Lesson 2P.1.1

2P.1.1 Emergence of the People's Republic of China, 1936–1962 Quiz: AQA History, Unit 26

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 2P.1.1, Emergence of the People's Republic of China, 1936–1962: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA History (7042), Unit 26: 2P The Transformation of China, 1936–1997, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which incident of December 1936 forced Jiang Jieshi to agree to a united front against Japan?

    • The Long March crossing of the Yangtze
    • The Nanjing Incident
    • The Shanghai massacre
    • The Xi'an incident

  2. Which event of 1934-1935 was a Communist retreat that enabled Mao to become a leader of the CCP?

    • The Hundred Flowers campaign
    • The Second United Front
    • The Long March
    • The Great Leap Forward

  3. Which war between 1946 and 1949 ended with Communist victory and the flight of the Nationalists to Taiwan?

    • The Chinese Civil War
    • The Boxer Rebellion
    • The Korean War
    • The Sino-Japanese War

  4. On which date was the People's Republic of China proclaimed in Beijing?

    • 4 July 1946
    • 1 May 1945
    • 1 October 1949
    • 15 August 1936

  5. What did the land reform campaign of 1950-1952 mainly involve?

    • The sale of state land to foreign investors
    • The creation of large collective farms owned by the state
    • A ban on all agricultural production for export
    • Attacks on landlords and redistribution of land to peasants

  6. Which conflict drew China into war with the USA between 1950 and 1953?

    • The Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1958
    • The Sino-Indian War
    • The Korean War
    • The Vietnam War

  7. Which policy of 1956-1957 invited criticism of the party before it was turned into a purge of critics?

    • The Cultural Revolution
    • The Great Leap Forward
    • The Hundred Flowers campaign
    • The Four Modernisations

  8. What was the main aim of the First Five Year Plan of 1953-1957?

    • To give farmers full ownership of their land
    • To develop heavy industry with Soviet assistance
    • To replace all state industry with foreign investment
    • To end private trade within 12 months

  9. Which campaign of 1958-1962 aimed at rapid industrialisation and collectivisation, leading to a famine?

    • The Four Modernisations
    • The Great Leap Forward
    • The Land Reform
    • The Hundred Flowers campaign

  10. Which marshal was purged in 1959 after criticising the Great Leap Forward?

    • Zhou Enlai
    • Peng Dehuai
    • Deng Xiaoping
    • Lin Biao

  11. Which Soviet leader's policies caused a breakdown in relations with Mao from the late 1950s?

    • Joseph Stalin
    • Leonid Brezhnev
    • Mikhail Gorbachev
    • Nikita Khrushchev

  12. Which event of 1950 saw Chinese forces move into a region that became part of the PRC?

    • The incorporation of Tibet
    • The capture of Taiwan
    • The annexation of Hong Kong
    • The occupation of Mongolia

  13. Which position did Mao give up in 1959 while remaining party Chairman?

    • Premier of the State Council
    • Commander of the Red Army
    • General Secretary of the CCP
    • State Chairman of the PRC

  14. Which principle, central to the organisation of the Chinese Communist Party, combined discussion with obedience to decisions?

    • Democratic centralism
    • Corporatism
    • Laissez-faire liberalism
    • Federal parliamentarianism

  15. Which approach of 1942-1944 at Yan'an was used to unify the party's ideology and discipline?

    • The Rectification campaign
    • The Land Reform
    • The Hundred Flowers campaign
    • The Five Anti campaign

  16. Which factor best explains the Communist victory in the Civil War?

    • A peace treaty signed with Japan in 1945 that gave the CCP all the land
    • Support from the USA for the Communists after 1945
    • Economic strength in the cities that the Guomindang controlled
    • Land reform and peasant support against GMD weakness

  17. Which campaign of 1951-1952 targeted supporters of the old order and was used to consolidate Communist control?

    • The Hundred Flowers campaign
    • The Great Leap Forward
    • The Three Anti and Five Anti campaigns
    • The Four Modernisations

  18. Which statement best describes the way the PRC's early state was organised?

    • A monarchy headed by a hereditary emperor
    • A federal union with autonomous Guomindang provinces
    • A one-party state controlled by the CCP
    • A multi-party parliamentary democracy with independent courts

  19. Which statement best summarises the outcome of the Great Leap Forward by 1962?

    • An agreement with the USSR that restored Sino-Soviet unity
    • The complete end of collectivised agriculture by 1960
    • Economic failure and famine that forced a retreat from radical policies
    • Successful industrialisation that surpassed Britain in steel output

  20. Which statement best explains the Communist consolidation of power by the early 1950s?

    • Power was shared with the Guomindang in a coalition government
    • Mass campaigns, terror, land reform and the army
    • The regime relied mainly on foreign troops to maintain order
    • Political opposition was tolerated under a multi-party constitution

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