| Date | November 2019 | Marks available | 2 | Reference code | 19N.1.BP.TZ0.9 |
| Level | Both SL and HL | Paper | Paper 1 - first exams 2017 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | What | Question number | 9 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
The sources and questions relate to case study 1: Japanese expansion in East Asia (1931–1941) — Responses: Political developments within China — the Second United Front.
Source I
Mao Zedong in an interview with the American journalist Edgar Snow. Mao’s secretary was the interpreter (16 July 1936).
In the anti-Japanese war, the Chinese people would have on their side greater advantages than those the Red Army has utilized in its struggle with the Guomindang. China is a very big nation, and … if Japan should succeed in occupying even a large section of China, getting possession of an area with as many as 100 or even 200 million people, we would still be far from defeated …
As for munitions, the Japanese cannot seize our arsenals [military stores] in the interior, which are sufficient to equip Chinese armies for many years, nor can they prevent us from capturing great amounts of arms and ammunitions from their own hands …
Economically, of course, China is not unified. But the uneven development of China’s economy also presents advantages in a war against the highly centralized and highly concentrated economy of Japan … It is impossible for Japan to isolate all of China: China’s Northwest, Southwest, and West cannot be blockaded by Japan.
The central point of the problem becomes the mobilization and unification of the entire Chinese people and the building up of a united front.
[Source: Marxists Internet Archive (2014)]
Source L
David Low, a political cartoonist, depicts the Japanese occupation of China in the cartoon “The Red Carpet” for the British newspaper the Evening Standard (14 June 1935). The writing on the carpet is “Japanese World Power”. The figures with their backs to the carpet represent Britain, France and the US.
[Source: David Low / Solo Syndication]
Why, according to Source I, would it be difficult for Japan to defeat China?
What does Source L suggest about Japan’s expansion into China?
Markscheme
- China’s territory could not be completely occupied.
- It would be impossible for Japan to seize all of China’s arsenals.
- It would be impossible to isolate/blockade all of China.
- The Japanese could not prevent the Chinese from taking arms from them.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required. Award [1] for each relevant point up to a maximum of [3].
- The Japanese army forcibly rolled over everything ahead of it.
- Britain, France and the US were unprepared/unwilling to prevent the Japanese invasion/occupation of China.
- Japan’s expansion into China was part of their plan to become a world power.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required. Award [1] for each relevant point up to a maximum of [2].
