Mao’s China, 1949-76 | Edexcel A-Level History (9HI0)

Mao’s China, 1949-76

158 questions
16 subtopics
Paper 2: the depth study, one option of sixteen
Paper 2

A Paper 2 depth study of the People's Republic under Mao, covering the establishment of party control and the destruction of opposition, the transformation of agriculture and industry from the First Five-Year Plan to the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the changes to the position of women, education, culture and religion..

It covers china in 1949, the new power structure, defeating the CCP’s opponents, china and the Korean War, early changes in agriculture, 1949–57, the communes and their organisation, the First Five-Year Plan, 1952–56, the Great Leap Forward, 1958-62, mao’s reasons for launching the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards and Red Terror, attacks on Mao’s political and class enemies, winding down the Cultural Revolution, 1968–76, the changing status of women, education and health provision, cultural change and religion under Mao.

Sample questions from Mao’s China, 1949-76

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

China in 1949

What was the state of Chinese agriculture in 1949?

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Overwhelmingly small-scale and dominated by landlords and rich peasants; roughly 80 per cent of the population farmed, many as tenants paying high rents.
Defeating the CCP’s opponents

What was the Hundred Flowers campaign of 1957?

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An invitation to criticise the party, followed by a crackdown on the critics.
Early changes in agriculture, 1949–57

How was land redistributed?

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Roughly 43 per cent of China's cultivated land was transferred to some 300 million peasants, which fulfilled the promise on which the CCP's rural support rested.
The First Five-Year Plan, 1952–56

How successful was the First Five-Year Plan?

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Industrial output roughly doubled and most targets were met or exceeded, making it the most successful economic programme of the Mao era.
Mao’s reasons for launching the Cultural Revolution

What divided the CCP leadership in the early 1960s?

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Mao's insistence on continuous class struggle against the pragmatism of Liu and Deng, who prioritised production and technical competence.
Attacks on Mao’s political and class enemies

What happened to Deng Xiaoping?

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He was purged as the second capitalist roader and sent to work in a tractor factory in Jiangxi, before being rehabilitated by Zhou Enlai in 1973.
The changing status of women

What was the All-China Women's Federation?

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The party's mass organisation for women, founded in 1949, which promoted the Marriage Law and mobilised women for political campaigns and production.
Cultural change

What were the eight model operas?

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The handful of revolutionary works Jiang Qing permitted, which for years were effectively the only theatre, film and music available in China.

The 16 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
China in 1949	Recall questions on the state of the country after the civil war, hyperinflation, the flight to Taiwan, why many welcomed the CCP, and its relations with Moscow.	10
The new power structure	Recall questions on how party, state and army related, democratic centralism, the role of the cadres, and the danwei and hukou systems.	10
Defeating the CCP’s opponents	Recall questions on the three antis and five antis, struggle sessions, the Laogai, the reunification of Tibet, and the Hundred Flowers and its aftermath.	10
China and the Korean War	Recall questions on why China intervened, how it performed, how the war strengthened control at home, and its effect on relations with America and the USSR.	10
Early changes in agriculture, 1949–57	Recall questions on the Agrarian Reform Law and land redistribution, mutual aid teams, the cooperatives, and why Mao accelerated collectivisation in 1955.	10
The communes and their organisation	Recall questions on communal living and the abolition of private plots, Lysenkoism and the Four Pests, the scale of the famine, and why there was no relief.	10
The First Five-Year Plan, 1952–56	Recall questions on its targets and Soviet assistance, its successes and weaknesses, how private industry was absorbed, and why Mao turned against the model.	10
The Great Leap Forward, 1958-62	Recall questions on why Mao launched it, backyard steel, the Lushan Conference and the fall of Peng Dehuai, and how Liu and Deng reversed it.	10
Mao’s reasons for launching the Cultural Revolution	Recall questions on the split between ideologues and pragmatists, the Socialist Education Movement, the Sino-Soviet split, and the use of the personality cult.	10
The Red Guards and Red Terror	Recall questions on how the young were mobilised, the mass rallies of 1966, the four olds, who was targeted, and the factional fighting that followed.	10
Attacks on Mao’s political and class enemies	Recall questions on the fates of Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, the rise and death of Lin Biao, the scale of the party purge, and the cadre schools.	10
Winding down the Cultural Revolution, 1968–76	Recall questions on the restoration of order by the PLA, the rustication of urban youth, the Gang of Four, the Tiananmen Incident of 1976, and Mao's death.	9
The changing status of women	Recall questions on foot binding, the Marriage Law of 1950 and its reception, the effect of collectivisation, and how far equality was actually achieved.	10
Education and health provision	Recall questions on the growth of literacy, Pinyin, the closure of schools after 1966, the barefoot doctors, and the rise in life expectancy.	9
Cultural change	Recall questions on the attack on traditional culture, Jiang Qing and the model operas, socialist realism, the treatment of writers, and the use of the media.	10
Religion under Mao	Recall questions on the attacks on Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity and Islam, the patriotic associations, ancestor worship, and the effect in the minority regions.	10

Mao’s China, 1949-76 is 158 of the 6,832 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £9

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.