THE Shanghai Library has recently anthologized and published its collection of the rare ‘Xinhai Revolution’ literature materials.

The advent of the book, approved as a state priority publication programme and supported by the National Publication Fund and the Shanghai Cultural Development Foundation, was launched by the Library’s publication operation, the Shanghai Scientific & Technological Literature Publishing House, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ‘Xinhai Revolution’ that took place in 1911.

The anthology is a latest achievement of the efforts devoted by the Shanghai Library, the No.1 custodian of rare historical documents at the provincial level in China, in making the materials available to the public.

It took the Library’s research team as long as 9 months to finalize the whole project, by selecting, compiling and photocopying materials in close relation to the ‘Xinhai Revolution’, from archives of the famous people in modern Chinese history including SHENG Xuanhuai, TANG Shaoyi, LIU Yazi, and the Library’s rich collection of original manuscripts, correspondences and photographs. Except for a small fragment, most of the materials have never been published before, thus are of high academic and research value.

The 4-volume, 5,000 page anthology contains 1,500 pieces of historical documents reviewing the major events from the pre-revolution time till the Second Revolution in 1913. It is divided by subject into four chapters -- ‘the Bourgeois Revolutionaries of the Pre-revolution Era’, ‘the Railway Nationalization and Protection Movement’, ‘the Wuchang Uprising and the Peace Negotiation between the South and the North’, and the ‘Chinese Society in the Context of the Xinhai Revolution’.

The addendum of the anthology is expected to be published later this year.