The Cultural Revolution to Tiananmen Square 1966–1989
MOD-TIAN is worth about 25 marks out of 100 in recent HSC Modern History papers. Practise 15 exam-style questions (multiple choice, short answer) with instant marking and a worked solution for every question.
START PRACTISINGTopic notes
The background of the Great Leap Forward, Mao's aims and the course of the Cultural Revolution, its impact, Deng Xiaoping's rise and reforms, and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and their suppression, with how to answer the multi-part Section IV question.
- 1What you need to know
- 2Background: 1949 to 1966
- 3The Cultural Revolution, 1966–1976
- 4Deng Xiaoping and modernisation, 1976–1989
- 5Tiananmen Square, 1989
- 6Interpretations
- 7Answering the parts of a Section IV question
- 8Common mistakes
- 9Exam tips
- 10Links to other topics
Example questions
Example 1 · 1 mark · multiple choice
The Red Guards were urged to attack the ‘Four Olds’. What were they?
- AThe four oldest Politburo members
- BOld customs, culture, habits and ideas
- COld schools, temples, factories and farms
- DOld landlords, capitalists, rightists and spies
Example 2 · 1 mark · multiple choice
Which statement best explains why Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966?
- ATo prepare China for war with the USA over Taiwan
- BTo reassert his authority and purge ‘capitalist roaders’
- CTo hand power to a new generation of elected leaders
- DTo speed up economic reforms that allowed private farming
Example 3 · 15 marks · short answer
Evaluate the impact of the Cultural Revolution on Chinese society between 1966 and 1976.
(15 marks)
Answers and worked solutions appear when you practise these questions.
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