Questions Refer to the Passage Below

question 68

Multiple Choice

Questions refer to the passage below.
The Country of Chao-wa (Java)
"The country contains three classes of persons. One class consists of the Muslim people; they are all people from every foreign kingdom in the West who have migrated to this country as merchants; [and] in all matters of dressing and feeding everyone is clean and proper.
"One class consists of T'ang people; they are all men from [the southeastern coast of China] . . . who fled away and now live in this country; the food of these people, too, is choice and clean; [and] many of them follow the Muslim religion, doing penance and fasting.
"One class consists of the people of the land; they have very ugly and strange faces, tousled heads, and bare feet; they are devoted to devil worship, this country being among the 'devil-countries' spoken of in Buddhist books; the food which these people eat is very dirty and bad things like snakes, ants, and all kinds of insects and worms, which are slightly cooked by being toasted in the fire and then eaten."
The Overall Survey of the Western Shores, 1433 Ma Huan, Chinese voyager and
translator on Zheng He's voyages
-The passage above is best understood in the context of:

• A) the neo-Confucian debate over the superiority of Chinese culture during the fifteenth century.
• B) China's economic rivalry with Muslim merchants in the Indian Ocean during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
• C) the Chinese search for alternative trade routes to the Mongol-controlled Silk Road.
• D) the Ming diplomatic and tribute-seeking voyages in the Indian Ocean basin in the fifteenth century.

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Definitions:

Regressive Tax

A tax imposed in such a manner that the tax rate decreases as the amount subject to taxation increases, disproportionately affecting those with lower incomes.

Social Security Tax

A payroll tax collected to fund the Social Security program, charged to both employers and employees.

Sales Tax

A tax imposed by a government on sales of goods and services, collected by the retailer and passed on to the state or local government.

Proportional Rate Structure

A tax system where the tax rate is the same for all income levels, meaning everyone pays the same percentage of their income in taxes, regardless of how much they earn.