Secondary 1 Chinese History Practice Paper: Prehistoric Culture And The Xia Dynasty, Shang And Zhou Politics And Society, The Spring And Autumn And Warring States Periods, The Qin And Han Empires, The Three Kingdoms And Northern And Southern Dynasties, Historical Sources And Map Skills (100 Marks)

Secondary 1 Chinese History Practice Paper: Prehistoric Culture and the Xia Dynasty, Shang and Zhou Politics and Society, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, the Qin and Han Empires, the Three Kingdoms and Northern and Southern Dynasties, Historical Sources and Map Skills (100 marks)

2026-11-14

Chinese History – Secondary 1 – Practice Paper

S1 Chinese History practice paper: 24 parts, 100 marks, 60 minutes on prehistory, Shang and Zhou, the Warring States, Qin and Han, the Three Kingdoms and sources.

Paper details　S1 Chinese History practice paper, 24 parts and 100 marks in 60 minutes, covering prehistory, Shang and Zhou, Qin and Han, the Three Kingdoms and source skills.

Section A: Prehistoric Culture and the Rise of the Xia (17 marks)

Archaeology shows that early Chinese civilisation arose in several river valleys; the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties followed one another and shaped the first states.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
1	(a) Neolithic people used polished stone tools and farmed. Name two common Neolithic artefacts or remains.	Answer: polished stone tools and pottery (painted or black ware); bone tools, stone spades or house remains are also acceptable. 2 marks each.
2	(b) Name one Neolithic culture of the Yellow River valley and one of the Yangtze valley.	Answer: the Yellow River valley – Yangshao (also Longshan); the Yangtze valley – Liangzhu (also Hemudu). 2 marks each, correctly matched to the valley.
3	(c) The Xia is dated to about 2070 BC and the Shang to about 1600 BC. How many years apart are these dates?	Answer: 2070 – 1600 = 470 years. Marking: 2 marks for the working, 3 for the answer.
4	(d) Some scholars say the Xia dynasty cannot yet be fully confirmed. Give one reason.	Answer: no writing from the period has been found that names the Xia, so scholars rely on later texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian checked against sites like Erlitou, and debate continues.

Section B: Shang and Zhou Politics and Society (16 marks)

Shang kings divined before war, farming and sacrifice; the Zhou kept order through enfeoffment and the clan system.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
5	(a) Shang kings recorded divinations in a script. What is this script called?	Answer: oracle bone script. Marking: 4 marks for the correct name, 2 for describing writing cut on turtle shells and bones.
6	(b) Under Zhou enfeoffment, what two main duties did a lord owe the king?	Answer: attending the royal court and paying tribute; supplying troops when the king campaigned. 2 marks each.
7	(c) What was the Western Zhou system that ranked people by blood relation and distinguished primary from secondary sons?	Answer: the clan (patriarchal) system, zongfa. 4 marks for the correct term.
8	(d) Bronze vessels of the Shang and Zhou were mainly used on which two occasions?	Answer: sacrifice and war – ritual vessels for ancestral rites and weapons for chariot warfare. 2 marks each.

Section C: The Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (17 marks)

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, rivalry and social change prompted rival schools of thought to offer ways of governing.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
9	(a) Which lord used the slogan “honour the king, expel the barbarians” to build his hegemony in the Spring and Autumn period?	Answer: Duke Huan of Qi, advised by Guan Zhong. 3 marks for the ruler, 1 for naming Guan Zhong.
10	(b) Among the seven Warring States, which was the westernmost?	Answer: Qin. 4 marks.
11	(c) Counting from 475 BC to the Qin unification in 221 BC, how many years passed?	Answer: 475 – 221 = 254 years. Marking: 2 marks for the working, 3 for the answer.
12	(d) Which school taught universal love and opposition to offensive war, and who led it?	Answer: the Mohist school, founded by Mozi. 2 marks for the school, 2 for the thinker.

Section D: The Qin and Han Empires (18 marks)

The Qin replaced fiefs with commanderies and counties; the Han kept that framework, adjusted it, and opened routes to the Western Regions.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
13	(a) The First Emperor abolished fiefs and set up commanderies and counties run by appointed officials. What is this system called, and how does it differ from enfeoffment?	Answer: the commandery and county system. Its officials were appointed and could not inherit their posts, while lords under enfeoffment held hereditary lands. 3 marks for the name, 2 for the difference.
14	(b) The Qin fell in 206 BC and Liu Bang founded the Han in 202 BC. How many years apart?	Answer: 206 – 202 = 4 years. Marking: 2 marks for the working, 3 for the answer.
15	(c) Whom did Emperor Wu send to the Western Regions, opening the Silk Road?	Answer: Zhang Qian. 4 marks for the correct name.
16	(d) In the later Eastern Han, consort clans and eunuchs took turns in power. What did this do to the dynasty?	Answer: government grew corrupt, factions fought, revolts such as the Yellow Turban rising broke out and regional governors gained power, weakening the dynasty.

Section E: The Three Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties (16 marks)

Warlords divided the late Eastern Han; Wei, Shu and Wu then held three corners of the empire, and during the Jin and Southern and Northern dynasties peoples migrated and gradually merged.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
17	(a) Cao Pi took the throne in AD 220 and the Jin reunified China in AD 280. How many years apart?	Answer: 280 – 220 = 60 years. 2 marks for the working, 2 for the answer.
18	(b) Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei moved his capital to Luoyang and adopted Chinese ways. Give one concrete measure.	Answer: adopting Chinese surnames, dress or speech, encouraging intermarriage with Chinese families, or using Chinese offices and rites – any one measure.
19	(c) What was the Wei-Jin selection system that stressed family pedigree more than ability?	Answer: the nine-rank system. 4 marks for the correct name.
20	(d) How did the migration and merging of northern peoples prepare for Sui and Tang unification?	Answer: it widened contact and cultural exchange and broadened the base of rule, preparing the ground for Sui-Tang unity and openness. 4 marks for linking integration to unification.

Section F: Historical Sources and Map Skills (16 marks)

Studying history means telling sources apart and using historical maps and their scales to explain spatial relations.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
21	(a) Sources are either primary or secondary. The Records of the Grand Historian covers early China: which kind is it, and why?	Answer: a secondary source, since it was compiled later by Sima Qian rather than produced at the time, though it quotes much early material and remains valuable. 2 marks for the class, 2 for the reason.
22	(b) To work out real distances between two places on a historical map, what must you use?	Answer: the scale – multiply the measured map distance by the real distance the scale represents. 3 marks for the scale, 1 for the method.
23	(c) What should a researcher do when a text and an archaeological find disagree?	Answer: keep both accounts, look for further texts and excavation evidence, and state the uncertainty rather than choosing one side. 4 marks.
24	(d) Of oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions and archaeological sites, which are written sources?	Answer: oracle bone and bronze inscriptions are written sources; a site is a material source. 1 mark each for the two written sources, 2 for classifying the site.

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