GCSE History | How and why China became a Communist State

History Quiz - China: Under Mao - 1930-1965 - Why And How China Became A Communist State By 1949 (Questions)

In GCSE History students will be taught about China under Mao. One question they will explore is how and why China became a Communist state.

How did Mao come to be leader of China? Why did his people support him? In 1930 China was sharply divided between Mao's Communist Party and the Nationalist KMT, led by the corrupt Chiang Kai-Shek. The civil war between the two resumed vigorously after 1945, and by 1949 the Communists had won and Mao became leader of the state. Chiang took refuge on an off-shore island vowing to return to rule China.

Learn more about how and why China became a Communist state in this quiz.

Which province of Northern China was invaded by the Japanese in 1931, causing the Chinese civil war to be de-escalated as both sides confronted the invader?

[ ]	Sinkiang
[ ]	Kwantung
[ ]	Manchuria
[ ]	Chungking

Mao had established a Communist enclave in Central China by 1930. What was this state called?

[ ]	The Chinese People's Republic
[ ]	The Chinese Soviet Republic
[ ]	The Red China Soviet
[ ]	The Chinese Independent Soviet Republic

Between 1934 and 1935 Mao marched his supporters from Jiangxi province to Yenan in Shaanxi province in order to reform a Soviet enclave there. What name was given to this journey?

[ ]	The Long March
[ ]	The Long Journey
[ ]	The Longest March
[ ]	The People's March

Mao was advised at this time by a Russian government organisation to concentrate on revolution among the industrial working class, rather than among the peasants. He refused to accept this advice, arguing that peasants formed 80% of the Chinese population. With which Soviet body was he arguing?

[ ]	The Politburo
[ ]	The NKVD
[ ]	The Comintern
[ ]	The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Who was Mao's second-in-command at this time?

[ ]	Lin Piao
[ ]	Deng Xioping
[ ]	Zhou En Lai
[ ]	Sun Yat Sen

General Stilwell was sent by President Roosevelt to liaise with Chiang Kai-Shek. What advice did he send back to the President about the likely result of the Chinese Civil War, which was certain to re-ignite after VJ Day?

[ ]	That the KMT was most likely to win as they had more troops, more and better weapons and they occupied more of China's land area and population
[ ]	That the KMT was most likely to lose because of the popular support enjoyed by Mao's forces among many peasants
[ ]	That the KMT would win because of clear divisions in the Communist leadership
[ ]	That the KMT would lose because they were suffering greater losses than the Communists in the war against Japan - the KMT, he told Washington, was making a much greater effort in this campaign than Mao's forces

Mao believed that the Communist leadership would become stale and corrupt unless they held regular "struggle meetings" where leading figures were expected to criticise themselves in front of their colleagues. What name was given to this programme?

[ ]	Self-examination
[ ]	Rectification
[ ]	Soul-searching
[ ]	Guided criticism

In 1949 Chiang Kai-Shek fled with his followers to an island off the Chinese coast. What was this island called?

[ ]	Formosa/Taiwan
[ ]	Hainan
[ ]	Luzon
[ ]	Amoy

Chiang did, however, hold on to China's membership of the United Nations. What special position did Nationalist China hold in this body for many years after 1949?

[ ]	Chairmanship of UNESCO
[ ]	A discount on its financial subscription to belong to the UN
[ ]	Permanent membership of the Security Council
[ ]	The right to host the Headquarters of the Food and Agricultural Organisation

10.

What name was given to independent local military commanders and rulers who would do deals with either side in the ongoing Chinese civil war until 1949?

[ ]	Warlords
[ ]	Gangsters
[ ]	Separatists
[ ]	Feudalists

History Quiz - China: Under Mao - 1930-1965 - Why And How China Became A Communist State By 1949 (Answers)

Which province of Northern China was invaded by the Japanese in 1931, causing the Chinese civil war to be de-escalated as both sides confronted the invader?

[ ]	Sinkiang
[ ]	Kwantung
[x]	Manchuria
[ ]	Chungking

The civil war died down, rather than stopping altogether. Japan overcame resistance in Manchuria, where they proceeded to set up a puppet state

Mao had established a Communist enclave in Central China by 1930. What was this state called?

[ ]	The Chinese People's Republic
[x]	The Chinese Soviet Republic
[ ]	The Red China Soviet
[ ]	The Chinese Independent Soviet Republic

Here Mao could set up his model of a Communist state, where he hoped to be free from KMT interference

Between 1934 and 1935 Mao marched his supporters from Jiangxi province to Yenan in Shaanxi province in order to reform a Soviet enclave there. What name was given to this journey?

[x]	The Long March
[ ]	The Long Journey
[ ]	The Longest March
[ ]	The People's March

Approximately 100,000 people set out, of whom 20,000 arrived

[ ]	The Politburo
[ ]	The NKVD
[x]	The Comintern
[ ]	The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Mao was determined to adapt Marxism to the circumstances of China

Who was Mao's second-in-command at this time?

[ ]	Lin Piao
[ ]	Deng Xioping
[x]	Zhou En Lai
[ ]	Sun Yat Sen

Mao used the period in Yenan to consolidate his hold on the Party, and on the line of command within it

[ ]	That the KMT was most likely to win as they had more troops, more and better weapons and they occupied more of China's land area and population
[x]	That the KMT was most likely to lose because of the popular support enjoyed by Mao's forces among many peasants
[ ]	That the KMT would win because of clear divisions in the Communist leadership
[ ]	That the KMT would lose because they were suffering greater losses than the Communists in the war against Japan - the KMT, he told Washington, was making a much greater effort in this campaign than Mao's forces

Stilwell ("Vinegar Joe") was frank in his dispatches to the White House

[ ]	Self-examination
[x]	Rectification
[ ]	Soul-searching
[ ]	Guided criticism

Mao was suspicious of many of the Party's cadres, of the army and China's bureaucracy generally. He worried that they could lose their revolutionary zeal or even revert to Capitalism

In 1949 Chiang Kai-Shek fled with his followers to an island off the Chinese coast. What was this island called?

[x]	Formosa/Taiwan
[ ]	Hainan
[ ]	Luzon
[ ]	Amoy

Chiang expected to return to the mainland quite soon to re-establish his regime, but this seemed more and more unlikely as Mao consolidated his position

Chiang did, however, hold on to China's membership of the United Nations. What special position did Nationalist China hold in this body for many years after 1949?

[ ]	Chairmanship of UNESCO
[ ]	A discount on its financial subscription to belong to the UN
[x]	Permanent membership of the Security Council
[ ]	The right to host the Headquarters of the Food and Agricultural Organisation

The Nationalists fought vigorously to retain this privilege

10.

What name was given to independent local military commanders and rulers who would do deals with either side in the ongoing Chinese civil war until 1949?

[x]	Warlords
[ ]	Gangsters
[ ]	Separatists
[ ]	Feudalists

They were much more likely to ally - if only temporarily - with the KMT. They were brutal and reactionary, and they played their part in alienating peasant opinion away from the KMT