Rewriting history: Chaotic answers in Chinese History DSE exam revealed

It seems DSE candidates this year aren’t that familiar with Chinese history as exam authority revealed their chaotic answers in the latest report released on Thursday, like mistaking health official Chuang Shuk-kwan as a female figure during the Second Sino-Japanese War. 

One “ridiculous” mistake sees students directly copying revolutionary Chen Duxiu’s editor title and name read from left to right on the cover of journal La Jeunesse (New Youth) – instead of the ancient Chinese writing from right to left. 

In Paper 1 of the exam, some candidates mistook Wang Jingwei shown in a comic strip as other historical figures such as Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. 

Many students also mixed up the New Culture Movement in 1915 and the May Fourth Movement in 1919. 

The former is a cultural movement that advocates democracy and science and introduces ideologies like Marxism and pragmatism; the latter is about the student-led protests against the ruling Beiyang government signing an agreement on the Shandong Problem after World War I ended. 

This ultimately leads to Chinese delegates refusing to sign the Treaty of Versailles in Paris on June 28, 1919. 

When asked about Mao’s thoughts that include traditional Chinese philosophical elements, students had no idea about one of his most important works – On Practice. 

“Most casually built their answers and they didn’t know what they were saying,” the report said. 

As for another question related to China’s economic reform and relevant results, some of the students cited examples that exceeded the lower time limit of the year 2000. 

Their answers included China joining the World Trade Organization and becoming the world's no.2 economy in 2010; and electric car maker Tesla opening factories in Shanghai in 2019. 

Some gave data without giving any reference or the year; while some mistook Guangzhou and Shanghai as special economic zones. 

Still, the passing rate reached 90 percent among over 5,400 candidates who took the Chinese History exam.