'Authoritative' history of CPC proves popular

A series of books on the history of the Communist Party of China has been well-received among readers, and more works will be published on the Party's major events, Party history researchers said.

The 90 Years of the Communist Party of China, compiled and published last year by the Party History Research Office of the CPC Central Committee to commemorate the 95th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, sold 1.3 million copies in the past year, Wu Degang, deputy head of the office, said at a news conference on Friday, one day before the Party's 96th anniversary.

The CPC had a total of 89.447 million members at the end of 2016, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee announced on Friday. CPC membership increased by 688,000 from 2015, up by 0.8 percent. Grassroots units of the Party increased by 105,000 to 4.518 million, up by 2.4 percent, the department said in a communique.

Wu said the history series "exhibits Party history in the longest time span, with the most all-around, systematic contents among similar existing publications", adding that it took about six years for the series to come out and involved the work of almost 100 scholars.

"The series received very positive feedback from readers nationwide since being published and was listed among'30 good Chinese books' and '50 Chinese people's favorite books' last year," Wu said.

"Many people told us that the series, being authoritative, thoughtful and having academic value, is a good example for other works on the research of Party history to follow."

In the future, researchers will compile more books, and the study and compilation of the Party's major events as well as biographies will also be published, Huang Yibing, the head of one of the office's research departments, told the news conference.

Social research societies have been encouraged to take part, he said.

Ren Guixiang, head of the office's promotion and education bureau, said research about the Chinese people's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) will be strengthened, with the primary mission of gleaning oral history interviews and memoirs of witnesses.

Such materials may help correct some misconceptions, he said.

The work is expected to end by 2025, according to Ren, who also noted the urgency of the project, since many of the witnesses are very old.

Huang also said research into the reform and opening-up era will be reinforced, since next year will be the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up.

According to Wu, the CPC Central Committee has paid great attention to the research of Party history since 2012, when the 18th CPC National Congress was held.

President Xi Jinping has said the history of China and the history of the CPC are "compulsory courses" that should be learned not only to stick to and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, but also to push forward the undertakings of the nation and the Party.

Huang said, "We hope that through years of hard work, a complete and systematic series of Party chronicles will be formed, which will help people get a better knowledge and understanding about the Party and its development."

Xinhua contributed to this story.