Codex of FaithsAn illustrated atlas of belief

Codex of Faiths · codexoffaiths.com

Daoism: quiz worksheet

A printable worksheet for the classroom: 8 multiple-choice questions on Daoism, with an answer key and explanations on the last page.

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Circle the letter of the best answer.

  1. What does “Dao” mean?

    1. A Virtue
    2. B Heaven
    3. C Breath
    4. D The Way

  2. What is wu wei?

    1. A Loyalty to the emperor
    2. B Strict ritual purity
    3. C Effortless action, in harmony with the flow of things
    4. D The breath of life

  3. Who founded the first organised Daoist community, the Celestial Masters, in 142 CE?

    1. A Wang Chongyang
    2. B Zhang Daoling
    3. C Laozi
    4. D Zhuang Zhou

  4. How many short chapters does the Daodejing have?

    1. A 64
    2. B 81
    3. C 108
    4. D 24

  5. What sets the Quanzhen order apart?

    1. A Hereditary rule by the Zhang family
    2. B Married priests serving villages
    3. C Rejection of meditation
    4. D Celibate monks and nuns living in monasteries

  6. What does the taijitu, the familiar black-and-white circle, show?

    1. A The eight trigrams
    2. B The gourd of the immortals
    3. C Yin and yang in balance
    4. D The five elements

  7. Under which dynasty was the Daoist canon, the Daozang, printed in 1445?

    1. A The Ming
    2. B The Tang
    3. C The Qing
    4. D The Song

  8. Why did the Tang emperors claim Laozi as their ancestor?

    1. A Laozi’s surname was traditionally Li, like theirs
    2. B He was buried in their capital
    3. C He wrote their law code
    4. D He founded their dynasty

Answer key

  1. D · The Way. The Dao is the nameless source and pattern of all things.
  2. C · Effortless action, in harmony with the flow of things. Like water that yields yet wears away stone. The breath of life is qi.
  3. B · Zhang Daoling. Daoists believe the deified Laozi revealed himself to Zhang Daoling in Sichuan.
  4. B · 81. About 5,000 characters in two parts, on the Dao and on de, its power or virtue.
  5. D · Celibate monks and nuns living in monasteries. Quanzhen was founded in 1167; the married priests are the Zhengyi order.
  6. C · Yin and yang in balance. Each half holds a seed of the other: the balance of opposites that make up the world.
  7. A · The Ming. It holds about 1,500 works on ritual, meditation, alchemy and medicine.
  8. A · Laozi’s surname was traditionally Li, like theirs. Under the Tang (618–907) Daoism reached the height of imperial favour.

From Codex of Faiths, codexoffaiths.com. You may print and copy this worksheet for teaching.