Paper money, much more convenient than metal coins,     1     (be) a Chinese invention. It first appeared in China more than 1,000 years ago. The wooden printing blocks still exist for a type called jiao zi, believed to be the earliest kind, but not the paper money itself. The world’s oldest paper notes     2     (print) between 1260 and 1269 and used so     3     (wide) that even today such notes are still found in many parts of China.

Some Qin bamboo texts were discovered in a tomb in Hubei Province that contain many rules regarding     1     people were supposed to live and behave. Experts say these texts could prove the government in the third century BC handed out cruel punishments to people who     2    (break) these rules. For instance, officials punished people who stole money by tattooing(刺青) their face. There are also other ancient laws in the texts. One of them is that when questioning a suspect, an official was     3    (strict) forbidden from using physical force.

Zhaobi, or screen walls, have a long and storied history. Zhaobi can be found outside the entrance of buildings, and in their earliest form, they     1     (build) for only the highest members of society to show their social status (地位) and protect privacy. It was believed     2     zhaobi would also act as the spiritual protection. Then they became an     3     (importance) form of artistic expression, representing good fortune appearing on the walls. Nowadays, zhaobi are still how they looked in the distant past. By evolving (演变) their function, these walls     4     (witness) China’s development, giving us a snapshot of life at a particular time in history.