The publications contain information including the name, sex, age, occupation and residential addresses of the victims, which Japanese army unit committed the crime and how the victims were killed, as well as sources of this information.

The books are the most complete name lists of the known victims of the slaughter to date, which include unarmed soldiers and civilians killed inside or near Nanjing city, the then capital of China.

"The publication of name lists is just a start. We will continue collecting information about the victims," said Zhang Xianwen,editor-in-chief of the compilation,

The eight volumes of name lists are important components of the 27-volume series of historical materials on the Nanjing Massacre, which were concurrently published in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province on Monday.

In addition to the first 28 volumes that came out in 2005, the 27 new volumes consist of many first-hand historical documents and records, such as U.S. news reports, diaries and official circulars of Japanese troops, diplomatic letters from the British and German governments, lists of casualties and economic losses, and signatures of over 600 Chinese civilians seeking refuge against the atrocity committed by the Imperial Japanese Army from December 1937 to January 1938.

Since 2000, more than 70 Chinese historians from universities and government archive departments have visited Japan, Britain, the United States, Germany and Taiwan, compiling and translating nearly 30 million words of original materials in different languages, which led to the production of a total of 55 volumes in the series.

"It is a combination of Chinese, Japanese and Western raw materials, which is objective and just and is able to stand the trial of history," said Zhang Xianwen, at Monday's issuance ceremony in Nanjing.

Many of the materials are published for the first time and have great historical value. "Everyone who reads the book will surely get a correct understanding of what happened at that time," said Zhang, also a professor with Nanjing University.

The volumes were jointly released by the Jiangsu Provincial People's Publishing House and Fenghuang Publishing & Media Group.

Compilers said they are still working on a lot of materials which may lead to the publication of another 25 volumes totaling nearly 20 million words.

The release came before the 70th anniversary of the Massacre which falls on December 13, when a memorial hall for the Massacre will reopen after two years of expansion works.

Some 3,000 pieces of historical items, including cameras, weapons and diaries of the Japanese troops and 3,500 photos taken during the period will be on show.

Japanese aggressors occupied Nanjing on December 13, 1937, and embarked on a six-week long orgy of destruction, pillage, rape and slaughter. Historical records show that more than 300,000 Chinese people, including both disarmed soldiers and innocent civilians, were murdered.

Controversial visits to a shrine in Japan, where war criminals executed for their part in the Massacre are among those honored, by former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and history textbook distortions by the Japanese have angered the Chinese people and government in recent years.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2007)