Secondary 6 History Practice Paper: Late Qing Reform and the 1911 Revolution, May Fourth and the National Revolution, the Nanjing Decade and the Anti-Japanese War, Civil War and the Founding of the PRC, Socialist Transformation and Diplomacy, Data Analysis (100 marks)

2026-11-14

History – Secondary 6 – Practice Paper

S6 History practice paper, 24 parts: late Qing reform and the 1911 Revolution, May Fourth, Nanjing decade, the Anti-Japanese War, civil war, PRC founding and data analysis.

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Paper details　S6 History practice paper: 24 parts with marking points on late Qing reform, the 1911 Revolution, May Fourth, Nanjing decade, the Anti-Japanese War, the civil war, the PRC founding, land reform and indemnity data analysis.

Section A: Late Qing Reform and the 1911 Revolution (16 marks)

Source A: In June 1898 the Guangxu Emperor issued an edict launching a reform programme of modern schools, abolition of the eight-legged essay and encouragement of industry and commerce. The reform lasted only about a hundred days before the Empress Dowager Cixi staged a coup, put the emperor under house arrest and executed six reformers. After 1901 the court launched the New Policies, including a modern army, abolition of the civil service examination, a ministry of commerce and preparations for a constitution.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
1	(a) With reference to Source A, state how long the Hundred Days Reform lasted and explain two reasons for its failure.	Answer: The reform ran from 11 June to 21 September 1898, about 103 days (1 mark). Reasons (any two, 1 mark each): (i) Cixi and the conservative faction controlled the army and the court and staged a coup; (ii) too many edicts were issued too quickly and provincial officials resisted or stalled; (iii) the reformers had no military or popular support and relied on a small group of officials.
2	(b) Compare the content of the Hundred Days Reform with the New Policies after 1901.	Answer: Similarities (2 marks, any two, 1 each): both reformed education (schools in 1898; abolition of the examination and modern schools after 1901); both modernised the army; both encouraged industry and commerce. Differences (2 marks, any two, 1 each): the New Policies were led by Cixi, lasted about a decade, and included preparations for a constitution and judicial reform absent in 1898; they were implemented with provincial governors and aimed at preserving Manchu rule, while the 1898 reform was a short-lived attempt at national salvation. (Organisation: 1 mark.)
3	(c) “The New Policies were more an attempt by the Qing court to save itself than genuine reform.” Discuss.	Answer: Clear stance (1 mark). Evidence for “self-preservation” (2 marks): the policies followed the Boxer Protocol to regain foreign confidence and keep the dynasty in power; the “royal cabinet” was dominated by Manchu princes and the promised constitution was largely nominal; new levies deepened popular grievances and provoked the railway protection movement. Evidence for “genuine reform” (2 marks): abolition of the examination in 1905 ended a millennium-old system and changed social mobility; modern schools and overseas students created a new educated class; new armies and legal codification modernised institutions. A balanced conclusion should note that the policies were both, and that their limits hastened the 1911 Revolution.
4	(d) Calculate the interval in years from the start of the Hundred Days Reform ( June 1898) to the abdication of the Qing emperor (February 1912), to one decimal place.	Answer: 1912 – 1898 = 14 years; month adjustment = (2 – 6) / 12 = -0.33 year; interval = 13.7 years (1 mark method, 1 mark answer, 1 mark unit and decimal place).

Section B: May Fourth and the National Revolution (16 marks)

Source B: The 1919 Paris Peace Conference transferred German rights in Shandong to Japan, and Beijing students protested on 4 May 1919, with merchants and workers joining nationwide. In 1924 the First National Congress of the Guomindang adopted the three policies of alliance with Soviet Russia, alliance with the Communists and support for workers and peasants. The National Revolutionary Army launched the Northern Expedition in 1926, and by the end of 1928 the Northeast had changed flags, giving the government nominal national unity.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
5	(a) With reference to Source B, identify the trigger of the May Fourth Movement and state two of its demands.	Answer: Trigger (2 marks): the Paris Peace Conference decided to transfer German rights in Shandong to Japan instead of returning them to China. Demands (2 marks, 1 each): (i) “recover sovereignty abroad, remove traitors at home”, i.e. regain Shandong and punish pro-Japanese officials; (ii) refuse to sign the treaty; (iii) release arrested students and guarantee freedom of speech and assembly.
6	(b) Explain two effects of the May Fourth Movement on Chinese intellectual life.	Answer (2 marks each): (i) the New Culture Movement spread further, vernacular writing and modern punctuation replaced classical prose, and newspapers, journals and student societies multiplied; (ii) socialist ideas spread widely and Marxism gained influence among intellectuals, contributing to the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921; (iii) intellectuals moved from cultural reform to political action, with students and workers emerging as political forces.
7	(c) Compare two differences in aims between the first Guomindang-Communist united front of 1924 and the second of 1937.	Answer (2 marks each): (i) different enemies: the 1924 front targeted the Beiyang warlords and imperialism with national revolution and the Northern Expedition, while the 1937 front targeted Japanese invasion and national survival; (ii) different form: in 1924 Communists joined the Guomindang individually (bloc within), whereas in 1937 it was an outside alliance in which the CCP kept its army and base areas, redesignated as the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies.
8	(d) Calculate the interval from the start of the Northern Expedition (July 1926) to the change of flags in the Northeast (December 1928), expressing it in years and months.	Answer: (1928 – 1926) x 12 + (12 – 7) = 24 + 5 = 29 months, i.e. 2 years 5 months (2 marks method, 2 marks answer and expression).

Section C: The Nanjing Decade and the Anti-Japanese War (18 marks)

Source C: Between 1928 and 1937 the Nanjing government carried out currency reform (the fabi issued in 1935), built railways and highways, and promoted the New Life Movement. In September 1931 Japan staged the Mukden Incident and occupied the three eastern provinces; in July 1937 the Marco Polo Bridge Incident began full-scale war and Nanjing fell in December of that year. Japan surrendered in August 1945.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
9	(a) With reference to Source C, explain two economic measures of the Nanjing government between 1928 and 1937 and their results.	Answer (2 marks each): (i) the 1935 fabi reform unified the currency, nationalised silver and stabilised prices and the exchange rate, facilitating trade and government finance; (ii) railway and highway construction (e.g. the Yuehan line and extensions of the Longhai line) improved transport and opened inland markets; (iii) tariff autonomy and abolition of likin protected domestic industry, and light industry and banking grew quickly.
10	(b) Explain two reasons why Japan staged the Mukden Incident in 1931.	Answer (2 marks each): (i) economic pressure: the Great Depression from 1929 hit Japanese exports, and Japan saw the Northeast as a source of raw materials and food, a market and an outlet for emigration; (ii) strategic value: the region was resource-rich and adjacent to Korea and the Soviet Union, so controlling it would strengthen Japan’s military position; (iii) politics: the army promoted the “lifeline of Manchuria and Mongolia” and civilian cabinets could not restrain the Kwantung Army.
11	(c) “The victory in the Anti-Japanese War was mainly due to international intervention.” Discuss.	Answer: Clear stance (1 mark). For international factors (2 marks): the United States became the main belligerent after Pearl Harbor and dropped atomic bombs in 1945; the Soviet Union invaded the Northeast in August 1945 and destroyed the Kwantung Army; Allied aid, diplomatic pressure and the Cairo Declaration shaped the post-war settlement. For China’s own effort (2 marks): the Chinese theatre pinned down the bulk of Japanese land forces and ended any hope of a quick victory; the Guomindang, the Communists and the population sustained a war of attrition; base areas and guerrilla warfare drained Japanese strength. A balanced conclusion should treat the victory as the product of both prolonged Chinese resistance and international power.
12	(d) Calculate the length of the Anti-Japanese War from the Marco Polo Bridge Incident (July 1937) to the Japanese surrender (August 1945), in years and months.	Answer: (1945 – 1937) x 12 + (8 – 7) = 96 + 1 = 97 months, i.e. 8 years 1 month (2 marks method, 2 marks answer, 1 mark expression and unit).

Section D: The Civil War and the Founding of the PRC (16 marks)

Source D: In 1945 the Guomindang and the Communists negotiated in Chongqing and signed the Double Tenth Agreement. Full-scale civil war broke out in June 1946. From 1948 to 1949 the three great campaigns of Liaoshen, Huaihai and Pingjin were fought. In April 1949 the People’s Liberation Army crossed the Yangzi and took Nanjing; the People’s Republic of China was founded on 1 October 1949 and the Nationalist government moved to Taiwan.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
13	(a) With reference to Source D, state the background to the Chongqing negotiations and one main content of the Double Tenth Agreement.	Answer: Background (2 marks): after the Japanese surrender public opinion demanded peace and reconstruction; Nationalist forces were mostly in the interior and needed time to deploy; the United States sent Hurley to mediate and Chiang Kai-shek invited Mao Zedong to Chongqing three times. Content (2 marks, any one): agreement to build a peaceful country and avoid civil war; convening a political consultative conference; recognition of the legal status of parties, while the questions of army and government remained unresolved.
14	(b) Explain two reasons for the Nationalist government’s defeat in the civil war of 1946-1949.	Answer (2 marks each): (i) militarily, over-extended fronts and dispersed forces, failed offensives and mass defections destroyed its best units; (ii) economically, excessive printing of fabi caused hyperinflation, alienating the urban population; (iii) politically, corruption, factionalism and the absence of land reform left it without rural mobilisation compared with the Communists.
15	(c) Compare two similarities or differences between the founding of the Republic of China in 1912 and of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 in building a new order.	Answer (2 marks each): similarities: both ended an old regime in the name of a republic or the people and proclaimed popular sovereignty; both faced fiscal crisis and the problem of foreign recognition. Differences: 1912 adopted a separation-of-powers constitutional framework but power fell to Beiyang warlords, whereas 1949 established a people’s democratic dictatorship under CCP leadership with democratic centralism; 1912 retained the old bureaucracy, army and land system, while 1949 carried out land reform and nationalised the economy, transforming the social structure.
16	(d) Calculate the length of the civil war in years, to one decimal place, from its outbreak (June 1946) to the founding of the PRC (October 1949).	Answer: months = (1949 – 1946) x 12 + (10 – 6) = 36 + 4 = 40 months; 40 / 12 = 3.3 years (2 marks method, 1 mark answer, 1 mark decimal place).

Section E: Early Socialist Transformation and Diplomacy (18 marks)

Source E: The Marriage Law was promulgated in 1950 and land reform carried out from 1950 to 1952. The First Five-Year Plan (1953-1957) gave priority to heavy industry, and socialist transformation of agriculture, handicrafts and capitalist industry and commerce was basically completed in 1956. In foreign affairs China “leaned to one side” in 1949, signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship in 1950, attended the Geneva Conference in 1954 and the Bandung Conference in 1955.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
17	(a) With reference to Source E, explain two contents of the 1950-1952 land reform and its effects.	Answer (2 marks each): (i) land, draught animals and tools surplus to landlords were confiscated and redistributed to landless and poor peasants, abolishing landlord ownership in favour of peasant ownership, which raised incentives and output; (ii) class labels were assigned and peasant associations organised, creating rural grassroots power that gave the CCP control and mobilisation capacity and prepared the way for collectivisation.
18	(b) Explain why the First Five-Year Plan (1953-1957) gave priority to heavy industry.	Answer (2 marks each): (i) the industrial base was very thin, with shortages of steel, machinery and power, and heavy industry was seen as the basis of defence and industrialisation; (ii) under Cold War blockade China depended on Soviet aid (156 projects) and technology, and the Soviet model centred on heavy industry; (iii) heavy industry would support transport, chemicals and farm mechanisation, providing the material base for a planned economy.
19	(c) “In the 1950s Chinese foreign policy moved from ‘leaning to one side’ to peaceful coexistence.” Discuss with historical evidence.	Answer: Clear stance (1 mark). Evidence for “leaning to one side” (2 marks): the 1949 Common Programme aligned China with the Soviet bloc; the 1950 Sino-Soviet treaty brought aid, and the Korean War meant full confrontation with the United States. Evidence for peaceful coexistence (2 marks): Zhou Enlai put forward the Five Principles in 1953; the 1954 Geneva Conference settled Indochina; at Bandung in 1955 China pursued “seeking common ground while reserving differences” and built ties with Asian and African states. A balanced conclusion should treat this as a tactical adjustment rather than abandonment of bloc alignment.
20	(d) Calculate the number of years from the founding of the PRC (1949) to the basic completion of socialist transformation (1956).	Answer: 1956 – 1949 = 7 years (2 marks method, 2 marks answer, 1 mark for noting that agriculture, handicrafts and industry and commerce were transformed in this period).

Section F: Data Analysis – Indemnity and Industrial Growth (16 marks)

Source F: The Boxer Protocol imposed an indemnity of 450 million taels payable over 39 years, with principal and interest totalling about 980 million taels. The following practice dataset (simulated for calculation, not official statistics) shows modern industrial output of 120 million yuan in 1913 and 560 million yuan in 1936; light industry accounted for 81.7 per cent of industrial output in 1913 and 69.6 per cent in 1936.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
21	(a) Using Source F, calculate the average annual payment of the Boxer indemnity, in ten thousand taels, to the nearest integer.	Answer: 450 million / 39 = 11.5385 million taels, i.e. about 1,154 ten thousand taels (2 marks method, 2 marks answer and unit).
22	(b) Calculate principal plus interest as a percentage of the principal, to one decimal place, and state how many times the principal the interest was.	Answer: 9.8 / 4.5 x 100 per cent = 217.8 per cent (2 marks); interest = 980 – 450 = 530 million taels, which is 530 / 450, about 1.2 times the principal (2 marks).
23	(c) Calculate the average annual growth rate of modern industrial output from 1913 to 1936 (compound growth, to one decimal place).	Answer: (5.6 / 1.2) to the power (1/23) minus 1 = 4.6667^(1/23) – 1 = 0.069, i.e. 6.9 per cent (3 marks for method and result, 1 mark for unit).
24	(d) Using Source F, calculate by how many percentage points the share of heavy industry rose between 1913 and 1936.	Answer: heavy industry was 100 – 81.7 = 18.3 per cent in 1913 and 100 – 69.6 = 30.4 per cent in 1936; the rise is 30.4 – 18.3 = 12.1 percentage points (2 marks method, 2 marks answer).

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