1. 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This question is designed to test your ability to work with and understand historical documents.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. Using the documents, Analyze Chinese peasantry’s motivations for the Yellow
Turban Uprising in the later Han Dynasty.
Historical Background: The Yellow Turban Rebellion, sometimes also translated as the Yellow
Scarves Rebellion, was a 184 AD peasant rebellion against Emperor Ling of Han. It is named for
the color of the scarves which the rebels wore about their heads.

2. Document One
"Revolt in Han China `." Cultural China . Web. 9 Dec 2010. <http://history.cultural-
china.com/chinaWH/images/arbigimages/8953d6c7a363fe9e6d951b4ac69bf162.jpg
Document Two

3. Bentley, Jerry, and Herbert Zeigler . "Han Dynasty ." Early Han Policies . Third . New York,
New York: McGraw Hill, 2006. Print.
HAN POLICIES
“During the early days of the Han dynasty, Lui Band attempted to follow a middle
path between the decentralized networks of political alliances of the Zhou dynasty and
the tightly centralized state of the Qin. Zhou decentralization encouraged political
chaos, he thought, because regional governors were powerful enough to resist the
emperor and pursue their own ambitions. Liu Bang thought that Qin Centralization
created a new set of problems, however, because it provided little incentive for imperial
Document Three

4. "Yellow Turban Rebellion." Yellow Turban Rebellion 1.1 1. Web. 9 Dec 2010. <http://
learnchinese.elanguageschool.net/yellow-turban-rebellion>.
“Causes of the Rebellion
The Yellow Turban Rebellion began when the Han government failed to do much to stop
a famine. Many farmers in the north found their crops insufficient to make a living so they
attempted to move south to find work. However, few jobs could be found. When the Yellow
River flooded during this time, even more jobs and crops were lost. Finally, the Han
government’s high tax rate on the peasants led to even more financial stress. Around 170,
landowners and peasants began forming small private bands to protect themselves and their
meager resources from bandits.
During this time, the Han dynasty began to weaken. The eunuchs held considerable
power at court, and the emperor even referred to one of the most powerful eunuchs as his foster
father. This led to widespread corruption in the government, leading most government offices
and programs to become inefficient and incapable. The various famines and the Yellow River
flood even had some whispering that the Han had lost the Mandate of Heaven.
The Zhang Jiao sect of the Yellow Turbans was the most active and was the first to begin
planning a revolt. They worked to gain support throughout Northern China, and they even made
some allies in the court. Because of this, they were able to very effectively plan their rebellion.
However, before the mass uprising could take place, the rebels were betrayed and many of their
men in Luoyang were arrested and quickly executed. The rebel forces in some of the provinces
also began in early 184, a few months ahead of schedule. However, even though the rebel forces
were uncoordinated, their forces still numbers in the ten thousands, and they easily destroyed
various government offices and outposts. In response, the government deployed the imperial
army.

5. "Zhang,Brothers lead The Rebellion." Japanese Prints . Web. 10 Dec 2010. <http://
www.printsofjapan.com/Image%20File%201/Yellow_Scarves_Rebellion.jpg>.

6. Document Five
"The Collapse of the Han and the Revolt of the Yellow Scarves." empire, long divided, must
unite; long united, must divide. 6/27/2003. n. pag. Everything2. Web. 10 Dec 2010. <http://
everything2.com/title/The+Collapse+of+the+Han+and+the+Revolt+of+the+Yellow+Scarves>.
“ Four centuries after the Supreme Ancestor founded the Han dynasty, in the reign of Emperor
Xian, the kingdom began its collapse. The past two emperors, Huan and Ling, allowed flatters
and eunuchs power, driving noble men from the court if not unto death itself. Omens and
portents abounded, and Heaven's mandate seemed to have forsaken the Han. The treacherous
eunuch Cao Jie and his Ten Regular Attendants dominated the will of the emperor, spreading
corruption across the land. Throughout the land, rebellious groups began to rise up, snatching
what power they might whilst the court was in shambles.
Amongst these groups, a religious cult known as the the Way of Peace, founded by the Zhang
brothers of the Julu province, saw ample opportunity to seize power within the realm. Sending
their followers to raise yellow banners, they set a date for the rebellion and sent word across the
land. Nearly a half million devotees bound their heads in yellow scarves and rose up to attack
their local districts.
In response, Regent-Marshal He Jin pleaded with the emperor to call the various districts to
arms and issue a call for all courageous men to offer himself in distinguished defense of the
realm. In Zhou county, 28 year-old Liu Bei, styled Xuande, lived a meager existence, weaving
mats and selling sandals to support his widowed mother. Liu Bei, a great-great grandson of the
fourth emperor of the Han, had chance to see the announcement.
While reading the call for volunteers in the town center, Liu Bei encoutered a gruff man nearly
eight spans tall. The man, Zhang Fei, a pig butcher also from Zhou county chastised Liu Bei for
his lack of willingness to serve the emperor. Zhang Fei's chiding encouraged Liu Bei to answer
the emperor's call to arms, and they pledge to work together to recruit other able-bodied men to
the cause. While enjoying wine and a few catties of meat at a nearby tavern, they came upon a
man of most regal bearing, nearly nine spans tall and wearing a two-foot beard. Introducing
themselves, the enthusiastic recruiters invited the stranger, Guan Yu, a noble expelled from
Jieliang, to sit an share a few bowls with them.

7. Document 6
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.
“The Later Han emperors did not seriously address the problem of land distribution that had
helped to bring down the Former Han dynasty. The empire continued to suffer the effects of
banditry and rebellions organized by desperate peasants with few opportunities to improve their
lot. The Yellow Turban uprising- so named because of the distinctive headgear worn by the
rebels- was a particularly serious revolt that raged throughout China and tested the resilience of
the Han state during the late century CE. Although the Later Han dynasty possessed the military
power required to keep civil disorder under reasonable control, rebellions by the Yellow
Turbans and others weakened the Han state during the second and third centuries CE.”
"Yellow Turbans." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.school.eb.com/eb/article-9077907>.
Chinese secret society whose members' uprising, the Yellow Turban Rebellion (184–c. 204 CE),
contributed to the fall of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). Led by Zhang Ju, a Daoist faith healer who had
gained numerous adherents during a widespread pestilence, the rebellion was directed against the tyrannical
eunuchs who dominated the emperor. The rebels wore yellow headdresses to signify their association with the
“earth” element, which they believed would succeed the red “fire” element that represented Han rule. To
suppress the uprising, which erupted in eastern and central China, the Han conscripted huge armies at great cost,
but their efforts were hampered by inefficiency and corruption in the imperial government. Zhang Jue became ill
and died in 184 CE, but the rebellion was a continuing menace to the government for two more decades.

8. Document 7
Geographic, National, and Jared Diamond. 1000 Events That Shaped the World.
Washington DC: National Geographic Society, October 2008. Print.
“The Yellow Turban uprising broke out in eastern China in 184 C.E. against the
imperial Han rule that was unable to regulate an equitable distribution of land
Cao ownership and government involvement. The peasant insurrectionists, discontented by
Cao. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.school.eb.com/eb/art-115354>. were raging through the countryside, wore
economic disparities and epidemics that
yellow headdresses representing the color of the Chinese earth. ”
Document 8

9. "Yellow Turban Rebellion." ELANGUAGESCHOOL. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2010. <http://
learnchinese.elanguageschool.net/yellow-turban-rebellion>.
“The Yellow Turban Rebellion began when the Han government failed to do much to stop a
famine. Many farmers in the north found their crops insufficient to make a living so they
attempted to move south to find work. However, few jobs could be found. When the Yellow
River flooded during this time, even more jobs and crops were lost. Finally, the Han
government’s high tax rate on the peasants led to even more financial stress. Around 170,
landowners and peasants began forming small private bands to protect themselves and their
meager resources from bandits. During this time, the Han dynasty began to weaken.”
Document 9
Document 10