Lesson 2

2 The Red Guards and the Red Terror Quiz: Pearson Edexcel History, Unit 16

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 2, The Red Guards and the Red Terror: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel GCSE History (1HI0), Unit 16: Mao’s China, 1945–76, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Who were the young radicals mobilised by Mao in 1966 called?

    • Red Guards
    • Young Pioneers
    • Black Panthers
    • Komsomol brigades

  2. What term describes the violent persecution carried out by Red Guards?

    • Cultural Cleansing
    • White Terror
    • Red Terror
    • Great Purge

  3. What was the main target of the Red Guards' 'four olds' campaign?

    • State machinery
    • Traditional culture
    • Modern industry
    • Collective farms

  4. What major breakdown of social order occurred as rival Red Guard factions fought?

    • Military dictatorship
    • Foreign occupation
    • Economic collapse
    • Growing anarchy

  5. What was the most common form of punishment inflicted by Red Guards?

    • Financial fines
    • Exile abroad
    • Public humiliation
    • Hard labour

  6. Which group was primarily targeted for persecution by the Red Guards?

    • People's Liberation Army
    • Teachers and intellectuals
    • Industrial factory workers
    • Poor peasant farmers

  7. How did Mao publicly encourage the Red Guards in late 1966?

    • Radio broadcasts
    • Mass rallies
    • Private meetings
    • Written decrees

  8. What happened to many historic sites and artefacts during the Cultural Revolution?

    • Expanded
    • Protected
    • Exported
    • Destroyed

  9. Students publicly denouncing a principal and forcing a confession exemplifies what?

    • Democratic debate
    • Judicial trial
    • Diplomatic negotiation
    • Public humiliation

  10. The systematic vandalism of historic temples reflects which official campaign?

    • Four olds
    • Great Leap Forward
    • Hundred Flowers
    • Self-Strengthening

  11. Rival Red Guard factions fighting in cities with no police control caused what?

    • Strict martial law
    • Industrial stability
    • Growing anarchy
    • Democratic elections

  12. What did the dragging of party officials from offices by students show?

    • Economic growth
    • Military loyalty
    • Foreign invasion
    • Collapsing authority

  13. Which action best showed the Red Terror affecting ordinary family life?

    • Paying taxes
    • Joining communes
    • Farming grain
    • Denouncing parents

  14. What was the name of the campaign to destroy museums and traditional culture?

    • New Culture
    • Four Olds
    • Great Leap
    • Hundred Flowers

  15. Why did Mao tolerate the violence carried out by the Red Guards?

    • To build dams
    • To attack rivals
    • To boost trade
    • To appease US

  16. What did the spread of Red Guard violence into schools and factories suggest?

    • Strict stability
    • Industrial growth
    • Everyday disruption
    • Military rule

  17. What was a major negative consequence of Red Guard factional fighting?

    • Widespread anarchy
    • Higher literacy
    • Stronger courts
    • Surplus grain

  18. How did the Red Guards ultimately function during the Cultural Revolution?

    • Elected officials
    • Uncontrollable terror
    • Stable guards
    • Peaceful police

  19. How did Mao's use of Red Guards affect the Chinese Communist Party?

    • Strengthened courts
    • Expanded bureaus
    • Unified leaders
    • Weakened institutions

  20. What was the main purpose of destroying traditional Chinese culture?

    • Boosting exports
    • Reshaping society
    • Saving money
    • Improving trade

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