S3 Chinese History Practice Paper (Set 2): Qin-Han Unification And Institutions, Northern Dynasties Integration, Sui-Tang Prosperity And Trade, Song-Yuan Economy And Technology, Ming-Qing Autocracy, Late Qing Reform (with Answers)

S3 Chinese History Practice Paper (Set 2): Qin-Han Unification and Institutions, Northern Dynasties Integration, Sui-Tang Prosperity and Trade, Song-Yuan Economy and Technology, Ming-Qing Autocracy, Late Qing Reform (with answers)

2026-11-15

Junior Secondary Chinese History

S3 Chinese History practice paper Set 2 with full answers: Qin-Han to Late Qing, 6 topics, 24 parts, 100 marks, 60 minutes; suitable for school exams and DSE revision.

Paper details　S3 Chinese History practice paper Set 2 with full answers: 100 marks, 60 minutes.

Qin-Han Unification and Institutions

These questions cover Qin unification and its fall, the commandery system, Han Wudi’s inspectorate and Zhang Qian’s missions to the Western Regions.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
1	Qin completed unification in 221 BCE and fell in 207 BCE. How many years did the Qin empire last, and give one condition that helped it unify China so quickly?	Answer: 221 minus 207 equals 14, so 14 years. Condition: after Shang Yang’s reforms Qin followed farming-and-war policies with stronger central control, so its army and food supply outstripped the six states.
2	After unification Qin adopted the commandery system, first with 36 commanderies, later increased to 48. Express the increase as a fraction of the original number in lowest terms.	Answer: 48 minus 36 equals 12; 12 divided by 36 is one third, so the increase was one third.
3	Han Wudi divided the empire into 13 provinces, each with one inspector who toured his area 2 times a year. How many inspectors were appointed, and how many tours were made in a year?	Answer: one inspector per province gives 13 inspectors; with 2 tours each, 13 times 2 equals 26 tours a year. Inspectors checked governors and local magnates against six fixed items, a key means of central control.
4	Zhang Qian first went to the Western Regions in 138 BCE and again in 119 BCE. How many years apart were the two missions, and how did their aims and results differ?	Answer: 138 minus 119 equals 19, so 19 years. The first mission sought an alliance with the Yuezhi against the Xiongnu; it failed but brought back knowledge of the region. The second sought links with the Wusun and proclaimed Han prestige, opening regular envoys and trade along the Silk Road.

Northern Dynasties and Ethnic Integration

These questions cover Emperor Xiaowen’s reforms, the Five Barbarians, the division of the Northern Wei and the art of the Yungang and Longmen caves.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
5	Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei introduced the equal-field system in 485 and moved the capital to Luoyang in 494. How many years apart were the two events, and what did the move achieve?	Answer: 494 minus 485 equals 9, so 9 years. The move cut the court loose from the old Xianbei noble base, eased sinicisation and strengthened control over the Central Plain and the south.
6	Name the Five Barbarians. The Northern Wei split in 534 with Eastern Wei, and Western Wei was set up in 535. How many years apart were they founded?	Answer: the five are the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Di and Qiang. 535 minus 534 equals 1, so 1 year apart. Eastern and Western Wei were then dominated by Gao Huan and Yuwen Tai, their emperors ruling in name only.
7	Under Xiaowen’s reforms, 80 per cent of 120 Xianbei noble households took Chinese surnames. How many changed, and how many kept their own?	Answer: 120 times 0.8 equals 96 changed; 120 minus 96 equals 24 kept their surname. Renaming went with speaking Chinese, Chinese dress and intermarriage, speeding up integration.
8	Work at the Yungang caves began around 460 and at Longmen around 494. How many years apart, and how do the sculptural styles differ?	Answer: 494 minus 460 equals 34, so 34 years. Yungang figures are massive and plain with full round faces and western, Gandharan traits; Longmen figures are slender-faced with flowing drapery, showing the sinicisation of Buddhist art.

Sui-Tang Prosperity and Foreign Contacts

These questions cover the Sui Grand Canal, the Zhenguan and Kaiyuan eras, Xuanzang and Jianzhen, and Tang Chang’an with the civil examinations.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
9	The Sui Grand Canal centred on Luoyang had four sections (Yongji, Tongji, Han Gou and Jiangnan) and ran about 2000 km. At an average of 40 km a day, how many days were needed for the whole route?	Answer: 2000 divided by 40 equals 50, so 50 days. The canal carried southern grain and goods north and underpinned Sui-Tang control of north and south.
10	Emperor Taizong’s Zhenguan era ran from 627 to 649, Emperor Xuanzong’s Kaiyuan era from 713 to 741. How many years did each last, and how many years longer was Kaiyuan?	Answer: 649 minus 627 plus 1 equals 23 years for Zhenguan; 741 minus 713 plus 1 equals 29 years for Kaiyuan; the difference is 6 years. Together they mark the high Tang.
11	Xuanzang left for India in 629 and returned to Chang’an in 645; Jianzhen sailed east six times and reached Japan on the sixth attempt in 753. How many years was Xuanzang away, and on which attempt did Jianzhen succeed?	Answer: 645 minus 629 equals 16, so 16 years away; Jianzhen succeeded on the sixth voyage. Xuanzang brought back and translated scriptures, while Jianzhen taught monastic discipline and Tang culture in Japan.
12	Tang Chang’an separated residential wards from market areas, with the East and West Markets for trade. In one year 600 candidates sat the metropolitan examination and 30 passed the jinshi. What fraction of candidates passed, as a decimal to three places?	Answer: 30 divided by 600 equals 0.05. The jinshi took very few but carried the highest prestige, so a man might pass the mingjing young yet sit the jinshi into middle age.

Song-Yuan Economy and Technology

These questions cover paper money, the compass, the rerouting of the Grand Canal and Guo Shoujing’s Shoushi calendar.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
13	The Northern Song government took over the jiaozi note in 1023 and the Southern Song issued huizi; Europe’s earliest banknote was the Stockholm note of 1661. How many years earlier was the jiaozi?	Answer: 1661 minus 1023 equals 638, so 638 years earlier. Paper money replaced heavy iron coin and eased tax payment and long-distance settlement.
14	The magnetic compass came into use at sea in the Northern Song. If a compass rose is divided into 24 points, what is the angle between neighbouring points, and give one benefit of the compass for navigation?	Answer: 360 divided by 24 equals 15 degrees. Benefit: a ship could hold a course in cloud or at night without sun or stars, making ocean voyages safer.
15	The Sui Grand Canal ran about 2000 km; after the Yuan straightened its course it ran about 1790 km. How many km were cut, and what is the new length as a decimal fraction of the old, to three places?	Answer: 2000 minus 1790 equals 210 km cut; 1790 divided by 2000 equals 0.895. The straighter route carried southern grain to Dadu, alongside the sea route.
16	Guo Shoujing’s Shoushi calendar set the year at 365.2425 days, against a true tropical year of about 365.2422 days. What is the difference in days, and in seconds (86400 seconds a day), and what is the calendar’s standing?	Answer: 365.2425 minus 365.2422 equals 0.0003 days; multiplied by 86400 that is 25.92 seconds. Its year length matches the modern Gregorian calendar three centuries earlier, the peak of Chinese calendrical science.

Ming-Qing Autocracy

These questions cover the abolition of the chancellorship, the Six Ministries, the examination system and the Qing Grand Council.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
17	Qin appointed a chancellor in 221 BCE; the Ming founder abolished the chancellorship and the Secretariat in 1380. How many years did the office last, and who took over its duties?	Answer: 221 plus 1380 equals 1601 years. The Six Ministries then answered directly to the emperor and the Grand Secretaries only advised, leaving decisions with the throne.
18	The Ming and Qing had Six Ministries: Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice and Works. If each had one minister and two vice-ministers, how many such officials were there in all?	Answer: 6 ministries times 3 posts each equals 18 officials. The Six Ministries carried national administration after the chancellorship was abolished.
19	The provincial examination was held every 3 years. If a candidate began at 20 and stopped at 50, how many sittings could he attend at most?	Answer: 50 minus 20 equals 30, and 30 divided by 3 equals 10, so 10 sittings at most. A pass made him a juren, entitled to sit the metropolitan and palace examinations.
20	Kangxi recovered Taiwan in 1683 and signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk with Russia in 1689; Yongzheng set up a military finance office in 1729, renamed the Grand Council in 1732. How many years apart were the first two events, and how did the Grand Council strengthen autocracy?	Answer: 1689 minus 1683 equals 6 years. Grand councillors were hand-picked by the emperor and merely drafted edicts on his instructions, with no legal power of decision; the Grand Secretariat and Six Ministries were bypassed and all policy came from the throne, the height of Qing autocracy.

Late Qing Crises and Reform

These questions cover the Opium Wars, the Treaty of Shimonoseki and the Hundred Days Reform.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
21	The first Opium War ran from 1840 to 1842; the Treaty of Nanking provided for an indemnity of 2100 million silver dollars and five open ports. Name the five ports, and give the average annual payment if the sum was spread over 4 years.	Answer: the five ports were Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai. 2100 divided by 4 equals 525 million a year. The treaty also ceded Hong Kong Island and allowed British consuls and residence.
22	The second Opium War ran from 1856 to 1860. How many years lay between the start of the two wars (1840 and 1856), and which territory was ceded by the treaty ending the second war?	Answer: 1856 minus 1840 equals 16 years. The Convention of Peking ceded Kowloon to Britain and opened further ports such as Tianjin and Niuzhuang.
23	The Sino-Japanese War ran from 1894 to 1895; the Treaty of Shimonoseki imposed an indemnity of two hundred million taels, ceded Taiwan and the Pescadores and opened four ports. Express the indemnity in ten-thousands of taels, and give the annual payment if spread over three years.	Answer: two hundred million taels is 20000 ten-thousands; divided by 3 that is 6666.67 ten-thousands a year. The four ports were Shashi, Chongqing, Suzhou and Hangzhou.
24	The Hundred Days Reform ran from 11 June to 21 September 1898. How many days was that, and give one cause of its failure and one consequence.	Answer: 20 days in June, 31 in July, 31 in August and 21 in September make 103 days. Cause: the conservative faction around Cixi held the army and administration, while the reformers had neither troops nor wider support. Consequence: most measures were repealed and revolutionary thinking replaced reformism.

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