I85PREP
⌘ K
HKDSE Chinese History study materials
HKDSE Chinese History study resources

HKDSE Chinese History practice questions

One question at a time. Build your HKDSE Chinese History understanding.

First 50 of 190 questions. Each one lists the choices, the correct answer, and an explanation. The checker at the top of this page saves progress in this browser when it is available.

Continue in the practice tool above to load more questions, 50 at a time.

Question 1Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

商鞅在秦国推行变法时，为取信于民而采取的著名举措是

  1. 立木为信，徙木者予金 Correct answer.
  2. 焚书坑儒，统一思想
  3. 铸五铢钱，统一币制
  4. 行推恩令，削弱诸侯

Explanation

商鞅变法之初，在国都市场南门立木，宣布能搬到北门者赏金，以此表明法令必行、取信于民，随后才正式颁布新法。这一事件被称为“徙木立信”，是商鞅变法推行法令的准备工作。其余举措分别属于秦朝和汉代，与商鞅变法的时代与目的不符。

Question 2China1840–1949: treaty systems, reform and revolution

《南京条约》中规定中国开放的五处通商口岸，除广州、厦门、福州、上海外，还有哪一处？

  1. 天津
  2. 宁波 Correct answer.
  3. 南京
  4. 汉口

Explanation

1842年《南京条约》规定开放广州、厦门、福州、宁波、上海五处为通商口岸，这是中国近代第一批被迫开放的口岸，均位于东南沿海。天津、汉口、南京都是此后第二次鸦片战争及后续条约中才开放的口岸。

Question 3The PRC after1949: institutions, campaigns and reform

1949年10月1日，在天安门广场举行的开国大典上，毛泽东向全世界宣告中华人民共和国中央人民政府成立。这一事件标志的历史转折是：

  1. 社会主义三大改造已经完成，中国进入社会主义初级阶段
  2. 新民主主义革命取得基本胜利，中国进入人民民主专政的新时期 Correct answer.
  3. 第一个五年计划提前完成，中国开始大规模工业化建设
  4. 抗美援朝战争胜利结束，中国国际地位显著提高

Explanation

开国大典宣告中华人民共和国成立，标志着新民主主义革命取得基本胜利，中国由半殖民地半封建社会进入人民民主专政的新时期。三大改造完成于1956年，一五计划始于1953年，抗美援朝停战于1953年，均晚于1949年。

Question 4Historical evidence, chronology and justified interpretation

甲骨文、青铜器铭文与《春秋》记事同属研究商周历史的一手材料，但研究者通常更倚重前两者来重建商王世系，主要理由是：

  1. 《春秋》属于儒家经典，其内容在汉代已被学者全面改写
  2. 甲骨与铭文多为当时人记当时事，且经考古发掘可确认出土背景 Correct answer.
  3. 甲骨与铭文全部出土于殷墟，能够完整覆盖商代全部历史
  4. 《春秋》成书于春秋末期，距离商代时间过于久远而失去价值

Explanation

判断史料价值需考察其形成时间、作者与流传过程。甲骨卜辞和青铜铭文是商周时人 contemporaneous 留下的实物文字，且多经科学发掘，出土层位明确，可信度较高。《春秋》虽为早期文献，但经后人整理传抄，又带有褒贬笔法，用于重建王世系时需与出土文字互证。

Question 5Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Which dynasty first unified China under a single centralised empire in 221 BCE?

  1. Qin (秦) Correct answer.
  2. Han (漢)
  3. Zhou (周)
  4. Sui (隋)

Explanation

The Qin (秦) dynasty, under Ying Zheng who took the title First Emperor (秦始皇), conquered the remaining Warring States and unified China in 221 BCE, establishing the first centralised imperial state with standardised script, weights and measures.

Question 6Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Which administrative innovation did the Qin dynasty adopt to replace the Zhou system of hereditary feudal lords?

  1. The commandery-county (junxian 郡縣) system Correct answer.
  2. The enfeoffment (fengjian 封建) system
  3. The equal-field (juntian 均田) system
  4. The nine-rank (jiupin 九品) system

Explanation

The Qin abolished hereditary fiefs and divided the empire into commanderies (jun 郡) and counties (xian 縣) administered by centrally appointed, removable officials. This junxian system became the backbone of centralised bureaucratic governance for later dynasties.

Question 7Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The political philosophy that the Qin dynasty adopted as its governing ideology, emphasising strict laws and harsh punishments, is known as:

  1. Confucianism (儒家)
  2. Daoism (道家)
  3. Legalism (法家) Correct answer.
  4. Mohism (墨家)

Explanation

The Qin embraced Legalism (法家), systematised by thinkers such as Han Fei and implemented by Li Si, which held that strict laws, rewards and punishments, and concentrated state power were the basis of effective rule. Its severity is often cited as a cause of the dynasty's rapid collapse.

Question 8Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Which Han emperor is credited with adopting Confucianism as the official state orthodoxy and establishing the Imperial Academy (太學)?

  1. Emperor Gaozu (漢高祖)
  2. Emperor Wen (漢文帝)
  3. Emperor Wu (漢武帝) Correct answer.
  4. Emperor Guangwu (漢光武帝)

Explanation

Emperor Wu of Han (漢武帝, r. 141-87 BCE), advised by Dong Zhongshu, 'dismissed the hundred schools and revered only Confucianism' (罷黜百家，獨尊儒術) and founded the Imperial Academy in 124 BCE to train officials in the Confucian classics.

Question 9Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The famous trade and cultural route opened during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, linking China to Central Asia and beyond, is commonly known as the:

  1. Silk Road (絲綢之路) Correct answer.
  2. Grand Canal
  3. Tea-Horse Road
  4. Burma Road

Explanation

The Silk Road (絲綢之路) developed after Emperor Wu of Han dispatched the envoy Zhang Qian to the Western Regions in the 2nd century BCE, opening overland routes for the exchange of silk, goods, religions and ideas between China and Central and West Asia.

Question 10Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Which usurper briefly interrupted the Han dynasty by founding the short-lived Xin (新) dynasty?

  1. Wang Mang (王莽) Correct answer.
  2. Cao Cao (曹操)
  3. Dong Zhuo (董卓)
  4. Liu Xiu (劉秀)

Explanation

Wang Mang (王莽) seized the throne in 9 CE and founded the Xin dynasty, separating the Western Han from the Eastern Han. His radical reforms failed amid rebellion, and the Han was restored by Liu Xiu (Emperor Guangwu) in 25 CE.

Question 11Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Sima Qian's monumental work, which became the model for later official dynastic histories, is the:

  1. Book of Han (漢書)
  2. Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋)
  3. Records of the Grand Historian (史記) Correct answer.
  4. Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance (資治通鑑)

Explanation

Sima Qian (司馬遷) of the Western Han compiled the Records of the Grand Historian (史記), the first comprehensive Chinese history written in the annals-biography (紀傳體) style, covering from the legendary Yellow Emperor to his own time and becoming the prototype for later standard histories.

Question 12Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The Neo-Confucian synthesis (理學) that became dominant from the Song onward is most associated with which thinker, who compiled commentaries on the Four Books?

  1. Zhu Xi (朱熹) Correct answer.
  2. Wang Yangming (王陽明)
  3. Dong Zhongshu (董仲舒)
  4. Han Yu (韓愈)

Explanation

Zhu Xi (朱熹, 1130-1200) synthesised Song Neo-Confucianism (理學), emphasising 'principle' (li) and the 'investigation of things' (格物致知). His commentaries on the Four Books became the standard for the imperial examinations from the Yuan-Ming period onward.

Question 13Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

In Paper 2's unit on 'Eras and intellectuals' (時代與知識分子), Confucius (孔子) is studied as a model intellectual. He lived during which period?

  1. The Western Zhou
  2. The Western Han
  3. The Qin dynasty
  4. The Spring and Autumn period (春秋) Correct answer.

Explanation

Confucius (孔子, traditionally 551-479 BCE) lived in the late Spring and Autumn period of the Eastern Zhou, an age of political fragmentation. He travelled among the states seeking to restore ritual order, and his teachings, recorded in the Analects, shaped the Chinese intellectual tradition.

Question 14Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The intellectual flourishing of the late Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, when many rival philosophical schools emerged, is known as:

  1. The Hundred Schools of Thought (諸子百家) Correct answer.
  2. The Three Teachings
  3. The Pure Conversation movement
  4. The Han Learning revival

Explanation

The 'Hundred Schools of Thought' (諸子百家) refers to the proliferation of competing philosophies during the Eastern Zhou, including Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, Mohism and the School of Names. The era's intellectual ferment laid the foundation of classical Chinese thought.

Question 15Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The Ming thinker who developed the 'School of Mind' (心學), teaching the 'unity of knowledge and action' and innate moral knowing (良知), was:

  1. Zhu Xi
  2. Huang Zongxi
  3. Gu Yanwu
  4. Wang Yangming (王陽明) Correct answer.

Explanation

Wang Yangming (王陽明, 1472-1529) developed the Ming 'School of Mind' (心學), holding that moral principle is innate in the mind (致良知) and stressing the unity of knowledge and action (知行合一), challenging Zhu Xi's emphasis on external investigation.

Question 16Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Liang Qichao, studied in Paper 2's intellectuals unit, is best characterised in the early 20th century as an advocate of:

  1. Violent revolution to overthrow the Qing immediately
  2. Abolition of the Chinese written script
  3. Restoration of the equal-field system
  4. Gradual constitutional reform rather than revolution Correct answer.

Explanation

Liang Qichao (梁啟超), a leading reformist intellectual and disciple of Kang Youwei, generally favoured constitutional monarchy and gradual reform (改良) over revolution, engaging in famous debates with the revolutionaries of Sun Yat-sen's camp in the early 1900s.

Question 17Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The 'Mandate of Heaven' (天命) concept, central to Chinese political thought, held that:

  1. The emperor was a god who could never be removed
  2. Heaven granted the right to rule to virtuous rulers and could withdraw it from unjust ones Correct answer.
  3. Only the eldest son could ever inherit the throne
  4. Foreign dynasties could never legitimately rule China

Explanation

The Mandate of Heaven (天命), articulated from the Zhou dynasty, held that Heaven conferred the right to rule on a virtuous sovereign and would withdraw it from a tyrannical or incompetent one, legitimising both dynastic founding and the overthrow of failed rulers.

Question 18Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The period of disunity between the fall of the Han and the Sui reunification is collectively known as the:

  1. Spring and Autumn period
  2. Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
  3. Wei-Jin and Southern-Northern Dynasties (魏晉南北朝) Correct answer.
  4. Warring States period

Explanation

The Wei-Jin and Southern-Northern Dynasties (魏晉南北朝, c. 220-589 CE) was a long era of political fragmentation following the Han, marked by the Three Kingdoms, the Jin, and rival regimes in the north and south, before reunification by the Sui in 589.

Question 19Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Which Northern Wei emperor pursued a policy of sinicisation, including moving the capital to Luoyang and adopting Chinese surnames, dress and language?

  1. Emperor Xiaowen (孝文帝) Correct answer.
  2. Emperor Taiwu (太武帝)
  3. Emperor Daowu (道武帝)
  4. Emperor Wuling

Explanation

Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei (孝文帝, r. 471-499) led sweeping sinicisation reforms: relocating the capital from Pingcheng to Luoyang in 494, banning Xianbei dress and language at court, adopting Chinese surnames and promoting intermarriage with Han elites.

Question 20Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The 'Three Kingdoms' that contended after the fall of the Eastern Han were Wei, Shu and:

  1. Wu (吳) Correct answer.
  2. Jin (晉)
  3. Liang
  4. Chen

Explanation

The Three Kingdoms (三國) were Cao Wei in the north, Shu Han in the southwest under Liu Bei, and Eastern Wu (吳) in the southeast under Sun Quan. The era ended when the Jin briefly reunified China in 280 CE.

Question 21Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The equal-field system (均田制), a state policy of allocating land to peasant households, was first instituted by which regime?

  1. The Western Han
  2. The Southern Song
  3. The Northern Wei (北魏) Correct answer.
  4. The early Ming

Explanation

The equal-field system (均田制) was first promulgated by the Northern Wei (北魏) under Emperor Xiaowen in 485 CE to redistribute land, secure tax revenue and stabilise the agrarian base. It was inherited and developed by the Sui and Tang.

Question 22Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The recruitment system used during the Wei-Jin period to grade and recommend candidates for office by social standing was the:

  1. Imperial examination (科舉)
  2. Equal-field system (均田制)
  3. Nine-rank arbiter system (九品中正制) Correct answer.
  4. Recommendation of the filial and incorrupt (察舉)

Explanation

The nine-rank arbiter system (九品中正制), introduced by Cao Wei in 220 CE, had local arbiters grade candidates into nine ranks. In practice it entrenched the great aristocratic clans, producing the saying 'no humble families in the upper ranks, no great clans in the lower ranks'.

Question 23Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The mature imperial civil-service examination system (科舉) that selected officials by merit became firmly established during which dynasty?

  1. Han
  2. Yuan
  3. Sui-Tang Correct answer.
  4. Qing

Explanation

The imperial examination system (科舉) originated under the Sui and was systematically developed under the Tang, opening official recruitment to a wider pool by literary and classical merit and gradually undermining the hereditary aristocracy's monopoly on office.

Question 24Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Which fiscal reform, introduced in 780 during the mid-Tang, replaced the older zu-yong-diao system with biannual tax payments based on property and land?

  1. The Single Whip reform (一條鞭法)
  2. The equal-field system (均田制)
  3. The Two-Tax system (兩稅法) Correct answer.
  4. The Green Sprouts policy (青苗法)

Explanation

The Two-Tax system (兩稅法), proposed by Yang Yan in 780, assessed taxes on land and property and collected them twice yearly (summer and autumn). It responded to the breakdown of the equal-field and zu-yong-diao systems after the An Lushan Rebellion.

Question 25Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Wang Anshi's 'New Policies' (新法) during the Northern Song were primarily intended to:

  1. Restore the equal-field system across the empire
  2. Abolish the imperial examination
  3. Strengthen state finances and military power through economic reform Correct answer.
  4. Establish Buddhism as the state religion

Explanation

Wang Anshi (王安石) launched the New Policies from 1069 under Emperor Shenzong to enrich the state and strengthen the army (富國強兵), including measures such as the Green Sprouts loans, the hired-service law and the baojia militia. They provoked fierce factional opposition led by Sima Guang.

Question 26Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The Hongwu Emperor abolished which long-standing office in 1380 to concentrate power directly in the emperor's hands?

  1. The Censorate
  2. The Hanlin Academy
  3. The post of Chancellor / Grand Secretariat predecessor (丞相) Correct answer.
  4. The Six Ministries

Explanation

In 1380, after the Hu Weiyong affair, the Hongwu Emperor abolished the office of chancellor (丞相) and the Secretariat, leaving the Six Ministries to report directly to the throne. This marked a decisive intensification of autocratic imperial power in the Ming.

Question 27Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The imperial examination system, which had selected officials for some 1,300 years, was finally abolished by the Qing court in which year?

  1. 1840
  2. 1898
  3. 1905 Correct answer.
  4. 1911

Explanation

The Qing abolished the imperial examination (科舉) in 1905 as part of the late-Qing 'New Policies' reforms, ending a system that had operated since the Sui-Tang period and redirecting elites toward new-style and overseas schooling.

Question 28Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The Tang system of high government, which divided central authority among three departments to draft, review and implement edicts, is known as the:

  1. Three Departments and Six Ministries (三省六部) Correct answer.
  2. Nine-rank arbiter system
  3. Equal-field system
  4. Single whip system

Explanation

The Three Departments and Six Ministries (三省六部) system, consolidated under the Sui and Tang, split top authority among the Secretariat (drafting), the Chancellery (review) and the Department of State Affairs (execution, overseeing the Six Ministries), creating checks and a durable bureaucratic template for later dynasties.

Question 29Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The Manchu institution that organised both military forces and Manchu society into hereditary administrative-military units was the:

  1. Eight Banners (八旗) Correct answer.
  2. Green Standard Army
  3. Beiyang Army
  4. Ever-Victorious Army

Explanation

The Eight Banners (八旗) system, organised by Nurhaci, grouped Manchu (and later Mongol and Han) households into hereditary banners that combined military, social and administrative functions, forming the backbone of Qing military power and conquest.

Question 30Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Which dynasty reunified China in 589 CE after the long period of division, and is credited with constructing the Grand Canal?

  1. Tang (唐)
  2. Song (宋)
  3. Sui (隋) Correct answer.
  4. Jin (晉)

Explanation

The Sui (隋) dynasty, founded by Emperor Wen (Yang Jian), reunified China in 589 CE. Under Emperor Yang, the Sui completed the Grand Canal linking the Yellow and Yangtze river systems, though its heavy labour demands contributed to the dynasty's swift fall.

Question 31Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The 'Reign of Zhenguan' (貞觀之治), regarded as a model of good government, is associated with which Tang emperor?

  1. Emperor Gaozu (唐高祖)
  2. Emperor Xuanzong (唐玄宗)
  3. Emperor Taizong (唐太宗) Correct answer.
  4. Empress Wu Zetian (武則天)

Explanation

The Zhenguan era (627-649) under Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin) is celebrated for political stability, frugal government, willingness to accept remonstrance and competent ministers such as Wei Zheng, becoming a Confucian ideal of benevolent rule.

Question 32Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Which rebellion, beginning in 755, is widely seen as the turning point that marked the decline of Tang central power?

  1. The Yellow Turban Rebellion
  2. The Huang Chao Rebellion
  3. The An Lushan Rebellion (安史之亂) Correct answer.
  4. The Red Turban Rebellion

Explanation

The An Lushan Rebellion (安史之亂, 755-763), led by the frontier general An Lushan and later Shi Siming, devastated the Tang heartland, weakened central authority and entrenched the power of regional military governors (jiedushi), beginning the dynasty's long decline.

Question 33Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Empress Wu Zetian is historically notable as:

  1. The only woman to rule as emperor in her own right in Chinese history Correct answer.
  2. The first empress dowager to act as regent
  3. The founder of the Tang dynasty
  4. A consort who never held political power

Explanation

Wu Zetian (武則天) declared herself emperor in 690, founding the short-lived Zhou (周) interregnum, and remains the only woman in Chinese history to rule with the title of emperor (huangdi) rather than merely as regent or dowager.

Question 34Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

In Paper 2's unit on 'Women's social status: tradition and change', the traditional Confucian moral code constraining women is summarised as the 'Three Obediences and Four Virtues' (三從四德). The 'Three Obediences' required a woman to obey:

  1. The emperor, the magistrate and the village elder
  2. The Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha
  3. Her mother, her teacher and her employer
  4. Her father, her husband, and her son (in widowhood) Correct answer.

Explanation

The 'Three Obediences' (三從) prescribed that a woman obey her father before marriage, her husband after marriage, and her son in widowhood (在家從父、出嫁從夫、夫死從子). Together with the 'Four Virtues', this code defined women's subordinate place in traditional society.

Question 35Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The practice of foot-binding, often studied as a marker of women's constrained status, is generally believed to have become widespread among Han Chinese women from which dynasty onward?

  1. The Han
  2. The Qing only
  3. The Ming only
  4. The Song (宋) Correct answer.

Explanation

Foot-binding spread among Han Chinese women from around the Song dynasty and became increasingly entrenched through the Ming and Qing. It was widely criticised and campaigned against in the late Qing and Republican reform movements.

Question 36Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Which early-PRC legislation, promulgated in 1950, sought to abolish arranged marriage and grant women greater equality and freedom to divorce?

  1. The Marriage Law (婚姻法) Correct answer.
  2. The Land Reform Law
  3. The Common Programme
  4. The Anti-Rightist Decree

Explanation

The Marriage Law of 1950 (婚姻法) was among the first major laws of the People's Republic. It banned arranged and forced marriages, concubinage and child betrothal, set a minimum marriage age, and granted women rights to divorce and property, aiming to transform women's social status.

Question 37Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Who founded the Northern Song dynasty in 960, reportedly after being acclaimed emperor by his troops at Chenqiao?

  1. Zhao Kuangyin (趙匡胤) Correct answer.
  2. Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋)
  3. Li Shimin (李世民)
  4. Yang Jian (楊堅)

Explanation

Zhao Kuangyin (趙匡胤), Emperor Taizu of Song, founded the Northern Song in 960 after the Chenqiao Mutiny. He then centralised military power, famously persuading his generals to relinquish command 'over a cup of wine' (杯酒釋兵權).

Question 38Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The Song dynasty deliberately emphasised civil over military officials. This policy is best described as:

  1. 'Valuing the military, slighting the civil' (重武輕文)
  2. Equal treatment of civil and military elites
  3. 'Valuing the civil, slighting the military' (重文輕武) Correct answer.
  4. Abolition of all civil officials

Explanation

Having seized power through a military coup, the Song founders curbed military influence and elevated civil officials, a policy of 'valuing the civil and slighting the military' (重文輕武). This strengthened central control but is often blamed for the dynasty's military weakness against the Liao, Western Xia and Jin.

Question 39Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Which dynasty, founded by Kublai Khan in 1271, was the first time China was ruled entirely by a Mongol regime?

  1. Liao (遼)
  2. Jin (金)
  3. Yuan (元) Correct answer.
  4. Western Xia (西夏)

Explanation

The Yuan (元) dynasty was proclaimed by Kublai Khan (Khubilai) in 1271, and the conquest of the Southern Song was completed in 1279, making it the first dynasty in which the whole of China was ruled by a Mongol regime.

Question 40Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Under the Yuan dynasty's ethnic hierarchy, which group occupied the highest, most privileged status?

  1. The Han Chinese of the north (漢人)
  2. The Southerners (南人)
  3. The Mongols (蒙古人) Correct answer.
  4. The Semu (色目人) peoples

Explanation

The Yuan divided the population into four ranked classes, with the Mongols (蒙古人) at the top, followed by the Semu (色目, Central and West Asians), then the northern Han (漢人), and finally the Southerners (南人) of the former Southern Song at the bottom.

Question 41Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Which peasant leader overthrew the Yuan and founded the Ming dynasty in 1368, taking the reign title Hongwu?

  1. Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋) Correct answer.
  2. Li Zicheng (李自成)
  3. Hong Xiuquan (洪秀全)
  4. Zhao Kuangyin (趙匡胤)

Explanation

Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋), of humble peasant origin, led rebel forces against the Yuan and founded the Ming dynasty in 1368 as the Hongwu Emperor (明太祖), establishing his capital at Nanjing and abolishing the office of chancellor to concentrate imperial power.

Question 42Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The great maritime expeditions of the early Ming, reaching as far as East Africa, were led by which admiral?

  1. Zhang Qian (張騫)
  2. Qi Jiguang (戚繼光)
  3. Zheng He (鄭和) Correct answer.
  4. Zheng Chenggong (鄭成功)

Explanation

Zheng He (鄭和), a Muslim eunuch admiral, commanded seven great treasure-fleet voyages between 1405 and 1433 under the Yongle and Xuande emperors, sailing across Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf and the East African coast.

Question 43Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

Which ethnic group founded the Qing dynasty, which ruled China from 1644 to 1912?

  1. The Mongols
  2. The Khitan
  3. The Manchus (滿洲) Correct answer.
  4. The Tangut

Explanation

The Qing (清) was established by the Manchus (滿洲), a people descended from the Jurchen, who entered Beijing in 1644 after the fall of the Ming and ruled China until the abdication of the last emperor, Puyi, in 1912.

Question 44Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The 'High Qing' era of prosperity and territorial expansion spanned the reigns of which three emperors?

  1. Shunzhi, Kangxi and Yongzheng
  2. Qianlong, Jiaqing and Daoguang
  3. Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing
  4. Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Correct answer.

Explanation

The High Qing flourishing age (康雍乾盛世) covered the reigns of Kangxi (1661-1722), Yongzheng (1722-1735) and Qianlong (1735-1796), an era of demographic growth, territorial consolidation in Inner Asia, and cultural projects such as the Siku Quanshu.

Question 45Ancient and imperial China: institutions, economy and thought

The 'Three Feudatories' rebellion (三藩之亂), suppressed in the 1670s-1680s, was a challenge faced by which Qing emperor during the consolidation of Qing rule?

  1. Shunzhi
  2. Kangxi (康熙) Correct answer.
  3. Qianlong
  4. Daoguang

Explanation

The Kangxi Emperor (康熙) suppressed the Revolt of the Three Feudatories (1673-1681), led by former Ming generals such as Wu Sangui who had been granted vast southern fiefs. The victory was crucial to consolidating Qing control over southern China.

Question 46China1840–1949: treaty systems, reform and revolution

The First Opium War (1839-1842), which marks the boundary between Section A and Section B in Paper 1, ended with which treaty?

  1. Treaty of Shimonoseki
  2. Boxer Protocol
  3. Treaty of Tianjin
  4. Treaty of Nanjing (南京條約) Correct answer.

Explanation

The First Opium War ended with the Treaty of Nanjing (南京條約) in 1842, the first of the 'unequal treaties', which ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain, opened five treaty ports and imposed an indemnity, opening the modern era of foreign encroachment treated in Section B.

Question 47China1840–1949: treaty systems, reform and revolution

Which large-scale 19th-century rebellion against the Qing was led by Hong Xiuquan, who founded the 'Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace'?

  1. The Boxer Uprising
  2. The White Lotus Rebellion
  3. The Nian Rebellion
  4. The Taiping Rebellion (太平天國) Correct answer.

Explanation

The Taiping Rebellion (太平天國, 1851-1864), led by Hong Xiuquan, who claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus, established a rival state centred on Nanjing. It was one of the deadliest civil wars in history and gravely weakened the Qing before being suppressed by regional armies under leaders like Zeng Guofan.

Question 48China1840–1949: treaty systems, reform and revolution

The Self-Strengthening Movement (洋務運動) of the 1860s-1890s aimed primarily to:

  1. Overthrow the Qing dynasty and establish a republic
  2. Restore the equal-field system
  3. Abolish the imperial examination immediately
  4. Adopt Western military technology and industry while preserving Confucian institutions Correct answer.

Explanation

The Self-Strengthening Movement, led by officials such as Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang, sought to strengthen China by importing Western arms, shipyards, arsenals and industry under the slogan 'Chinese learning as the foundation, Western learning for practical use' (中體西用), while keeping the Confucian political order intact.

Question 49China1840–1949: treaty systems, reform and revolution

China's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) was formalised by which treaty, which ceded Taiwan to Japan?

  1. Treaty of Nanjing
  2. Treaty of Versailles
  3. Treaty of Aigun
  4. Treaty of Shimonoseki (馬關條約) Correct answer.

Explanation

The Treaty of Shimonoseki (馬關條約, 1895) ended the First Sino-Japanese War, requiring the Qing to cede Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan, pay a large indemnity, and recognise Korean independence. The humiliating defeat spurred the reform and revolutionary movements that followed.

Question 50China1840–1949: treaty systems, reform and revolution

The Hundred Days' Reform of 1898 was promoted by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao under which emperor?

  1. The Guangxu Emperor (光緒帝) Correct answer.
  2. The Tongzhi Emperor
  3. The Xuantong Emperor (Puyi)
  4. The Daoguang Emperor

Explanation

The Hundred Days' Reform (戊戌變法) of 1898 was launched under the Guangxu Emperor, who issued a flurry of modernising edicts inspired by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao. It was crushed after about 100 days by a conservative coup led by Empress Dowager Cixi.