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Beijing Compiles New Local Annals
Beijing will publish a monumental book of local chronicles before the year 2003. The chorography, which is currently being compiled, consists of 172 volumes with 100 million Chinese characters. It has an investment of some 100 million yuan (US$12 million) from the municipal government of Beijing.
Upon completion, it will be Beijing's first book of local annals since 1949 when new China was founded.
Over 2,000 scholars have been working on the book since 1989. So far, nearly 70 percent of the annals has been completed.
Local chronicles offer comprehensive and detailed information of a region's history, said Chen Gengqi, who is in charge of compiling the book.
China's first local chronicles appeared in the Han Dynasty (206 BC. - 220 A.D.), and from then on, every local administrative district in China began to compile its own annals.
Unlike other history works that are often biased from the subjective feelings and ideas of the writers, the local annals reflect history in a more objective way, Chen said.
The new Beijing chorography spans from its origin till the 1990s. Scholars have corrected many errors appearing in some old versions of Beijing chorography and supplemented new materials on the latest changes in the city.
Government officials, researchers and book collectors are expected to be the major readers of the annals, according to editors, but other Beijing citizens may also find the book very useful as a source of knowledge.
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