The Making of Modern China, 1860-1997 | Edexcel A-Level History (9HI0)

The Making of Modern China, 1860-1997

190 questions
19 subtopics
Paper 3: themes in breadth with aspects in depth, one option of sixteen
Paper 3

A Paper 3 option combining aspects in breadth on communications, industry and the ideas that drove economic change with aspects in depth on the unequal treaties and foreign penetration, the war with Japan, the Sino-Soviet split, and China's re-entry into world affairs..

It covers improved communications and the application of western technologies, 1860–1997, the growth of mining and manufacturing, 1860–1997, ideas and ideologies promoting change, 1860-1997, the roles of individuals in promoting economic growth, 1860–1997, the Treaty of Tianjin, 1860, treaty ports and the significance of growing foreign trade, foreign language schools and missionaries, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95, the Triple Intervention and new concessions, the Boxer Rebellion, 1898-1900, the Manchurian Crisis of 1931-33, reasons for all-out war in 1937, the impact of war, 1937-39, and the role of the USA, russian demands and the Khrushchev-Mao clash, mao's growing fears of the Soviet Union, military confrontation in 1969, china's growing importance in world organisations, closer cooperation with Japan and the USA and the peaceful return of Hong Kong, 1997.

Sample questions from The Making of Modern China, 1860-1997

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

Improved communications and the application of western technologies, 1860–1997

How extensive was China's railway network by 1911?

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About 9,000 kilometres, much of it foreign-built and foreign-controlled, concentrated in the north east and along foreign spheres of influence.
Ideas and ideologies promoting change, 1860-1997

What economic model inspired China's early 1950s industrialisation?

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Soviet Marxism and its cult of heavy industry, adopted in the First Five-Year Plan.
The Treaty of Tianjin, 1860

Why was the treaty not ratified until 1860?

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Qing forces resisted the exchange of ratifications at the Dagu forts, so an Anglo-French expedition marched on Beijing and imposed the Convention of Peking.
Foreign language schools and missionaries

What was the Tongwen Guan?

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The interpreters' college founded in Beijing in 1862 to teach foreign languages and later science and international law to prepare officials for dealing with the powers.
The Triple Intervention and new concessions

What did the intervening powers gain?

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Russia obtained railway rights in Manchuria and then leased Port Arthur, France gained concessions in the south, and Germany took Jiaozhou in 1897.
The Manchurian Crisis of 1931-33

What was the Mukden Incident?

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The bombing of the South Manchurian Railway by Japanese officers in September 1931, blamed on Chinese troops and used as a pretext for occupying Manchuria.
The impact of war, 1937-39, and the role of the USA

What was the Battle of Taierzhuang?

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The Chinese victory in southern Shandong in spring 1938, the first major defeat of the Japanese army in the war, which lifted Chinese morale.
Mao's growing fears of the Soviet Union

How did the split shape the Cultural Revolution?

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Mao's fear that China would follow the Soviet road into revisionism was a principal reason for purging Liu and Deng as capitalist roaders.

The 19 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Improved communications and the application of western technologies, 1860–1997	Recall questions on why railways came late, the telegraph, steam shipping, the 1911 nationalisation crisis, and how western technology first reached China.	10
The growth of mining and manufacturing, 1860–1997	Recall questions on Shanghai's textile industry, Japanese industry in Manchuria, the First Five-Year Plan, the Great Leap Forward, and the growth after 1978.	10
Ideas and ideologies promoting change, 1860-1997	Recall questions on the Self-Strengthening Movement and why it failed, the Hundred Days' Reform, the May Fourth Movement, and its importance for the CCP.	10
The roles of individuals in promoting economic growth, 1860–1997	Recall questions on Li Hongzhang and Sheng Xuanhuai, Song Ziwen, the Four Modernisations, the household responsibility system, and the Special Economic Zones.	10
The Treaty of Tianjin, 1860	Recall questions on the Second Opium War, what the treaty provided, the burning of the Summer Palace, extraterritoriality, the Maritime Customs Service, and the Taiping Rebellion.	10
Treaty ports and the significance of growing foreign trade	Recall questions on how many treaty ports there were, the International Settlement at Shanghai, penetration of the Yangzi, the compradore, and when the system ended.	10
Foreign language schools and missionaries	Recall questions on the Tongwen Guan, the Chinese Educational Mission, how missionaries operated and why they provoked hostility, the Tianjin Massacre, and the role of translation.	10
The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95	Recall questions on the quarrel over Korea, why China lost, the terms of Shimonoseki, the size of the indemnity, and why defeat by Japan was so humiliating.	10
The Triple Intervention and new concessions	Recall questions on why Russia, France and Germany intervened and what they gained, Japan's resentment, Britain's leases of 1898, spheres of influence, and the Open Door.	10
The Boxer Rebellion, 1898-1900	Recall questions on who the Boxers were, what caused the rising, Cixi's support for it, the siege of the legations, the Boxer Protocol, and how it is viewed today.	10
The Manchurian Crisis of 1931-33	Recall questions on the Mukden Incident, Manchukuo, why Jiang did not resist, the Lytton Report, the significance for the League, and the Tanggu Truce.	10
Reasons for all-out war in 1937	Recall questions on the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, why Japan escalated, the battle for Shanghai, the second united front, and how unprepared China was.	10
The impact of war, 1937-39, and the role of the USA	Recall questions on the Rape of Nanjing, the scorched earth policy, Chongqing, American support before 1941, and why Pearl Harbor mattered to China.	10
Russian demands and the Khrushchev-Mao clash	Recall questions on the Soviet requests of 1958, the clash of personalities, the effect of the Secret Speech, the withdrawal of advisers, and the nuclear dispute.	10
Mao's growing fears of the Soviet Union	Recall questions on the Brezhnev Doctrine, how the split shaped the Cultural Revolution, the Third Front, the border dispute, and what social imperialism meant.	10
Military confrontation in 1969	Recall questions on the Zhenbao Island clashes, how serious the crisis became, how it was defused, and how it opened the way to Nixon's visit.	10
China's growing importance in world organisations	Recall questions on taking the UN seat in 1971, why it mattered, joining the IMF and World Bank, China's use of the Security Council, and the effect of Tiananmen.	10
Closer cooperation with Japan and the USA	Recall questions on normalisation with Japan in 1972 and the 1978 treaty, the obstacles that remained, full relations with Washington in 1979, and Deng's visit.	10
The peaceful return of Hong Kong, 1997	Recall questions on why the future had to be settled, the Joint Declaration, one country two systems, the Basic Law, the effect of Tiananmen, and the handover.	10

The Making of Modern China, 1860-1997 is 190 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.