How do the Chinese Gaokao tests narrate the history of other countries? A textual analysis of “the other” in official representations of history

ABSTRACT

This study examined how other countries were portrayed in the history test paper of the Chinese National College Entrance Exam, or Gaokao, over the past four decades. A qualitative study was conducted on the questions from history exams administered from 1978 to 2021. The contents of these questions were analyzed and synthesized into historical narratives, and six thematic narratives were identified in the test material: Humiliation and Resistance, War Changes History, the World Community, the Celestial Empire, Social Formations and Politics, and Communism. The study found that the history questions not only presented historical knowledge but also included an official understanding of history. The findings suggest that the Chinese government strengthened the ideological work of socialism with Chinese characteristics, shaping the legitimacy of Chinese communist rule and strengthening nationalist education.

KEYWORDS:

• Chinese Gaokao
• Chinese-centrism
• history education
• ideological narratives

Introduction

History education is a critical tool for constructing a national identity and conveying a national narrative, and history education texts provide a vehicle for these narratives (Fuchs, 2010). Researchers have conducted numerous in-depth analyses of history textbooks, exploring how textbooks convey national narratives and, thereby, construct the collective memory of future generations, forming national identity in terms of texts, images, and authoring systems (Ahonen, 2001; Goldberg et al., 2006; Klymenko, 2016; Malmros, 2017; Martin, 1975; Qian et al., 2017; Trošt, 2018; Vural & Özuyanık, 2008). However, the history test as a vehicle for national narratives has been studied relatively infrequently. While the quantity and length of the tests are limited because they present a condensed understanding of historical knowledge, they can be more useful than historical publications or overt historical discussions when exploring collective memory (Reich, 2011). The content and wording of the test questions can show a country’s desired historical narrative, and by analyzing the test text, one can better understand a country’s historical ideology.

The college entrance examination is the most important annual examination in China and has been offered consistently for decades. As a national selection test organized by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (MoE), Gaokao is regarded not only as a social filter but also as an important way for ordinary students to change their social class (Muzhou, 2021). The Gaokao has been an enduring topic in academic research, but there are limited studies on the ideological narratives embedded in such a critical, long-lasting, and highly authorized text. The Gaokao texts are produced by the National Education Examinations Authority and supervised and controlled by the state apparatus; thus, they contain official attributes (Liang, 2019). Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that history questions in Gaokao, as a type of authoritative and normative knowledge, represent the official Chinese attitude toward history and that an analysis of history test texts can provide an entry point for researchers to explore the ideological tendencies in Chinese education.

In this study, all the questions about countries other than China in the 69 sets of Gaokao papers (National Volumes) during 1978–2021 were analyzed to examine the perceptions of the world and international relations within Chinese history education through a narrative construction. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between narratives of the Other and the construction of national identity at the level of cultural representations. This study is among the first to examine the Chinese Gaokao from a narrative perspective. It analyzed six meta-narratives on other countries identified in the test materials and offered explanations of their narration. Two research questions guided this study:

1. What narrative themes are constructed through the Gaokao?

2. How does Chinese history education deal with “the Other” and construct official historical frames?

Literature review

Historical narratives provide national identity, whereas official history is a cultural tool that carries the identity interests of the producers (e.g., Wertsch, 2002). Social scientists have widely explored national identity in historical representations, defined as cultural tools that create a mosaic of collective memory, such as museums, anniversaries, and textbooks (Liu & Hilton, 2005; Liu et al., 1999). Textbooks have received substantial scholarly attention as a field of collective memory construction. As repositories of legitimated knowledge, textbooks provide space for the presentation of national narratives and ultimately help transfer these narratives into the collective memory of the younger generation (Apple, 1992; Williams, 1989). According to Xu’s (2021) comparative study of two editions of junior high school history textbooks in China before and after 2012 and Yan et al.’s (2021) interview study of high school teachers and students in Beijing, China, the effect of textbooks on students’ identities and values was evident, with newer textbooks in China (post−2012) placing more emphasis on the formal ideology of Xi and the authority and common desire to consolidate Communist Party rule (Xu, 2021). Scholars have also focused on the content of state narratives in educational textbooks in their countries to demonstrate that textbooks are the site of memory construction and that the social ruling class transmits social power relations and ideologies to the younger generation through textbooks. Such studies include Osinski’s (2018) study of Polish textbooks, Su’s (2007)study of ideology in Taiwanese textbooks, and Zajda’s (2017) research on social identity and ideology in Russian textbooks.

Although research has investigated the ideological transmission function of textbooks, less is known about the ideological influence of a related form of official knowledge, high-stakes state examinations. Scholars hold different views on whether test questions contribute to the achievement of ideological functions in history education. Qian et al. (2017), for example, argued that the influence of high-stakes exams has led to a general utilitarian attitude in the use of textbooks, as students see knowledge in textbooks only as “used in exams” and do not perceive it as part of what they must follow; as such, Qian et al. argued that high-stakes tests have dissolved the ideological shaping function of textbooks. Other scholars, however, have affirmed the ideology-shaping function of test questions. Reich (2012) argued that standardized history exams, while testing students’ knowledge of objective facts, are inherently imbued with ideologies similar to the ideologies of textbook historical narratives designed to entrench nationalism and memory. In this sense, the history test is a tool for concretizing and disseminating nationalist historical narratives. It performs a communication function through its form, content, and importance to the candidate’s career. The thematic choices, discursive perspectives, and wording of the test questions reflect ideology. There is substantial content in the examination document; however, what goes into the test is subject to selection.

According to Reich (2011), the test is a tool for concretizing and disseminating nationalist historical narratives, and test questions play an ideological role through their form and content. In an analysis of 263 questions about the Soviet Union on U.S. exams between 1980 and 2010, Reich demonstrated that national test questions were a tool for transmitting official collective memory. Reich focused on the interaction between the test questions and the social context but paid less attention to the ideological content reflected in the test questions. Hence, limited research has aimed to understand a country’s historical ideology through test questions.

The use of national/central examinations in the admission process to public higher education institutions is common in many countries, including the National Academic Achievement testing in Japan, the Iljegosa in Korea, the National Standardized Exam in Indonesia, the Yüksekögretime Gecis Sinavi in Turkey, the Unified State Examination in Russia (Denisova-Schmidt & Leontyeva, 2020), and the Scholastic Aptitude Test in the United States. However, the relationship between the test developers and the official Ministry of Education differs among countries. For example, in South Korea, the questions are jointly administered by the Ministry of Education and the Educational Curriculum Evaluation Institute (Lei, 2019). In Japan, the University Entrance Examination Center, which is responsible for the questions, and its questioning committee are independent administrative legal agencies (Wenying & Guannan, 2019), whereas in Russia, the questions are developed by the Federal Institute for Educational Testing (Denisova-Schmidt & Leontyeva, 2020). Some of these proposing bodies are directly affiliated with official authorities, whereas others are independent third parties. It can be inferred from this disparity that the national identity constructs in the questions of the unified exams are not the same in each country. State control over test questions is related to the philosophy of education and the underlying philosophy of political governance held by that country.

Considerable research has been conducted on national examinations, but most of it has focused on evaluation mechanisms (Retnawati et al., 2017), academic load (G. L. Anderson, 2001), and educational equity and control game in national examination policymaking (Sung & Kang, 2012; Takayama, 2013). The National Education Examination Authority of China also has numerous individuals who focus on studying the college entrance examinations each year, mainly investigating the reliability, validity, and fairness of its evaluation mechanism; the characteristics of the test design; and question answering techniques in a specific subject, such as research on the changes in the types and perspective of questions (National Education Examinations Authority, 2019, 2020). Surprisingly, despite the abundant literature on the Gaokao, there is insufficient research on the ideological narratives embedded in such a critical, long-lasting, and highly authorized text.

Theoretical framework

Despite the differences in social structures, social forms, and levels of social development, the curriculum of any country carries a certain ideology (Schiro, 1978). The narrative of the curriculum products (e.g., curriculum standards, textbooks, standardized tests) engages political, economic, cultural, and historical factors in deciding what should be included, highlighted in the test, or excluded, and it has been argued that test questions reflect what the country wants young people to learn (Apple & Christian-Smith, 1991). The idea that curriculum plays an important role in the creation and re-creation of dominant social ideologies is not new to the study of textbooks; yet, exams, as a particular curriculum product, have received minimal attention. In countries with stricter ideological control, standardized exams as a means of pedagogical evaluation provide even less freedom for teachers’ understanding and students’ reinterpretation than textbooks.

History is a traditional subject in school curricula. Regardless of curricular intent, society expects a degree of consensus on the content of history in terms of nation-state concepts and national development processes (Carretero & Kriger, 2011). However, there are significant differences between the Chinese and the Western context regarding the assessment of history. For example, U.S. history assessments expect students to develop more analytical and reflective skills in history (Grant, 2003), whereas Chinese national paper assessments prefer to test standardized, “replicable” historical knowledge to accommodate the need for consistent national identity and collective memory in a vast country. In China, governmental power is involved in writing the Gaokao; thus, the testing narrative is a legitimate way to infiltrate ideology conducive to the implementation of the state’s power of affairs (Kang, 2020). The texts of history tests in the Gaokao, the most standardized and authoritative test in China, are highly ideological, undertaking the task of coalescing knowledge.

The narrative of history questions is also debated in academic research: are they fragmented “facts” or can a “unified logical narrative” be constructed? Testing historical knowledge with questions has been criticized for narrowly focusing on and reducing historical knowledge to a list of verifiable facts (Gipps, 1999; VanSledright, 2008; Wineburg, 2001, 2004). However, the narrative language used in all accounts of tests, with coherence and emotional appeal, are indispensable cognitive tools for making a series of historical events comprehensible (Mink et al., 1987; Wertsch, 2002; see also Bruner, 1986; Wertsch, 1998). There has been an argument that many narrative elements in history tests, if present in large enough quantities, can constitute narrative historical accounts (Reich, 2011). Further, although the narrative elements such as time, place, people, events, dialogue, and evaluation contained in a single question may be fragmentary and incomplete, the “integration” function of narrative can be used to construct these elements to form a relatively complete historical story.

There has been substantial research on how the “Chinese story” is told in Chinese history education. More specifically, the national process is condensed into a unified grand narrative that emphasizes a unified multi-ethnic state and a centralized system of power in the conception of history. However, insufficient studies have explored how Chinese history education tells the history of other countries and what type of ideological narrative it uses in the process. B. Anderson (1991) noted that a common narrative device for enhancing identification is to construct an “other” that could be used for comparison to highlight the uniqueness of a nation. Wendt (1999) first borrowed the framework of the “I” and “me” to study national identity, arguing that “collective identity” depends on how one defines oneself in relation to “the other.” Harrison and Huntington (2000) explained this problem in more general terms, noting that identity in any aspect (individual, tribal, racial, and civilizational) can only be defined in relation to “the other” (other people, tribes, races, or civilizations). “the other” is necessary for the nation to recognize the “we” that includes itself, and the nation’s self-understanding cannot be accomplished without “the other.” The “other” also plays an important role in related narrative studies. Furthermore, many scholars have conducted precise analyses of the pronouns, metaphors, contextual cues, and social roles that comprise the salient distinction between “we” and “they” (see P. A. Chilton, 2004; P. Chilton & Schäffner, 1997; van Dijk, 1984, 1998; Wilson, 1990; Woodward, 1997). Thus, in the process of analyzing Chinese college entrance examination history papers, we introduced the vision of self and the other.

The Chinese Gaokao

The year 1978 was a turning point for all Chinese people. That year, under the auspices and leadership of President Deng Xiaoping, China launched an all-round reform and began the path of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. In the education system, on October 12, 1977, the State Council transmitted to the Ministry of Education The Opinions on Enrollment in Higher Education in 1977, marking the formal restoration of the college entrance examination system. In 1983, the Ministry of Education put forward the reform goal of “gradually establishing and improving the enrollment system of socialist higher education institutions with Chinese characteristics.” Thus, the evolution of the college entrance examination system has been intertwined with the practical path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The Gaokao is regarded as the most important exam in China, and the number of people who take this exam each year is staggering (more than 10.78 million applicants in 2021). The Gaokao is a passport to the top universities and subsequent careers in China, which is highly related to the future of the candidates. If students want to get high scores on exams, it is critical to master the test content and test techniques. Many Chinese domestic history test studies have analyzed the direction of the college entrance examination and the means of answering the questions. Therefore, books about “college entrance examination questions” are best-sellers in the Chinese publishing market, and the annual test papers are important study materials that every high school student and teacher practices with, explains, and analyzes repeatedly (Purcell, 2017). Importantly, there is no official unified announcement of standard answers by the state, and the reference answers appended to these best-selling books are compiled by various publishers themselves or collected and synthesized. The reference answers vary from version to version of a book. In this sense, the college entrance examination has a more powerful curriculum than the school curriculum does. This form of education, where the goal is to get a high score, is known in China as a “test-based education” because every student spends considerable time practicing questions for exams. Considering the intensity of learning at the high school level (the vast majority of students spend 10–14 hours or more a day in school), the impact of test questions on students is critical.

The Gaokao is administered in June each year and lasts for two days. Before the test, candidates choose their subjects according to their academic interests to determine which subjects will be on the exam, and history is an important subject for social science candidates (Farley & Yang, 2019). The number of students required to take the history exam each year is probably more than one-third of the overall number of test takers (Hu, 2021). Two main authorities are responsible for designing, organizing, and evaluating the Gaokao exam papers. The first is the National Education Examinations Authority of the MoE, which produces one to five sets of papers each year named “National Volumes I, II, and III” with different difficulty levels. The second is the Education Examinations Authority of provinces, cities, or autonomous regions, which produces one to two sets of papers each year for local candidates. For example, almost all provinces employed the national volume in 2021 (except Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Zhejiang; see Table 1)

Table 1. The range of application of the various national volumes in 2021.

Name	Region
Volume I	Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Anhui, Fujian
VolumeII	Gansu, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Chongqing
VolumeIII	Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet
New Gaokao version	Shandong, Hainan
Provincial Autonomous version	Beijing, Tientsin, Shanghai, Zhejiang

There are three main groups of item writers: university professors, high school teachers, and subject-teaching researchers (teaching researchers). The proportion of the three decreases in order, with university professors accounting for the largest proportion. In January, March, and April of each year, the examination center of the MoE selects some of the best high school teachers and university professors (mainly from comprehensive universities or normal colleges) to fill the pool of experts for proposing questions. The proposers of the college entrance exams are required to sign a confidentiality agreement every year, and their identities cannot be disclosed to the public. The national syllabus, which guides the writing of the questions, is published at the beginning of each year on the China Education Examination website. It contains the general outline and the requirements for each subject. The syllabus is written by subject secretaries from the MoE considered to be the “soul” of the exam questions. The subject secretaries are usually recruited directly from among graduates from 985 universities, and they are required to have a Ph.D. in the relevant field; priority is given to Communist Party members.

The assessment of the examination papers is the responsibility of the educational institutions in each province and city and consists of two parts: the leading team and the front-line markers. The leading team is mainly comprised of university professors and question writers, as well as one or two officials from related institutions and secondary school teachers. Most of the markers are graduates, marking in full accordance with the answers and rules of reading the paper. The leading team provides the sample answers (anchor paper), which include all possible points for each answer and various possible scenarios available based on the marking situation. However, all the above-mentioned marking work and rules are not open to the public, and candidates can only check the scores of their papers after the examination. The China Education Examinations website only publishes experts’ commentary on the test questions.

Our sample was collected starting with the 1978 national volumes because that was the year that the Cultural Revolution ended in China and the college entrance examinations were resumed, implementing a brand-new higher education enrollment policy (Edoardo, 2012). For history papers, the proportion of questions on world history is not high and generally remains within 30% of the total answers (Hu, 2021). There are two basic types of questions in the history test: multiple-choice questions (with only one correct answer) and nonselective questions (tests before 2002 also included fill-in-the-blank questions). The expressions and knowledge specified in the multiple-choice questions are generally covered in textbooks, and students need to first identify the purpose of the question and then associate it with their acquired knowledge.

Methods

A total of 784 questions from 69 sets of papers administrated by the National Education Examinations Authority from 1978 to 2021 were selected for this study (Shoudeng & Congbin, 2021). In addition to these questions, we also collated the analyses of questions and sample answers proposed in relevant essays as supplementary for better text understanding. All the questions and answers used can be found in the public release of the National Education Examinations Authority of China or in publicly published examination materials. Importantly, we analyzed the texts in the original Mandarin rather than translations, and all the quotations in the findings section are from test questions.

The researchers were divided into three groups to code the questions. To increase the likelihood of uniform coding, the researchers reviewed and discussed academic papers together to determine the identification criteria and coding methods before starting the coding process. The researchers also worked together to read test papers, scoring criteria, reference answers, and other text materials, as well as record the main contents, examination purposes, keywords, and rhetorical techniques to ensure the data were as comprehensive and accurate as possible (Su, 2007). Prior to the formal coding process, the three groups of researchers coded the same 10 classical history questions individually, expanding the coding inconsistencies into coding details. At the end of the four rounds of coding, the three groups of researchers reviewed together all the coded entries, discussed the inconsistent codes, and sought the opinions of historians to increase the reliability and validity of the entire coding process.

Before we started coding, we made a detailed and specific reference to the analytical framework of the self and other. Influenced by the researchers’ own national identity, the concepts of “self” and “other” were defined as follows: The “self” refers to “China,” whereas the “other” refers to the “countries other than China.” In this study, we used a thematic analysis to identify the themes of the testing narratives by determining and selecting the narrative elements in all questions in the test database and synthesizing them into six separate narrative themes of the Gaokao: communism, the Celestial Empire, humiliation and resistance, social formations, war, and the world community. When relevant, we also obtained high-frequency words for each theme (Boyatzis, 1998; Braun & Clarke, 2006). For example, the word “slavery” appeared 37 times in the Gaokao texts over 40 years. The use of thematic analysis mirrored the theoretical interest of the Gaokao and discerned the broader ideological narratives by imposing the structure and coherence to the national narratives (Malešević, 2011). When cataloging these themes, we observed discursive strategies and linguistic devices employed to construct national sameness, uniqueness, and differences. Subsequently, we analyzed the logic of historical writing in the tests (Wodak, 2006) to organize the test items of each dependent narrative of the Chinese Gaokao in the findings.

Four rounds of coding were conducted as follows: In Round 1, if the questions mentioned historical events, figures, or facts from countries other than China, they were included in the data pool. An Excel spreadsheet was created that contained a total of 784 questions about “other countries.” In Round 2, all questions in the database were divided into two categories: “History of other countries” and “Interactions between China and other countries.” The specific classification criteria are illustrated in Table 2.

Table 2. Criteria for classification in round 2.

Type	Criteria	Number
History of other countries	Test items related to the political, economic, cultural, and territorial history of countries other than China, as well as items related to major world historical events, world organizations, and international conferences	593
Interactions between China and the others	Test items that mentioned Chinese and foreign interactions, the relations or comparisons between China and other countries, the influence of other countries on China, etc.	191

For example, Question 34 in 2020 (National Volume I) described the urban conditions of Paris in the 1860s and 1870s as “a city of luxury” but simultaneously as “a city of misery.” We coded this question into the category of “History of other countries.” Question 41 in 2019 included a statistical graph of steel production trends in four countries, China, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Japan, between 1950 and 1980. We coded this into the category of “Interactions between China and other countries.”

In Round 3, items in the two categories were read again to enable a clearer and more comprehensive grasp of the theme and narrative techniques. To construct narrative accounts based on test items, questions were divided into three temporal categories. Temporal categories were based on the division of world history periods that appear in the compulsory education history textbook¹ compiled by the MoE to facilitate our subsequent research and discussion. We employed two historical events—the Opium War and the founding of New China—to divide the periods into the “Interactions between China and other countries” category and two historical events—the Renaissance and World War I—for the “History of other countries.”

In Round 4, we sorted the narrative themes of the test questions in chronological order (e.g., we put the test items expressed in the “Celestial Empire” theme in a separate Excel spreadsheet) and constructed a narrative for each theme. When constructing the narratives, the exact wording in the original exam questions was used as much as possible, paying particular attention to using the same verbs, adjectives, and subjects. However, editing and redacting these statements were crucial to creating a coherent narrative account. Additionally, the tenses of the test items were unified into the past tense, even for items containing contemporary facts. In this way, six theme narratives were constructed. To make the analysis process objective, we invited a professor and a Ph.D. candidate specializing in history and a researcher teaching history in Hubei Province to review, interpret, and validate the coding results. They provided advice during the coding and analysis of the test items and helped examine the accuracy of our subsequent interpretations if there was a perceived bias in our interpretations.

Limitations

This study is still only a preliminary exploration of the study of test texts and historical ideological narratives. Due to the ideological attributes of the researcher and the environment in which political education occurred, there are large political limitations and subjective factors in the assessment and analysis of the test texts. The test items are only a highly concentrated summary of the history curriculum. If we want to examine the values contained in the national history curriculum (the state machine often hopes to shape the unified understanding of the people through the school curriculum), then the content of the history curriculum will become a topic that we must examine in future research. Furthermore, there are often differences between individual memory and national narratives, which means that when we examine the national narrative of Chinese history education, the gap between individual memory and curriculum content should also be considered. Such a series of studies would help us better understand the relationship between history education and national narratives and enrich our understanding of Chinese education. Of course, the order of test questions not only reflects the will of the state but also the personal historical understanding of the proposer. Therefore, in-depth interviews with the author of the test questions could provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the historical test questions and the national narrative.

Findings

By analyzing the texts of the 784 questions, we identified six major narrative themes of the texts of the Gaokao: Humiliation and Resistance, War Changes History, the World Community, the Celestial Empire, Social Formations and Politics, and Communism. It should be noted that the number of history questions on “narratives of social formations” was the largest, and the topics covered the widest range of narratives, including political systems, economic development, and culture and technology, while “narratives of the Celestial Empire” mainly focused on the history of international relationships in ancient China (see Table 3). Readers can find additional examples of each narrative theme in the Appendix(see Table A1).

Table 3. Six major narrative themes.

Themes	Communism	The Celestial Empire	Humiliation and Resistance	Social Formations	War	The World Community
Numbers of test questions	100	32	170	320	114	80
Key narrative words	Marxism, Soviet Union, Socialism	Chinese Culture, Four Great Inventions, Silk Road	Invasion, domination, brutal massacre; struggle for independence, national liberation	Changes in lifestyle, changes in political system	World War I, World War II	International alliances, world community, international engagement

The questions reflect a high degree of “Chinese characteristics:” the questions emphasize the culture of struggle, placing political history, military history, and class struggle in a prominent position; the questions reflect the culture of the middle ground, emphasizing the Chinese philosophical thinking of “overdone is worse than undone” and “when it is full, it falls;” the questions reflect a self-confident self-concept, as China is the ancient “Celestial Empire” and the modern model of successful socialism, a civilized and responsible great power.

The narrative of humiliation and resistance

There are two paths for narrating the themes of humiliation and resistance. One is presented from a China-centered perspective, demonstrating the process of China’s gradual transformation into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society after the Opium War in 1840 to the founding of New China. The other is the great geographical discovery and colonization by Western European powers beginning in the 15th century. In the narratives of humiliation and resistance, there are significantly more items about Chinese history than those about other countries, and the narrative thread of colonization and invasion of China is clearer than in other countries’ histories, which reflects the fact that Chinese history education remains China-centered.

China and colonial powers

China was forced to open up after the Opium War in 1840. Other countries in this period were often depicted negatively as colonizers and aggressors in the questions. A series of wars and unequal treaties that forced China to open up and the resulting cessions, reparations, and sovereignty usurpations were the focus of the narratives. In particular, several treaties that the Chinese government was forced to sign with foreign powers, the Treaty of Nanjing, the Treaty of Xinchou, and the Treaty of Shimonoseki, became a regular feature of the test questions, appearing eight, seven, and six times, respectively, to show the unequal aggression and humiliation suffered by China at that time. For example, in Question 40 in 2014, reference was made to the Sino-Russian Treaty of Nibuchu, the Treaty of Aigun, and the Treaty of Beijing regarding the Qing government being forced to open up the delimited territories and the national borders. The item asked students to outline the characteristics and historical role of the migration process to the northeast during the Qing Dynasty:

The 1689 Sino-Russian Treaty of Nibuchu delineated the eastern border between the Qing Dynasty and China, but until the early 19th century, the hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of land north of the Heilongjiang River had fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. During the Second Opium War, the Qing government was forced to sign the Treaty of Aigun and the Treaty of Beijing with Russia, and the Qing government then opened the Hulan River Plain north of Harbin and the Northwest Jilin Plain. (–Abstracted from General History of China, edited by Bai Shouyi)

The country most involved in the humiliating resistance narrative is Japan, mentioned 34 times, related to both the Sino-Japanese War in the late 19th century and the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression from 1937 to 1945.² Many questions also focused on the generals who died in the war against Japan; they are honored as “national heroes,” such as the Communist martyr Leng Yun³ (1988, Question 11) and Kuomingtang generals Tong Linge and Xie Jinyuan⁴ (1989, Question 50). These test questions asked students to write the names of these martyrs. Taiwan was also a key narrative in the test, with nine mentions of the cession, occupation, and colonial rule of Taiwan, as well as references to the people of Taiwan and famous generals who fought against the colonizers. Taiwan was repeatedly compared to a “wandering son” who has “returned to the embrace of the motherland” (1993, Question 32).

Humiliation and resistance of the working class and colonized peoples

Colonial rule, the workers’ movement, and the emancipation of enslaved Black people were the main elements in the narrative of the world’s humiliation and resistance in the Gaokao. The narrative of the colonial rule focused on the cruelty and plunder of the rulers, highlighting the harm done by the colonizers to the colonized people and the resistance of the latter. For example, in Question 50 from 1992, students were asked to “summarize the basic causes and characteristics of the struggle for national liberation against British colonial rule in India, and to point out the end of this struggle.” The workers’ movement in Europe and the emancipation of enslaved Black people in the United States were also important elements in the test questions. Highlighted workers’ resistance movements include the Paris Commune, the Workers’ Revolt in Lyon, the British Charter Movement, and the November Revolution in Germany. The difficulties of workers’ survival and the ruling class’s suppression of workers’ movements were mentioned several times in the test questions. For example, an expository Question 48 in 2015 reads:

In the 1870s, after the unification of Germany, the capitalist economy developed rapidly and a series of social problems emerged. There were frequent casualties in industrial production, workers’ living and health conditions deteriorated, the power of the working class grew rapidly, and the workers’ movement became increasingly powerful. The Extraordinary Act of 1878 severely suppressed the Social Democratic Party, many Social Democratic Party members were imprisoned and expelled, a large number of workers who supported the Social Democratic Party were dismissed, and a large number of newspapers, publications and workers’ organizations were banned or abolished.

Questions about slaves, on the other hand, were mostly about the humiliating narrative of the slaves’ tragic fate and the resistance narrative of the slave liberation movement. This resistance often corresponded implicitly to clues in Chinese history, such as in Question 41 in 2019, which introduced a Chinese play based on Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1961, The Black Slave Hate, which describes Tom’s resistance as a “class awakening” and says that his deathbed speech was “to denounce the crimes of the colonizers and to inspire the oppressed to abandon their illusions and fight for national liberation.” Students were asked to respond to the commentary with a thesis and angle of argument of their choice. The image of other countries in this section is complex. The working class and slaves who struggled for their rights were regarded as revolutionary pioneers with advanced ideas and courageous resistance, whereas the capitalists and enslavers who oppressed workers and Black people were regarded as vicious, coldhearted exploiters.

The narrative of war changes history

War narratives are an important feature of school history and exams, and many questions in the Gaokao were based on the history of wars. Among the 784 questions, 109 described the causes, passage, and end of wars. The greatest number of them were about the Second World War, in which China was deeply involved. The U.S. Civil War, the Gulf War, and the Vietnam War were also frequently mentioned.

According to the history questions, the main result of the wars was the reconfiguration of the world landscape, which, in most cases, was the result of negotiations between several victorious powers. For example, Question 46 in 2020 referred to the division of Turkish territories between the parties at the Paris Peace Conference. The question gives an excerpt from the work of famous Chinese scholar Wu Yu Qin and asks students to “summarize the reasons for the dispute between Britain and France and its essence:”

At the Paris Peace Conference, when dividing up Turkey’s Middle Eastern Arab territories, France insisted on taking possession of Greater Syria, which included Lebanon, Palestine, and Mosul. Britain objected, arguing that Greater Syria was too large. Even after France gave up its claim to Palestine and Mosul, Britain still did not agree to the Greater Syria plan, forcing French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau to say that this would “leave Lloyd George’s plan for the Greater Syria. David Lloyd George was left with the choice of a gun or a sword.” (from Wu Yu Qin’s World History)

In all the meetings, China played a crucial role and enjoyed a large voice. For example, in the quoted material in Question 46 of 2019, students were asked to summarize the background and significance of the establishment of the Chinese theater of war during World War II based on a passage from the work of historian Zhang Haipeng (expository question):

In December 1941, the Pacific War broke out. … Chiang Kai-shek suggested that the friendly nations form a military alliance, and the United States, Britain, and China continued to declare war on Japan, Germany, and Italy. … The Chinese theater … had Chiang Kai-shek as the supreme commander. On January 1, 1942, 26 anti-fascist countries led by China, Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Declaration of the United States … In the same year, the Chinese Theater Command was established. China won the status of a world power with the great power shown by years of independent resistance to Japan. (–Abstracted from “General History of Modern China” edited by Zhang Haipeng)

Patriotism, collectivism, and the sentiment for the homeland in war were also fully exposed. The suffering and heroic resistance of the invaded (e.g., China) was found in numerous test questions. Simultaneously, the tests demonstrated the rise of socialist forces. The development of socialist countries, such as North Korea and countries in Eastern Europe after World War II, were also frequently presented as “thriving” in the text.

In contrast to “heroic resistances,” attempts by Western powers to avoid war through “pacifism” and “tolerance of aggression” were framed as “appeasement” and mentioned several times. For example, the candidates were asked to deliberate on the differences between the two wars and pointed out that “appeasement and connivance of the great powers” was an important reason for the outbreak of the two wars (1984, Question 3). Question 3 in 1978 analyzed the impact of the Munich Agreement signed by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy in 1938. Special emphasis was also placed on the connivance of the great powers to fascism.

The narrative of the appeasement of the great powers is quite condemnatory and supports the positioning of China as a country in the Global South. China has always portrayed its international image as a socialist power that has suffered from the aggression of imperialist powers in the recent past and as a responsible country that yearns for peace and shares the weal and woe with other countries in the Global South. Although the questions do not contain derogatory language, they make it clear that such appeasement policies play a negative role in ending wars and promoting peace.

The narrative of the world community

The world community denotes the symbiotic and interdependent relationship among all countries in the world. The history questions in the Gaokao delineate the emergence and development of the world community from the aspect of world multi-polarization and economic globalization. One-seventh of the questions (127 out of 784) were related to the world community, which was the largest share in the test. The questions considered the rise of multiple power centers “in the current world,” which is illustrated more positively.

The term “United Nations” is given symbolic meaning in the test, and the United Nations was often described as “aiming to maintain international security” (1995, Question 20) and an organization that stands for international justice. In these questions, the endeavors of countries in the Global South were also highlighted. For example, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Asia—Africa Conference, and the Group of 77 (G77) were all efforts of countries in the Global South in their joint struggle against hegemony. Question 35 from 2020 considered that the G77 was united in their views on disarmament and international security:

In 1964, G77, composed mainly of Asian, African and Latin American countries, was established. In the UN resolutions of 1975–2005, the opinions of the members of the Group 77 are largely united around the topic of Cai jun and international security. This state of affairs has safeguarded the common interests of developing countries. This situation: (B)

1. established the pattern of multipolarity in the world

2. safeguarded the common interests of developing countries

3. curbed the postwar arms race worldwide

4. changed the situation of developed countries dominating international politics

In addition, the test describes countries in the Global South as “growing in strength” and participating more actively in the international affairs of the UN by working together to safeguard their interests.

The Gaokao has also been receptive to economic globalization trends. Many items objectively described changes in the world economy, such as the shift of the world’s financial and economic centers (1986, Question 18; 2012, Question 35), the increasing trend of global economic integration (1999, Question 37; 2010, Question 23), and the enactment of institutional coordination mechanisms in the world economic system (2007, Question 22; 2017, Question 35):

In 1976, the United States, Britain, France and other Western countries formed the Group of Seven to coordinate economic policies to solve world economic problems, and Russia joined and became the G8. In 1999, the G8 countries and China, Brazil, India and others formed the G20. Seeking cooperation to promote international financial stability and sustained economic growth, it is clear from this journey that: (D)

1. Regional economic blocs move from closed to open

2. Economic globalization deepens into the field of trade and finance

3. More and more Asian, African and Latin American countries are entering the world system

4. The changing world landscape impacted the old-world economic order.

The Gaokao’s attitude toward economic globalization, however, is more than optimistic. The narrative affirmed the positive and far-reaching effect of globalization on the national economy while pointing out its negative effects, such as the expansion of the impact of economic crises (1994, Question 30; 2008, Question 21), the widening gap between the rich and the poor (1996, Question 46), the weakness of the international bargaining power of newly independent countries (2016, Question 34), and the public concerns and fear of globalization (2009, Question 23).

The questions also stressed China’s actions and contributions on the world stage. The test described a world community from the “China-Centric” perspective in which China plays a vital role. The questions described China’s positive image of international cooperation and economic development as a decent, positive, sunny, and determined “handsome person.” For example, in Question 46 in 2017, students were asked to discuss the content and significance of the Cairo Declaration regarding China’s territorial issues. This passage highlighted the rational image of China’s defense of sovereignty and peace at the Cairo Conference from a diplomat’s perspective statement:

At the Cairo Conference held in 1943, the heads of the Chinese and American governments held an extensive and detailed discussion on post-war issues and agreed on many issues. Regarding China’s international status, the U.S. side expressed its desire to maintain China’s status as a major power after the war and to share the responsibility of maintaining peace with the U.S., Britain and the Soviet Union, which the Chinese side readily accepted. Regarding military control of Japan, the U.S. side hoped that China would be the main player, and the Chinese side asked the U.S. to preside over it, with China sending troops to assist. On territorial issues, the two sides agreed that the Northeast and the islands of Taiwan and Penghu should be returned to China; the U.S. side asked whether China wished to acquire the Ryukyu Islands, and the Chinese side proposed that an international agency should entrust China and the U.S. with joint administration. The U.S. side proposed that China should first take back Hong Kong and then declare it a free port with Kowloon for the whole world. With regard to Korea and Indochina, the Chinese side proposed to let these countries become independent, and the U.S. side agreed. In addition, the two sides also discussed the status of the Japanese emperor, Japanese reparations in kind, U.S. economic aid to China, and military cooperation. (–Excerpted from The History of Chinese Diplomacy, edited by Wu Dongzhi)

The narrative of the Celestial Empire

In ancient Sino—foreign interactions, “the other” is portrayed as those who learned from and paid tribute to China (occasionally comparable to China). Set against the other, questions presented a strong and confident image of China, which often considered itself the “Celestial Empire.” The narrative consists of three main aspects: foreign visits, Chinese missions, and border disputes. Importantly, these questions, which express China’s “great power” mentality, were mainly found in questions before 2010.

The term “foreign visits” mainly refers to envoys from other countries who came to pay homage to China and spontaneous exchanges among the dignitaries. For example, Question 37 in 2008 stated that the purpose of a British mission to China led by Macartney in 1792 was “to present the Great Emperor with abundant and precious tribute as a token of obedience.” Additionally, Marco Polo and Matteo Ricci were mentioned many times as foreigners who came to China for exchange visits.

Chinese missions refer to the visits of Chinese emissaries to other countries and private exchanges (especially cultural or advanced science and technology). Zhang Qian’s expedition to the Western Regions and Zheng He’s maritime expeditions, which are regarded as official trips and were mentioned many times, served as communication between China and foreign countries and promoted national prestige, establishing a strong and confident image of the “Celestial Empire.” Jian Zhen’s voyage to Japan and Wang Dayuan’s trip to the West showed the strong appeal of China’s advanced culture to foreign countries. Economic exchanges were also a focus of foreign interactions, including the popularity of Chinese products such as silk, tea, and lacquerware.

Words and phrases about foreign countries learning from and imitating China were repeated in the text. Although the text never disparaged foreign countries, the image of foreign countries was rather ordinary or mediocre compared to China. For example, Question 23 in 2006 read,

According to Voltaire, China is “the most beautiful, the oldest, the vastest, the most populous and the best governed country in the world,” “the Europeans should be the learners of the Chinese in moral matters,” and the Chinese literati who believed in Confucianism “did not misinterpret and tarnish rationality and nature,” which proves that “Chinese culture had an influence on European Enlightenment thinkers.”

In addition, border disputes were also an important theme in ancient Sino—foreign relations. Border disputes between ancient China and foreign countries appeared to be more “equal,” and all these conflicts ended with China successfully repulsing foreign enemies through tenacious, consistent resistance. The largest number of test questions was about the territorial conflict between Russia and China. For example, in the 2004 paper, two questions in a row dealt with the Sino-Russian territorial dispute (2004, Question 20; 2004, Question 21), which is rare in Chinese college entrance exams.

The narrative of social formations and politics

These questions emphasized the key role of “productive forces development” and “ownership changes” in the evolution of social forms, which shows the influence of Marxist theory on Chinese history education. The terms counted as evidence of the Marxist economic framework in the “Other Countries” database were “slavery” (37), “feudalism” (19), and “capitalism” (49).

Regarding slave societies, test questions particularly emphasized the democratic political system and the struggle between commoners and aristocrats, demonstrating an endorsement of democratic politics and a consistent historical view of the class struggle. For example, Question 32 in 2017 mentioned that the unelected consuls who came to power during the Athenian period were “generally of noble origin,” which suggests that (during the Athenian period) (C) “commoners had no political rights.” A considerable number of history questions also demonstrated the achievements of civilization in societies with slavery, including mathematical and scientific discoveries, legal establishments, literature and art, crop cultivation, language, and culture.

Feudal establishment and peasant revolts were the two themes of the narrative of feudal societies. The narrative of the feudalism establishment was concentrated on Japan, such as the composition of the Japanese feudal ruling class:

Fill in the blanks: The emperor, shogun, and (Da Ming) and (Wu Shi) made up the feudal ruling class of Japan. (Question 21 of 1983)

However, a few narratives about the establishment of feudalism in Europe appeared as well. Questions about peasant revolts were centered around England, Germany, France, and Russia, mostly from the angle of the leaders of the revolts, such as Guillaume Cale, Wat Tyler, Thomas Müntzer, and Pugachev, which is consistent with the narratives in Chinese history textbooks that sympathize with peasant revolts.

The narrative of a capitalist society was mainly focused on “confrontation,” such as the action of the guilds in France and Florence against the aristocracy, the citizens’ riots in Japan, and the Emancipation Reform of 1861 in Russia. Questions tended to use the lens of class struggle and insurrection to view regime change, whereas moderate improvements were not valued in the questions. The narrative of capitalist economic development was contradictory. It depicted the advancement of capitalism as an emerging mode of production while, at the same time, it scourges the evil and brutality of the primitive accumulation of capitalism. One extracted sentence reads, “Capital comes dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt” (2009, Question 39). Question 34 in 2020 was a direct reference to the “misery” on which the prosperity of Paris in the 1860s and 1870s was built. The question asked for the reasons why Paris became the “City of Misery.” The answer was [B] “bourgeois greed.”

The questions also described the scientific and technological achievements and economic prosperity of the capitalist industrial revolution and criticized the objectification and exploitation of workers, further widening the gap between the rich and the poor, leading to cyclical capitalist economic crises. The narrative of capitalist culture and thoughts was concentrated on the Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment, which were portrayed positively.

The narrative of communism

The tests illustrate that China perceives itself as “a part of the socialist camp.” The test questions not only showed the development and limitations of socialist theory, but also emphasized the science and validity of socialism, especially as demonstrated in Chinese practice. By writing about socialist countries, the test text intentionally or unintentionally revealed the more prominent economic, social, and cultural achievements of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The contrast with the setbacks in the construction of other socialist countries showed the superiority of the socialist theoretical system with Chinese characteristics, presenting China as the “top student in the socialist camp.”

The narrative of the development of communist theory mainly focused on the development from utopian socialism to scientific socialism, which included the affirmation of reasonable elements in utopian socialism, the in-depth analysis of Marxist theory, and its influence on the path of the Chinese revolution. For example, the theoretical content of ideal socialism was examined in Question 32 from 1990, which emphasized the important role of labor in scientific communism:

Among the visions of the idealists, the following are important for the creation of the scientific theory of communism: [ABCD]

1. the elimination of the urban-rural divide

2. labor as a necessity

3. the combination of education and productive labor

4. the emancipation of women

Examination of the main ideas of Robert Owen, the representative of ideal socialism, was continuously present from 1989 to 1994, which is rare in the Gaokao.

The narrative of the achievements of communism in practice mainly recognized the accomplishments of socialist countries. For example, Question 41 from 2019 compared the changes in steel production in China, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Japan in the 1950s−1980s, highlighting the quantity and growth rate of steel production in China and the Soviet Union. Students were asked to discuss the trends and reasons for the development of steel production in China. China’s diplomatic status among the Third World countries was also a prominent narrative. China not only had outstanding economic construction achievements in the socialist camp, but also had a strong appeal in diplomacy. For example, in Question 39 from 2005, students were asked to discuss how the principle of “seeking common ground while reserving differences” put forward by Zhou Enlai at the Bandung Conference has contributed to the direction of the conference and how it has played a role.

In the last five years, a new narrative has emerged in the tests that confronts the twists and turns and mistakes in the practice of communism, such as the comparison between the estimated and actual output of Soviet economic indicators in 1961–1970 to demonstrate that the Soviet Union’s economic problems were “inevitable.” However, the narratives of these developments mainly focused on those in the Soviet Union, whereas the explorations of other socialist countries (including China) were not reflected in the test questions.

Discussion

In this study, we analyzed Gaokao test questions over the past 40 years to reveal the official narratives hidden in the texts and explore the function of testing narratives as a barometer of the national political climate and national consciousness as a product of ideological infiltration. This narrative study of the history of other countries presented in the Gaokao (National Volume) largely supports findings of previous studies of history textbooks (Anyon, 1979; Apple & Christian-Smith, 1991; Carlson, 1989; Fuchs, 2010; Reich, 2012). The assumption behind our research that the history test text is not only a test material, but it is also a critical curriculum material with its own ideological influence.

Narrative characteristics of the Chinese Gaokao test history texts are selected and ordered under an overarching ideology, and standardized tests inherently contain the ideological narrative of a state. Marxist historical approaches have had a tremendous impact on history education in China, which is reflected in the Gaokao texts. The designers of the tests insist on the correct political stance and make a coherent interpretation of the past by sifting through and laying out historical materials and views according to Marxist principles (Xu, 2021). By combing through 784 Gaokao questions, we found that the political framework presented by the exams is itself not continuous, stable, and consistent, as it is guided not by historical facts that are discontinuous but by the ideological narratives behind them.

The ideological content and communist discourse (Kang, 2020) in Gaokao are highly visible, as noted in our research findings. Of the 784 questions on historical narratives from other countries, 100 directly referred to the development of communism and theories and practices about socialism as linear, purposive, and deterministic. These questions all directly cite the development of socialism as necessarily correct and scientific, potentially further politicizing historical events to shape young people’s political views in a very concrete way. The legitimacy and correctness of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CPC) rule as the only ruling party in China’s political structure needs to be constructed with the help of socialist theory to justify the successes and failures of the socialist movement. The war narrative and the narrative of humiliation and resistance exemplify the moral strengths of the CPC through the defense and cherishing of territory and sovereignty and show that it occurred not by accident but because the CPC is the ultimate defender of China’s interests, demonstrating resilience, determination, and patriotism (Xu, 2019). In the world community, China’s entrance exam questions emphasized the important role of the “Chinese model” in the United Nations, highlighting China’s role in the global arena and reflecting the strong leadership of the CPC as the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and its renewed ability to lead China to the top of the world pyramid.

The theme of the narrative of the Celestial Empire emphasizes the excellence of “Chinese culture” and is directly related to the cultural values proclaimed by the CPC and increased nationalist and anti-Western sentiment among the Chinese younger generation. One is the path of “cultural confidence,” characterized by valuing “excellent Chinese traditional culture,” such as ancient China’s Silk Road and its world-leading technological civilization. The second is the emphasis on the core values of socialism with Chinese characteristics, especially the “national spirit with patriotism at its core.” In the narrative, the glory of a series of magnificent dynasties in Chinese history is even exaggerated to reinforce national pride and nationalist sentiment. Third, the emphasis on Chinese culture and tradition bridges the gap between the behavior of Chinese and Western governments. The so-called “democratic” systems of Western political systems and the capitalist market freedoms of the economy are seen as flawed and not transposable to the Chinese social environment in the exam questions, which provides a historically sound explanation for the current political system of people’s congresses and democratic centralism in China combined with its socialist market economy system, which has opened up some of its market freedoms without abandoning the collective economic system as its mainstay.

As the CPC has built and asserted its legitimate discourse, the main theme of the Gaokao narrative has been stable, but there have been shifts in tone along the way. For example, it was only after the collapse of the Soviet Union that a confrontation with the former mistakes of the Soviet Union slowly began to appear in the test questions, which manifested itself as a twist in the development of the socialist narrative, with the failure of the Soviet Union only appearing in the last five years of Gaokao exam questions.

Reich (2011, 2012) argued that history test questions are a tool for propagating and shaping nationalism, but our findings reveal that the test questions not only convey an overt official ideological compass, but that the test questions also contain a folk, or popular, collective memory. Despite the claim of intentional Marxism as a guide, it is not original, and the ideology of the test questions is a process of integration and compromise with traditional Chinese culture and values. Although the authority asserts that Marxist doctrines must guide history education, the historical analysis is quite “Chinese” and presents some narrative accounts incompatible with Marxist doctrines. For example, the tests in the Gaokao do not abandon the national narrative. Most of the questions used “a country” as the subject of the testing narrative, and the state’s role was highlighted. The questions also focused on the concept of the state manifested in the special emphasis on the overall development of a country including formation, unification, and expansion. For example, Question 6 in 1985 stated: “The Ottoman Empire was founded at the end of the 13th century, and in the early 20th century, Turkey became a ‘semi-colonial’ country and was established as a republic in 1923.”

Furthermore, the Marxist historical approach considers that the masses, rather than the elite, are the makers of history, but the Gaokao recognizes that some historical figures⁵ had an important influence on history, such as Napoleon, Lenin, and Lincoln, which related to the monarchy and hero complex in traditional Chinese culture. These discrepancies with Marxist historiographies suggest that, even though Chinese officials claim that history education is guided by the Marxist historical approach in the curriculum standards and examination syllabus, the shadow of traditional Chinese culture, especially the complex ideas of national unity and historical heroes, remains ubiquitous in the testing narrative.

While Marxism emphasizes that matter determines consciousness, the textual narratives of the entrance examination questions reveal the importance attached to the spiritual world. For example, the reasons for the success or failure in war are traced with special emphasis on the righteous stance and the willpower to fight. The questions usually assume that the Chinese won the war because of their determination to resist the war and their persistence in justice, even though they were objectively backward in terms of less advanced weapons and technology. The Chinese test questions do not assume that Japan’s defeat was mainly due to its submission to the U.S. atomic bombs but, rather, to its adherence to fascist aggression.

The ideology behind history tests is generally complex. Narratives in the Gaokao questions synthesize different elements, including upholding the socialist political economy, opposing capitalist ideology, emphasizing historical trends and historical missions, and promoting patriotism, heroism, revolutionary sentiments, and traditional Chinese culture. Thus, the historical knowledge conveyed by the history test questions is not neutral. It is not merely about absolute objective historical events and concepts but the result of the interaction, struggle, and blending of political, historical, and cultural elements. At the same time, these elements permeate the tests and function to develop students’ perceptions of historical truth and concepts, influencing their future historical values and beliefs. Therefore, researchers of history questions should be aware of the profound influence of non-educational factors on “what and how knowledge is transmitted” and analyze the presentation of these elements in questions with critical sensitivity.

Our research demonstrates that Gaokao is a product of the theory and practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Although the questions claim to be guided by Marxist principles, these conflicting or divergent points illustrate precisely the ideologically guided work of Chinese history education: the application of Marxism to China. Chinese history education is not dogmatic about Marxism; it is an integration with the informal ideology of China’s social and cultural environment. Since the reform and opening up under the leadership of the CPC, China has engaged in the practice of socialism with special characteristics. The narrative of Gaokao is also a reflection of this socialist value of Chinese characteristics and is consistent with the political needs of the CPC, which reflects the efforts to strengthen ideological work and foster nationalism in the knowledge reproduction conducted in the test questions. To go beyond the Chinese context, we believe that this study can provide insight into the field of history education in that future test texts may serve as interesting and important material for ethnographic research. In short, we believe that state examinations are illustrative of a nation’s cultural values and national identity and, thus, deserve further attention and exploration.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work is supported by the Humanity and Social Science Project of the Ministry of Education of China [19YJA880062] and the National Social Science Foundation of China [21BSS062].

Notes

1. Junior-secondary Chinese history textbooks (MoE-version prepared by an MoE-organized writing-editing committee in 2012 and printed in 2016 (7A and 7B), 2017 (8A), and 2018 (Xi’s second term, 8B)).

2. The “eight-year anti-Japanese war” (1937–1945) recognized in the Communist Party of China Central Committee’s Resolution and taught for decades was replaced with Xi’s concept of a “fourteen-year anti-Japanese war” (1931–1945).

3. Leng Yun and eight other women warriors of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Army fought bravely under the siege of the Japanese invading army and finally plunged into the Mudan River and died heroically.

4. After the July 7 incident, the Japanese invasion army launched a full-scale attack on Pingjin. The Chinese army resisted stubbornly, and the deputy commander of the 29th Army, Tong Linge, died heroically. After the Battle of Songhu on August 13, the Japanese army kept increasing its troops and attacked Shanghai in late October. Deputy regiment commander Xie Jinyuan led 800 soldiers to hold the Sihang Warehouse, fighting day and night, repelling the enemy’s repeated attacks.

5. A people’s history, or history from below, is a type of historical narrative that attempts to account for historical events from the perspective of common people rather than leaders. There is an emphasis on the disenfranchised, oppressed, poor, non-conformists, and otherwise marginalized groups.

Appendix

Table A1. More examples of history questions in Gaokao.

Theme	Number		History questions
The Narrative of Humiliation and Resistance
China-Related History
War Invasion	37		Fill in the blanks: In November 1894, the invading Japanese army captured the Liaodong Peninsula and carried out an extremely barbaric massacre of all the peaceful residents of Lushun and Dalian, and in December 1937, the invading Japanese army captured Nanking and massacred 300,000 people in China.(Question 40 in1997) In 1927, the Japanese “Eastern Conference” adopted a plan to invade China: (D) A. launch an all-out war of aggression against China B. divide China and take control of northeastern China C. foster the pro-Japanese forces of the Nationalist government D. establish a “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” including China (Question 22 in 2004)
Treaty	27		Fill in the blanks: The Treaty of Nanking provided for the Qing government to make reparations of 21 million silver dollars, and the Treaty of Xinchou provided for the Qing government to make reparations of 450 million taels of silver. (Question 5 in 1988)
Sovereign Encroachment	32		What kind of current situation did the cartoon “The Current Situation” reveal about China at that time? Which country does each of the animals in the picture represent? (Question 3 in 1986) The Great Powers divided China, with the Dog, Bear, Frog, Sun and Eagle representing Britain, Russia, France, Japan and the United States respectively.
Heroic resistance	28		Fill in the blanks: In 1661, the Dutch colonists who were entrenched in Taiwan surrendered to Zheng Chenggong and Taiwan was returned to the embrace of the motherland. (Question 32 in 1993) In the Opium War, the people of _Sanyuanli__ (place name) in the northern suburbs of Guangzhou rose up against the British invading army, showing the heroic spirit of the Chinese people who braved violence and dared to fight with the enemy. (Question 5 in 1978) At the Wajao Fort Conference, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China determined the policy of establishing an anti-Japanese national united front. The main basis for this decision was: (C) A. the intensification of domestic class contradictions B. the division of the Kuomintang camp C. the rise of the Sino-Japanese national contradiction as the main contradiction D. the rise of the anti-Japanese salvation movement (Question 23 in 2005)
Total	124
In World History
Colonization		23	In the First Industrial Revolution, the one who looted the most wealth from the colonies and used it for industrialization was most likely (A) A. Britain B. France C. America D. Russia (Question 15 in 1991) Fill in the blanks: In early 1919, the British Civil Administration announced the Rowlatt Act, which aroused the strong opposition of the Indian people, and on April 13, the colonial army staged the Amritsar massacre, which shocked the world. (Question 20 in 1986)
Workers’ Movement		20	In 1871 the Paris Commune issued a message saying: You are a country laborer tortured by usurers, lessees, estate owners and farmers, poor short workers and small owners …… the best part of the product of your labor is to be given to people who do nothing.” The main intention of issuing this message is: (A) A. to call on the workers and peasants to revolt quickly B. further consolidate the revolutionary alliance of workers and peasants C. to announce the complete abolition of private ownership of property D. to gain the support of the rural masses (Question 28 in 2001) Both the June Uprising of Paris workers in 1848 and the Paris Commune Uprising in 1871 belonged to: (A) A. sudden armed and political struggle B. conscious armed struggle and economic struggle C. programmed armed struggle and political struggle D. prepared armed struggle and economic struggle (Question 29 in 1999)
Enslaved Slaves		9	Fill in the blank: During the American abolitionist movement in the 1830s, many secret contact points were organized to help black slaves in the South escape to the North, called the “Underground Railroad.” (Question 22 in 1984) (2018年全国2卷 第33题) The following chart illustrates the slave trade: (A) A. was a means of early capitalist expansion B. contributed to the final establishment of the world colonial system C. led to the creation of the “Empire of the Sunset” D. the need for silver mining reached its peak (Question 33 in 2018)
Total		52
The Narrative of War
World War I		25	Fill in the blanks: At the beginning of the First World War the war in Europe had three fronts on display. The countries fighting on two fronts were: Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary. (Question 45 in 1991)
World War II		55	List the four major international conferences during the Second World War and the countries that participated in each conference. Cairo Conference (with the participation of China, Britain and the United States), Tehran Conference (with the participation of the Soviet Union, the United States and Britain), Yalta Conference (with the participation of the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union) and Potsdam Conference (with the participation of the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union) (Question 45 in 1991) The main reasons for France’s rapid military defeat in World War II were: (A) A. a passive defensive approach by virtue of the Maginot Line B. loss of due vigilance against Germany C. Dunkirk retreat prematurely diverted a large number of troops D. sellout generals took the initiative to surrender to Germany (Question 32 in 1998)
Opium Wars		26	The following countries had ceded Chinese territories after the Opium War: (ADE) A. Britain B. France C. Germany D. Russia E. Japan (Question 14 in 1998)
0there wars		24	Analyze the differences between the U.S. war against Vietnam and the Gulf War and their impact on international relations. Reference: (1) Differences: The Vietnam War was a contest between the United States and Vietnam and its supporters while the Gulf War was a contest between a multinational force and a single country; the Vietnam War was a war waged by the United States and the Gulf War was a UN-authorized operation; the Gulf War was a high-tech war. (2) Impact on international relations: the Vietnam War was conducive to the multipolarization of the world and pushed U.S.-Soviet relations toward détente; the Gulf War strengthened the U.S. sole superpower status and made the situation in the Middle East more complicated. (Question 47 in 2013)
Total		130
The Narrative of the World Community
World Pattern and Cooperation		58	The chart below reflects the changes in UN membership between 1945 and 1975, which shows that: (A) A. the development and growth of the Third World B. the increase in the number of members of the European Community C. The scope of world trade expanded significantly D. The trend of economic regionalization strengthened （Question 35 in 2018 ） From the mid−1950s to the end of the 1950s, the Third World coalition and the struggle against hegemony were highlighted by.C A. the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement B. the beginning of the North-South dialogue C. the convening of the Asian-African Conference D. the formation of the Group of Seventy-Seven (Question 29 in 1994)
China’s role on the world stage		70	Based on the materials, outline the main activities and Chinese influence in China’s participation in the creation of the United Nations. In October 1943, China, the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union signed the Declaration on General Security, which proclaimed the establishment of an international organization for the maintenance of international peace and security after the war and laid the foundation for the establishment of the United Nations. from August to October 1944, representatives of China, the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union met in the United States, and the Chinese delegation put forward a number of proposals on principles for dealing with international disputes, which were later incorporated into the United Nations Charter and became known as the “Chinese proposals. On October 9, China, the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union simultaneously issued the “Proposal for the Establishment of a Universal International Organization,” which established the basic contents of the future UN Charter. On June 25, the Constituent Assembly unanimously adopted the Charter of the United Nations. The following day, the 50 participating countries held a signing ceremony, and the Chinese delegation was the first to sign the charter. China became one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. – Excerpted from “General History of Modern China,” edited by Zhang Haipeng (Question 45 in 2018)
Total		128
The Narrative of the Celestial Empire
Foreign visits		20	Fill in the blanks: In the Book of Later Han, it is recorded that the king of the Great Qin sent an envoy to China in 166 AD and presented gifts to “Emperor Huan of Han,” which is the earliest record of friendship between China and Europe. （Question 2 in 1987）
Travel and Exchange		31	Fill in the blanks: In the fifteenth century, the great Chinese navigator Zheng He made seven voyages to the West, and his first voyage departed 87 years earlier than Columbus’ first arrival in America. (Question 18 in 1981) The monk who went to Japan to spread Tang culture was (C) Xuanzang Yijing C. Jianzhen D. Fa Xian (Question 20 in 2004)
Border Dispute		25	Explanation of the noun: Battle of Yaxark. The two wars of annihilation fought by the Chinese army against the invading Russian army in order to recover the territory of Yaksa from the 24th to the 27th year of the Kangxi era (1685–1688). It was the first self-defense counterattack by China against Russia. (Question 5 in 1979)
Total		76
The Narrative of Social Formations
Slave society		37	Fill in the blanks: During the Roman Republic, in addition to efforts, there were two opposing political forces at home and abroad: the nobility and the plebeians (Question 16 in 1986) In the early days of the Roman Republic, when Rome was attacked by foreigners, the plebeians repeatedly withdrew their own formations from Rome and refused to fight, forcing the nobility to make political concessions. The creation of the Law of the Twelve Bronze Tables was one of the fruits of this struggle. It can be seen that at that time: (B) A. the aristocracy gradually lost its dominant position in making laws B. the common people took effective ways to fight for their rights C. the aristocracy played a decisive role in the development of the rule of law by giving way D. the political aspirations of the commoners and the nobles were becoming more and more consistent (Question 32 in 2014)
feudalistic society		26	The following items were not the measures of the Taika Era Reforms: A. A. Allowing nobles to establish estates B. Turning ministers into “citizens” of the state C. Prohibiting peasants from buying and selling land allocated by the state D. Reforming the administrative system (Question 16 in 1994)
Capitalist Society		63	The great crisis of the 1930s and the economic crisis of the 1970s in the West have in common: (ABD) A. destroyed social productivity B. had far-reaching effects on the entire capitalist world C. economic stagnation D. forced the Western world to make policy adjustments (Question 30 in 1994)
Total		126
The Narrative of Communism
Socialist Theory		13	The British idealistic socialist Owen: (D) A. pointed out that capitalism was an evil world in which “right and wrong are reversed B. believed that private ownership was one of the roots of the evils of capitalist society C. saw that the bourgeoisie and the proletariat were different classes D. advocated the establishment of the ideal social organization “franciscan” (Question 17 in 1994) In June 1847, the League of the Just changed its name to the Communist League, replacing the old slogan “All brothers” with the new slogan “Proletarians of the world, unite.” The aim of the League was to liberate mankind by spreading the theory of communal ownership of property and seeking its realization as soon as possible. This change shows that:A A. the acceptance of Marx’s revolutionary theory by the Communist League B. the birth of Marxism gave impetus to the struggle of the proletariat C. the workers’ movement began to rise in the major capitalist countries of Europe D. the contradiction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie became the main social contradiction (Question 33 in 2018)
Socialist Practice		25	When the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was founded, the constituent republics were (A) A. Ukraine, Transcaucasia, Belarus, Russia B.Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania C.Transcaucasia, Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia D. Transcaucasia, Belarus, Russia, Georgia (Question 19 in 1993) In 1928 the Soviet Union began its first five-year plan, which did not attract much attention from the Americans, and this changed four years later with the publication of numerous books on the Soviet Union, such as The Dawn of Russia, Russia Today: What Can We Learn from It?. What attracted Americans to the Soviet Union at that time was mainly (B) A. less damage caused by the economic crisis B. the remarkable achievements of industrialization C. collectivization of agriculture to ensure urban supply D. the public ownership system showed its superiority. (Question 34 in 2016)
Total		38