First installment in encyclopedia of Nanjing massacre released

World Today

China will mark its first National Memorial Day for victims of the Nanjing Massacre on Dec. 13. China’s State Archives Administration is releasing a multi-volume encyclopedia documenting the Nanjing Massacre from Dec. 7 to Dec. 13.

It will feature photos taken by invading Japanese troops at the time of the massacre, excerpts from letters by Japanese soldiers, news reports by both Japanese and Chinese journalists, and confessions of Japanese troops.

CCTV America’s Quan Chen Chen reported on the release of the first segment.

The encyclopedia was compiled by over 60 historians from 10 countries, including China, Japan, the United States, Russia, and Germany, exposing the atrocities conducted by Japanese troops in Nanjing. Over 300,000 Chinese were killed during the six-week massacre in 1937.

“The book is a summary of the studies on Nanjing Massacre and a collection of the research conducted by experts at home and abroad. It can not only help scholars in their research, but also can serve as an reference book to let ordinary people know more about that part of history,” Zhu Chengshan, the curator of Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, said.

The first volume covers the period leading up to the massacre, including how Nanjing was occupied. The others installments — which mainly deal with the massacre and its aftermath — will be published by the end of next year.


Videos of January 28 Incident memorial are available in Shanghai

Two special videos about the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression have been made available in Shanghai. These are the records of a memorial ceremony for the Jan. 28, 1932 incident which preceded a full-scale war between China and Japan. The videos will go online for public viewing soon. CCTV America’s Lin Nan reported from Shanghai.