1. 2010 AP® WORLD HISTORY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS
WORLD HISTORY
SECTION II
Note: This exam uses the chronological designations B.C.E. (before the common era) and C.E. (common
era). These labels correspond to B.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (anno Domini), which are used in some
world history textbooks.
Part A
(Suggested writing time—40 minutes)
Percent of Section II score—33 1/3
Directions: The following question is based on the accompanying Documents 1-9. (The documents have
been edited for the purpose of this exercise.) Write your answer on the lined pages of the Section II free-
response booklet.
This question is designed to test your ability to work with and understand historical documents.
Write an essay that:
• Has a relevant thesis and supports that thesis with evidence from the documents.
• Uses all of the documents.
• Analyzes the documents by grouping them in as many appropriate ways as possible. Does not simply
summarize the documents individually.
• Takes into account the sources of the documents and analyzes the authors’ points of view.
• Identifies and explains the need for at least one additional type of document.
You may refer to relevant historical information not mentioned in the documents.
1. Analyze the factors that led to the success to the Tang Dynasty.
Historical Background: The Tang Dynasty was the main dynasty in China from 618 - 907.

2. Document 1
Source: "Imperial Era: II." University of Maryland: The Imperial Era. netTrekker, Web. 1
Dec. 2010. <http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/imperial2.html>.
The Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907), with its capital at Chang'an, is regarded by historians as a
high point in Chinese civilization--equal, or even superior, to the Han period. Its territory,
acquired through the military exploits of its early rulers, was greater than that of the Han.
Stimulated by contact with India and the Middle East, the empire saw a flowering of
creativity in many fields. Buddhism, originating in India around the time of Confucius,
flourished during the Tang period, becoming thoroughly sinicized* and a permanent part of
Chinese traditional culture. Block printing was invented, making the written word available
to vastly greater audiences. The Tang period was the golden age of literature and art. A
government system supported by a large class of Confucian literati selected through civil
service examinations was perfected under Tang rule. This competitive procedure was
designed to draw the best talents into government. But perhaps an even greater consideration
for the Tang rulers, aware that imperial dependence on powerful aristocratic families and
warlords would have destabilizing consequences, was to create a body of career officials
having no autonomous territorial or functional power base. As it turned out, these scholar-
officials acquired status in their local communities, family ties, and shared values that
connected them to the imperial court. From Tang times until the closing days of the Qing
empire in 1911, scholar-officials functioned often as intermediaries between the grass-roots
level and the government.
*sinicized- has become Chinese in character or has come under Chinese influence.
Source: Barrosse, Emily, Jerry H. Bentley, and Herbert F. Ziegler, eds. Traditions and
Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past. Third Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill,
2006. Print.
“Apart from the Grand Canal, which served as the principal route for long-distance
transportation within China, Tang rulers maintained an extensive communications network
based on roads, horses, and sometimes human runners. Along the main routes, Tang officials
maintained inns, postal stations, and stables, which provided rest and refreshment for travelers,
couriers, and their mounts...”
Document 2

3. Source: Hardy, Grant. "Tang dynasty." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2010. Web. 8 Dec.
2010.
Taizong* was a powerful leader. He destroyed his competitors for the throne, began an alliance
with the Korean state of Silla, and forced Turkish nomads out of Northern China. His armies
conquered parts of Tibet and Turkestan, opening overland trade routes from China to India and
central Asia. The trade routes not only brought great wealth to the empire, but they also
promoted religious and cultural exchange. The routes gave Christian and other foreign
missionaries an overland entrance into China and allowed Chinese Buddhist pilgrims to visit
India.
*Tang Taizong - He was the second Tang emperor; he ruled Tang China during it’s high point
Document 3
Source: SILKMAP3. The Silk Road: Linking Europe and Asia Through Trade. Web. 10 Dec. 2010. <http://
library.thinkquest.org/13406/images/SILKMAP3.JPG>.

4. Source: Haw, Stephen G. A Traveller's History of China. Third ed. Brooklyn, NY: Interlink Books, Inc.,
1999. Print.
“All the major inventions of the pre-modern world-paper, printing, gunpowder, and the compass- were
known and used by the Chinese.... China was undoubtedly the most advanced nation in the world at the time,
attaining a level which Europeans would have found hard to believe.”
Anonymous China Scholar
Document 4
Document 5
Source: Major, John S. "China: History of Dress." Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Ed. Valerie
Steele. Vol. 1. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 260-266. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 1
Dec. 2010.
“Under the Tang, trade along the Silk Route between China via Central Asia to the Mediterranean world
flourished, and influence from Persian and Turkic culture areas had a strong impact on elite fashions in
China. Chinese silk textiles of the Tang period show strong foreign influence, particularly in the use of
roundel patterns.
Document 6
Source: Major, John S. "China: History of Dress." Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Ed. Valerie
Steele. Vol. 1. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 260-266. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 1
Dec. 2010.
“The Tang Dynasty was an aristocratic society in which military prowess and good horsemanship were
admired as male accomplishments. Depictions of foot soldiers and cavalrymen in scale armor and heavily
padded jackets, and officers in elaborate breastplates and surcoats, are common in Tang sculptural and
pictorial art.”
Document 7

5. Source: Barrosse, Emily, Jerry H. Bentley, and Herbert F. Ziegler, eds. Traditions and Encounters:
A Global Perspective on the Past. Third Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print.
“Soon after its foundation the powerful and dynamic Tang state began to flex its military muscles.
In the north, Tang forces brought Manchuria under imperial authority and forced the Silla kingdom
in Korea to acknowledge the Tang emperor as overlord. To the south, Tang armies conquered the
northern part of Vietnam. To the west they extended Tang authority as far as the Aral Sea and
brought a portion of the high plateau of Tibet under Tang control. Territorially, the Tang empire
ranks among the largest in Chinese history.”
Source: Tang dynasty: ceramic tomb figure. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online
School Edition. Web. 9 Dec. 2010. <http://www.school.eb.com/eb/art-35459>.
Ceramic tomb figure decorated in characteristic coloured glazes, Tang dynasty (618–907); in the
Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Height 71 cm.

6. Document 8
Buddha Vairocana (Dari) [China] (43.24.3)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/
43.24.3 (September 2010)
Buddha Vairocana (Dari), Tang dynasty (618–906), early 8th century China. It was made of
gilt leaded bronze, and lost-wax cast.
Document 9
Document 10