HKDSE Chinese History Practice Paper: Late Qing Reform And The 1911 Revolution

HKDSE Chinese History Practice Paper: Late Qing Reform and the 1911 Revolution

2026-11-04

HKDSE Chinese History: Late Qing Reform and the 1911 Revolution

HKDSE Chinese History: 12 questions, 100 marks, 75 minutes on self-strengthening, the 1898 reform, the late Qing new policies, the 1911 Revolution and the founding of the republic.

Download　Question paper PDF　|　Answer key PDF

Paper details　Level: S4-S6 | Subject: Chinese History | Time: 75 minutes | Marks: 100 | Questions: 12

Section A: The Self-Strengthening Movement and the Aftermath of 1895 (Questions 1-4, 32 marks)

Each question carries 8 marks; show the working and units in data questions and support evaluation with specific facts.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
1	Source 1 lists the funding of four major arsenals of the Self-Strengthening Movement (in ten thousand taels): Jiangnan Arsenal 1,200, Fuzhou Naval Yard 800, Jinling Arsenal 300, Hanyang Ironworks 500. (a) Find the total funding. (b) Find the percentage taken by the largest arsenal, to one decimal place. (c) Comment on how resources were distributed.	(a) Total = 1,200 + 800 + 300 + 500 = 2,800 ten thousand taels. (b) The largest was the Jiangnan Arsenal at 1,200, or 42.9%. (c) Resources were concentrated in a few coastal military works, leaving inland and civilian industry underfunded, so no integrated industrial system emerged. Marking: working and units 3, percentage 2, comment 3.
2	Source 2 shows enrolment at a self-strengthening school: 60 students in 1865, 180 in 1880 and 420 in 1894. (a) How many times larger was enrolment in 1894 than in 1865? (b) How many more students were there in 1894 than in 1880? (c) Suggest two other indicators of the results of self-strengthening education.	(a) 420 / 60 = 7.0 times. (b) 420 – 180 = 240 more students. (c) Graduates serving in the navy, telegraph and railways; number of translated works; number of students sent abroad. Marking: each calculation 3, each indicator 1.
3	During the Sino-Japanese War the Battle of Pungdo was fought on 25 July 1894 and the Battle of the Yellow Sea on 17 September 1894. (a) How many days apart were the two battles? (b) Explain the position of the Beiyang Fleet after the Yellow Sea battle and its effect on the war.	(a) 6 days left in July + 31 in August + 17 in September = 54 days. (b) The Beiyang Fleet lost the Zhiyuan and Jingyuan and withdrew to Weihaiwei on Li Hongzhang orders; Japan then controlled the sea, landed troops in Liaodong and Shandong and destroyed the fleet at Weihaiwei. Marking: calculation 3, position 2, effect 3.
4	The Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895) required China to pay 200 million taels, when annual revenue was about 80 million taels. (a) How many years of revenue did the indemnity equal? (b) Explain the double impact of the indemnity and foreign loans on the Chinese economy.	(a) 20,000 / 8,000 = 2.5 years of revenue. (b) Unable to pay at once, the Qing borrowed from Russia, France, Britain and Germany with customs and salt revenue as security, letting foreign powers control state finance; the burden was passed to peasants as extra taxes, feeding revolutionary grievance. Marking: calculation 3, two sides of impact 2-3 each.

Section B: The 1898 Reform and the Late Qing New Policies (Questions 5-8, 36 marks)

Each question carries 9 marks; explain causes and effects point by point, citing named events and years.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
5	The 1898 reform began with the edict of 11 June 1898 and ended with the coup of 21 September 1898. (a) How many days did the reform last? (b) Explain its failure in terms of reform strategy and the structure of power.	(a) 19 days left in June + 31 in July + 31 in August + 21 in September = 102 days. (b) In strategy the decrees were many but had no machinery to carry them out and the abolition of offices offended officials; in power the Guangxu emperor had no army while Cixi controlled troops and appointments and Yuan Shikai sided with her, so the reform collapsed at one blow. Marking: calculation 3, strategy 3, power structure 3.
6	Between 1901 and 1911 the Qing issued 30 sets of new-policy regulations, 18 of them after 1905. (a) What percentage was issued after 1905, to one decimal place? (b) Give two reasons why the pace of reform quickened after 1905.	(a) 18 / 30 x 100 = 60.0%. (b) Japan defeated Russia in 1905, which many read as a constitutionalist victory; the examinations were abolished the same year and the Qing needed Han support, so reform accelerated. Marking: calculation 3, each reason 3.
7	The number of modern schools rose from 3,000 in 1902 to 52,000 in 1911. (a) By how many schools did the number increase? (b) Explain the link between abolishing the civil service examinations and this growth, naming the year of abolition.	(a) 52,000 – 3,000 = 49,000 schools. (b) When the examinations were abolished in 1905 scholars could no longer enter office through the eight-legged essay and moved into modern schools, while local officials were assessed on school building, so numbers surged within six years. Marking: calculation 3, year 1, causal explanation 5.
8	In 1908 the Qing issued the Principles of the Constitution and promised a constitution after nine years. (a) In which year was the constitution due? (b) How many years before the 1911 Revolution was that? (c) Evaluate the effect of this promise on Han political expectations.	(a) 1908 + 9 = 1917. (b) 1917 – 1911 = 6 years before the revolution. (c) Han reformers and constitutionalists saw the delay as obstruction and turned to revolution; the promised shortening of the preparatory period in 1911 came too late, so the nine-year plan hastened the revolution. Marking: each calculation 2, evaluation 5.

Section C: Revolution, Wuchang Uprising and the Republic (Questions 9-12, 32 marks)

Each question carries 8 marks; compare both sides and name the key years and figures.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
9	The Wuchang Uprising broke out on 10 October 1911 and the Qing emperor abdicated on 12 February 1912. (a) How many days passed between the two events? (b) Explain how provincial declarations of independence undermined Qing rule.	(a) 21 days left in October + 30 in November + 31 in December + 31 in January + 12 in February = 125 days. (b) Hunan, Shaanxi, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Guangdong declared independence in turn, so the Qing lost its main tax base and manpower; Yuan Shikai could then force the abdication by playing north against south. Marking: calculation 3, provinces 2, effect 3.
10	The Revolutionary Alliance (Tongmenghui) was founded in Tokyo on 20 August 1905; the Wuchang Uprising broke out on 10 October 1911. (a) How many days apart were they? (b) Compare the Alliance programme with the aims proclaimed by the provinces after the uprising.	(a) 2,242 days, from 20 August 1905 to 10 October 1911. (b) The Alliance programme was to expel the Manchus, restore China, found a republic and equalise landownership; after Wuchang the provinces rallied to a republic but land equalisation was not pursued, showing the gap between revolutionary ideals and provincial interests. Marking: calculation 3, programme 2, comparison 3.
11	In March 1912 the Nanking Provisional Senate, with 43 members, voted on the Provisional Constitution; 40 voted in favour. (a) What percentage of members voted in favour, to one decimal place? (b) Explain the historical significance of the Provisional Constitution.	(a) 40 / 43 x 100 = 93.0%. (b) The Provisional Constitution separated the three powers, declared sovereignty to belong to the people and bound the president to the senate, becoming the legal basis of later constitution-protection movements and the starting point of republican constitutionalism. Marking: calculation 3, institutions 2, significance 3.
12	By the end of 1911, 13 of the 22 provinces had declared independence from the Qing. (a) What percentage of the provinces declared independence, to one decimal place? (b) Analyse the rapid success of the 1911 Revolution in military, financial and popular terms.	(a) 13 / 22 x 100 = 59.1%. (b) Militarily the New Army defected and the banner forces collapsed; financially south-eastern provinces withheld revenue, emptying the treasury; in opinion constitutionalists and merchants turned to a republic, so the revolution won nationally within four months. Marking: calculation 3, each aspect 1-2.

Find a tutor — free Tutor Registration →

A TutorZone practice paper; original questions and passages, not publisher material.