Secondary 5 Chinese History Practice Paper: Late Qing Unequal Treaties, The Sino-Japanese War And The Scramble For Concessions, Late Qing Reforms And The 1911 Revolution, The Early Republic And Warlord Politics, And The War Of Resistance

Secondary 5 Chinese History Practice Paper: Late Qing Unequal Treaties, the Sino-Japanese War and the Scramble for Concessions, Late Qing Reforms and the 1911 Revolution, the Early Republic and Warlord Politics, and the War of Resistance

2026-11-14

Chinese History – Secondary 5 – Practice Paper

S5 Chinese History practice paper: 24 parts on late Qing treaties, the 1911 Revolution, warlord politics and the War of Resistance, with computed figures.

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Paper details　S5 Chinese History practice paper: 24 parts with marking points on unequal treaties, the 1911 Revolution, warlord politics and the War of Resistance.

Section A: Foreign Encroachment and the Unequal Treaties (18 marks)

Source A: Extracts from the Treaty of Nanjing (1842): the Qing emperor cedes the island of Hong Kong to the British crown in perpetuity; British merchants may trade at the five ports of Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai; an indemnity of 21 million dollars is to be paid; and the tariff on trade between the two countries is to be fixed by agreement. Also study Source B.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
1	(a) With reference to Source A, state any three terms of the Treaty of Nanjing and explain how one of them damaged Chinese sovereignty.	Answer: any three terms, 1 mark each: cession of Hong Kong Island; an indemnity of 21 million dollars; opening of the five ports of Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai. Explanation, 1 mark: ceding territory removed territorial sovereignty, while the five ports and an agreed tariff removed tariff autonomy, so foreign goods entered at rates fixed with foreigners and native industry could not be protected.
2	(b) Compare the treaties in Sources A and B, explaining how they extended, respectively, the number of treaty ports and the rights of foreigners.	Answer: ports, 2 marks: from five ports to more than ten along the coast and the Yangtze, including Tianjin, Hankou, Jiujiang, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Tamsui and Tainan, reaching north China and the interior. Rights, 2 marks: resident foreign ministers in Beijing, travel and trade in the interior, freedom to preach, consular jurisdiction and most-favoured-nation treatment. Overall point, 1 mark: encroachment moved from commerce into politics and the judiciary.
3	(c) Some historians call the Second Opium War a continuation of the first. Using Source B and your own knowledge, support this view.	Answer: continuity of causes, 2 marks: the powers still sought treaty revision, more open ports and legalised opium trade. Continuity of results, 2 marks: another unequal treaty, another cession (Kowloon), further indemnities, more ports and inland missionary rights, making the treaty system more comprehensive than after the first war.
4	(d) Using Sources A and B, assess the impact of the unequal treaties on Qing finances and governance.	Answer: finance, 2 marks: indemnities were apportioned among provinces and raised the tax burden, while a fixed tariff, often pledged against indemnities, limited revenue the court could use. Governance, 2 marks: consular jurisdiction exempted foreigners from Chinese law, and resident ministers plus inland missionary rights weakened administrative and cultural control. Judgement, 1 mark: the treaty system forced the Qing from the tribute order into a treaty-based international order, eroding sovereignty piece by piece.

Section B: The Sino-Japanese War and the Scramble for Concessions (16 marks)

Source C: Terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895): China cedes the Liaodong peninsula, the whole of Taiwan and the Penghu islands to Japan; pays an indemnity of 200 million taels; and opens Shashi, Chongqing, Suzhou and Hangzhou. Russia, Germany and France then intervene, Japan returns Liaodong, and China pays a further 30 million taels to redeem it.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
5	(a) With reference to Source C, list three main terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki.	Answer: any three, 1 mark each plus 1 mark if all three are correct: cession of the Liaodong peninsula, Taiwan and Penghu; an indemnity of 200 million taels; opening of Shashi, Chongqing, Suzhou and Hangzhou as treaty ports.
6	(b) Using Source C, what is the total of the 200 million tael indemnity and the 30 million tael redemption fee? Give the answer in hundreds of millions of taels and show your working.	Answer: 200,000,000 taels plus 30,000,000 taels equals 230,000,000 taels, that is 2.3 hundred million taels (2 marks for the working); the redemption fee raised the real burden by 15 per cent above the indemnity in the treaty (2 marks).
7	(c) Was the tripartite intervention that returned Liaodong an act of help or another form of encroachment? Comment using Source C and your own knowledge.	Answer: a clear stance, 1 mark. Grounds for calling it encroachment, 2 marks: China still paid 30 million taels, and Russia, Germany and France claimed leased territories at Port Arthur, Dalian and Jiaozhou as a reward, intensifying the scramble. Ground for calling it help, 1 mark: Liaodong was returned and Japanese power did not reach the capital region.
8	(d) After the Sino-Japanese War the powers scrambled for concessions in China. Describe two manifestations and state one response of the Qing government.	Answer: manifestations, 1 mark each: seizing leased territories and carving out spheres of influence, such as Jiaozhou for Germany, Port Arthur and Dalian for Russia and Weihaiwei with the New Territories for Britain; competing for railway and mining rights and lending to the court to control its finances. Response, 2 marks: the late Qing reforms, with a modern army, industry and new schools, in an attempt at self-strengthening.

Section C: Late Qing Reforms and the 1911 Revolution (18 marks)

Source D: Terms of the Boxer Protocol (1901): China pays an indemnity of 450 million taels in 39 annual instalments with interest at 4 per cent; the Dagu forts are demolished and foreign troops may guard the legation quarter in Beijing; officials who supported the Boxers are punished; and arms imports are banned for two years. Also study Source E.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
9	(a) With reference to Source D, state the provisions of the Boxer Protocol on indemnity, military matters and the legation quarter.	Answer: indemnity, 2 marks: 450 million taels in 39 annual instalments at 4 per cent interest; military, 2 marks: the Dagu forts demolished and arms imports banned for two years; legation, 1 mark: foreign troops may guard the Beijing legation quarter, in effect a foreign garrison in the capital.
10	(b) Under Source D the Boxer indemnity of 450 million taels is repaid over 39 years. What is the average annual repayment of principal, and with a population of about 400 million, what is the principal burden per person? Show your working.	Answer: annual principal is 450,000,000 divided by 39, that is 11,538,462 taels (2 marks); per person it is 450,000,000 divided by 400,000,000, that is 1.125 taels (2 marks); interest at 4 per cent is not yet included, so the real burden is higher (1 mark).
11	(c) The late Qing reforms after 1901 were wide-ranging, yet they failed to stop revolution. Explain two reasons.	Answer: 2 marks each, any two: (i) reform costs were pushed onto localities through new levies, deepening grievance and creating revolutionary ground; (ii) reform was led by Manchu nobles and the royal cabinet alienated Han officials and constitutionalists; (iii) reform was too slow, with preparatory constitutional government repeatedly postponed, so immediate political demands went unanswered.
12	(d) Using Source E, explain three factors behind the success of the 1911 Revolution.	Answer: 1 mark each, plus 1 mark for full explanation: (i) provinces declared independence after Wuchang and the court lost local support; (ii) new army officers, students and overseas Chinese took part, giving the revolution a social base; (iii) the failure of reform and the royal cabinet turned constitutionalists towards a republic; (iv) Yuan Shikai negotiated the abdication, avoiding a long civil war.

Section D: The Early Republic and Warlord Politics (16 marks)

Answer this section from your own knowledge; no sources are required.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
13	(a) State three main provisions of the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China and explain its purpose.	Answer: provisions, 1 mark each: sovereignty belongs to the people; separation of powers with a senate, a provisional president and courts; citizens enjoy freedom of speech, assembly and association. Purpose, 1 mark: the constitution limited presidential power and established a republican, rule-of-law order.
14	(b) Explain why Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor and state the outcome of the National Protection War.	Answer: causes, 2 marks: Yuan controlled the Beiyang army, dissolved parliament and revised the constitution to concentrate power, while some Chinese and foreign voices urged constitutional monarchy for stability. Outcome, 2 marks: Yunnan rose against him, provinces followed, he cancelled the monarchy and died in 1916, after which the Beiyang group split into warring factions.
15	(c) Explain two reasons for the rise of warlord rule.	Answer: 2 marks each, any two: (i) after Yuan Shikai died the Beiyang group lost a common leader and commanders kept their own troops; (ii) local armies became private forces financed locally, creating territorial bases and factions; (iii) central authority was weak, and foreign powers backed different warlords to protect their interests.
16	(d) Give one social impact each of the May Fourth Movement and the New Culture Movement.	Answer: May Fourth, 2 marks: anti-imperialist protest and boycotts spread to workers and merchants in the cities, widening mass political participation and party mobilisation. New Culture, 2 marks: it promoted vernacular writing, democracy and science, criticised old ritual ethics and advanced womens education and emancipation.

Section E: The War of Resistance (17 marks)

Source F: Milestones and population data of the War of Resistance: the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937 began full-scale war; Nanjing fell in December of that year; Hong Kong fell in December 1941; Japan surrendered unconditionally on 15 August 1945. Population of a certain county: 250,000 in 1937 and 175,000 in 1945.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
17	(a) Using Source F, state the dates and defining events of the outbreak of full-scale war and of the Japanese surrender.	Answer: outbreak, 2 marks: the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937, when Japanese troops attacked Wanping and Chinese defenders resisted. Surrender, 2 marks: Japan announced unconditional surrender on 15 August 1945, ending eight years of war.
18	(b) Using the population data in Source F, calculate the fall in the population of the county in number and as a percentage to one decimal place.	Answer: the fall is 250,000 minus 175,000, that is 75,000 persons (2 marks); as a percentage it is 75,000 divided by 250,000 times 100, that is 30.0 per cent (2 marks).
19	(c) Describe two atrocities committed by Japanese forces in China and state one impact on Chinese society.	Answer: atrocities, 1 mark each: the Nanjing Massacre of 1937, in which large numbers of civilians and prisoners were killed; biological warfare in occupied areas, forced labour and the comfort women system. Impact, 2 marks: heavy loss of life and displacement, ruined urban and rural economies, and a strengthened sense of national identity and will to resist.
20	(d) Why is the War of Resistance described as a war of the whole nation? Support your answer with two historical facts.	Answer: a clear judgement, 1 mark; facts, 2 marks each: (i) the Kuomintang and the Communists formed a united front, with the Red Army reorganised as the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army; (ii) the regular front and the guerrilla rear cooperated, as at Taierzhuang alongside behind-the-lines warfare; (iii) workers, peasants, students, overseas Chinese and businessmen donated money and goods and moved factories inland, while intellectuals campaigned for resistance.

Section F: Extended Response and Source Analysis (15 marks)

Source E: Milestones of the 1911 Revolution: the Wuchang uprising broke out on 10 October 1911 and provinces declared independence one after another; the Republic of China was founded on 1 January 1912 with Sun Yat-sen as provisional president; the Qing emperor abdicated on 12 February; and the Provisional Constitution was promulgated in March. Also study Source F.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
21	(a) Using Sources E and F, compare the 1911 Revolution and the War of Resistance in terms of aims and participants.	Answer: similarities, 2 marks: both aimed at national survival and drew in intellectuals, soldiers and ordinary people. Differences, 2 marks: the 1911 Revolution sought to overthrow the Qing and found a republic, led by new army officers, secret societies and returned students; the War of Resistance sought to repel invasion and preserve the state, involving both parties, regular armies and the population at large on a far wider scale.
22	(b) To study social conditions in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation, which two kinds of historical sources would you use? Explain the value and limitation of each.	Answer: 2 marks per kind, 1 for value and 1 for limitation. For example: (i) official records and Japanese occupation notices, valuable as first-hand evidence of policy and control, but produced by the occupier and liable to conceal or beautify; (ii) oral history and memoirs, valuable for everyday life and popular feeling, but memory may be faulty or shaped by emotion; (iii) newspapers and photographs, valuable for prices, rationing and public mood, but censored and sometimes staged.
23	(c) Some argue that change in modern China was driven mainly by external pressure. Discuss this view with reference to the period from 1840 to 1949.	Answer: a clear stance, 1 mark. Support, 2 marks: after the Opium War the treaty system forced the court to create a foreign office and promote self-strengthening; defeat in 1895 produced reform and the new policies; the war of resistance drove state mobilisation and modernisation. Reservation, 1 mark: internal forces such as the Taiping movement, the 1911 Revolution and the May Fourth Movement were equally decisive, and reform was often designed by Chinese elites themselves.
24	(d) From what you have studied, identify what you consider the most decisive turning point between 1840 and 1949 and justify your choice.	Answer: a specific event is identified (1 mark), such as the Opium War, the 1911 Revolution or the victory of 1945; the reason is tied to the institutional, sovereign or social change it produced (2 marks), with some comparison to other events.

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