Jenny Hall, Assistant Curriculum Leader for History at Sandbach School

Teaching Chinese history wasn’t something I chose. I fell into it, with much protest, I’m ashamed to admit. But ten years on, it’s honestly my favourite period to teach, and I can’t get enough extra reading or stories to share with my students (just ask them!). I hope my experience will inspire other teachers to tackle this sometimes overlooked topic.

Coping with the challenges

Back in 2015, when we switched to the new OCR History A Level specification, the big question was which Unit 3 module to teach. It was worth 40%, so it had to deliver. I pushed for Russian history as I’d taught it before and was comfortable with it. A colleague suggested China (Unit Y317: China and its Rulers 1839–1989). 

I actually scoffed. Who teaches Chinese history? Certainly not me! I had enough on my plate. But the Head of Department loved the idea: fresh, different, a challenge for the students. I wasn’t thrilled. It was definitely a challenge for me too, and not one I’d signed up for. 

I suspect I wouldn’t be alone in being reluctant to tackle Chinese history. People are usually surprised or impressed when I say it’s my specialism. Fears often start with the language. Chinese is so different from English – how will students pronounce words? But most teachers don’t speak Russian either and manage. I learned the basics first, teaching students along the way: Qi sounds like “chee,” Xi like “zhee,” Ji like “jee”. Confidence matters more than perfect pronunciation, and students enjoy reading the words aloud. 

Another common worry is that China feels like a ‘great unknown,’ disconnected from other studies. In fact, its modern history is deeply entwined with Europe and America. Students are often amazed at how much their prior knowledge helps make sense of it. This becomes clear when looking at China’s role in key events of the 20th century.

Global history with a Chinese perspective

Reluctant to join the Allies in WW1, China was sidelined in favour of Japan and ended up providing a labour corps, second-class and oppressed. Chinese delegates even attended the Paris Peace Conference that created the infamous Treaty of Versailles to reclaim German colonies in China, but the Powers let Japan keep them. This sparked the May 4th Movement, massive protests that inspired new radical societies and the rise of nationalism and communism in China. 

WW2 is usually dated from 1939, but for China, it began in 1937, when Japan invaded after occupying Manchuria in 1931, sparking a bloody, horrific war. This only ended with American involvement after the Pearl Harbor attack and the eventual atomic bombings of Japan. Ignoring China’s role misses a huge part of the story. 

The same applies to the Cold War. China often appears on the sidelines – a peripheral aspect in the Korean War or the ping-pong diplomacy of the 1970s - but seeing the Cold War through a Chinese lens gives a much fuller perspective on conflicts many think they already understand. 

The Opium Wars, where Britain’s thirst for tea sparked Chinese opium addiction and unprecedented foreign intervention, exposed the gap between China’s Sino-centric self-image and the industrialised world. The 19th-century sees China torn between modernising to reclaim its former glory and preserving Confucian tradition, all under pressure from foreign unequal treaties, culminating in the Qing dynasty’s fall and the rise of nationalism. 

Students are captivated by tales of early 20th-century warlordism, from baptising troops with hosepipes to slicing heads “like melons,” and by the chaotic militant path from warlords through Nationalists to the rise of the Communists under Mao Zedong. Mao fascinates and horrifies in equal measure – from the disastrous sparrowcide famine to the surreal mango cult.

The power of personal stories

Chinese history is people’s history. It’s the story of ordinary people having their eyes opened to oppression and attempting change. It divides yet transcends class. Its narrative delivers jaw-dropping moments in every lesson that make students stop and think.

The stories of individuals hook students as well. Empress Cixi shows that not all women were marginalised, Sun Yat-sen highlights the role of the educated middle class in revolution, Kang Sheng reveals that oppression wasn’t just Mao’s doing, Jiang Qing shows a movement even more radical than Mao’s and Deng Xiaoping illustrates China’s journey to economic power. 

One of the greatest joys of teaching OCR China is the focus on interpretation, which brings historical scholarship into the classroom. I trawl charity shops to build a class set of Wild Swans by Jung Chang, the definitive account of 20th-century Chinese lives. We also read Frank Dikötter’s Dictators to explore dictatorship under Mao, and I pepper my lessons with extracts from Imperial Twilight, Empress Dowager Cixi, The Cultural Revolution, and quotes from Zheng Yangwen’s Ten Lessons in Chinese History. Even fiction, like Edward Rutherfurd’s China, helps build context and understanding.

A subject with lasting impact

Finally, the proof is in the pudding. My students cannot get enough of this course. Over the years, they’ve sent extracts from their university studies for me to read, shared photos from museums they’ve visited, including the Smithsonian in Washington and the V&A in London, and told stories such as one student’s grandfather owning a copy of Mao’s Little Red Book. 

On a WW1 battlefields trip, Chinese gravestones in Lijssenthoek cemetery uncovered hidden narratives, and even spotting a blue plaque to Sun Yat-sen while driving through rural Hertfordshire sparked excitement! 

China excites and engages students, connecting the dots that conventional history teaching often misses. Its stories are so compelling I defy anyone not to fall in love with teaching it. Go on – read, research, even try a KS3 module, but don’t ignore Chinese history.

Stay connected

China and its Rulers 1839–1989 is an optional unit (Y217) in Cambridge OCR A Level History. 

If you have any questions about teaching history, you can email us at history@ocr.org.uk, call us on 01223 553998 or message us on X @OCR_History. You can also sign up to subject emails to keep up to date with the latest news, resources and support.

If you are considering teaching any of our qualifications, use the online form to let us know, so that we can help you with more information.

About the author

Jenny Hall is Assistant Curriculum Leader for History at Sandbach School in Cheshire and has worked there since 2003. She is obsessed with the power of historical narratives and loves teaching through stories as well as finding new books to recommend. Jenny is married with two children who spend much of their time having to explore historical sites, especially castles. She also, somewhat quietly currently, supports Norwich City Football Club.