avoid
referring to the documents by number (e.g. “Doc 2”). • Each document you cite should SUPPORT your argument. Analysis without a direct connection of
explaining how it supports your thesis receives no credit. • Keep it simple – You have all weekend to write this draft, but the AP test is a timed environment.
Make your point, explain your evidence, and move on. Don’t get bogged down by excessively detailed explanations or unnecessarily complex argumentation.
Analyze the responses to the spread of Buddhism in China.