Jiang Zemin on the Study of History ����Jiang Zemin, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has called for continuing research and study of Chinese history from the standpoint of historical materialism. ����This will be of great importance for advancing China's current cause of development, said Jiang in a letter to Bai Shouyi, a professor at Beijing Normal University, congratulating him on the publication of The General History of China. ����China has attached importance to historical research since ancient times, Jiang said, and that is one reason Chinese civilization is the only ancient one handed down from generation to generation. ����Jiang said that all Chinese, especially the young people, should study Chinese history in order to acquire a correct viewpoint on life and values. ����He also asked Chinese to study foreign history and use it as a reference. ����The General History of China, compiled by Bai Shouyi and 500 other historians and archeologists, relates the comprehensive history of the world's most populous country from remote antiquity until 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded. (Xinhua) TopNews 1999-09-06 Page1 Full Story in Chinese