A five-volume encyclopedia on the history of the Nanjing Massacre was published on Dec. 11.

 

After five years of compilation performed by more than 60 domestic and overseas experts, an encyclopedia on the history of the Nanjing Massacre was published on Dec. 11.

The first of its kind, the encyclopedia provides a wealth of reference materials for scholars studying the massacre and the war of resistance against Japan, said Zhu Chengshan, editor-in-chief of the encyclopedia and curator of the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

The five-volume encyclopedia features more than 20,000 entries with a total of more than 3.6 million words. The first volume, which was published on Dec. 7 last year, provides the background and historical context, while the second, third and fourth volumes relate to the massacre itself. The fifth volume includes records of events after the massacre. With a layout consisting of text and pictures, the encyclopedia is more than just a reference for historians. It is also an attempt to provide a popular history of the tragedy that is accessible to the average reader.

 Zhu said the encyclopedia reveals the historical facts on the crimes of the Japanese troops in Nanjing, and it is irrefutable evidence of the tragic event. It helps spread a factually accurate account to the international community and strikes a powerful counterblow to conservatives in Japan who are trying to distort and deny the massacre, he added.
 

English and Japanese editions of The History of Nanking Massacre were published on the same day. Zhang Xianwen, editor-in-chief of the book and a professor from Nanjing University, said the massacre committed by the Japanese troops in 1937 is an atrocity against humanity and international law. With the exception of a few influential books and academic studies, people in Europe and America have little knowledge of the tragedy. And in Japan, conservatives have misled the public, Zhang said. “The English and Japanese translations of the book will help spread the history in the West and Japan, and help people see through the fabrications of the Japanese conservatives.”

In addition, on Dec. 8, the Nanjing Municipal Archives published 15 photocopies of the archives provided by the massacre investigation committee on its official website, weibo and WeChat.
 

These photocopies provide materials for research on the massacre, including meeting minutes of the committee as well as crime investigation reports, statistical tables, questionnaires and expenditures, said Xu Haifeng, an archives management staff member from the Nanjing Municipal Archives. Victims involved in the survey include students, workers, monks and others who experienced various forms of cruelty at the hands of the Japanese army, Xu said.

Wang Han, deputy curator of the Nanjing Archives, said these archives played an important role in the trial of Japanese war criminals. The archives have been included among the Documents of the Nanjing Massacre, which was inscribed on the Memory of the World Register in October this year.

 

Wu Nan is a reporter at the Chinese Social Sciences Today.