The volume includes references to the period's society, economy, politics, military, foreign affairs, parties, culture, education, ethnic groups, religion, overseas Chinese, historical figures, events, meetings, wars, organizations and laws.

The 1911 Revolution, led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, overthrew the feudal Qing Dynasty (1644--1911) and is considered the first democratic revolution in modern China.

Early in 1956, then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai proposed to study that part of history. But due to historical reasons, it was not until recently that any progress was made. Current active research projects and exchanges have laid foundation for compiling the historical reference.

Published by Jiangsu Ancient Books Publishing House, the encyclopedia is the result of the work of 150 scholars who spent 16 years gathering the contents. The authors are professors from elite schools such as Nanjing University and Fudan University, and researchers from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and other institutions.

Most of the materials come from sources in the collection of the Second Historical Archives of China.

(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2001)