A cartoon has unexpectedly shone light on a largely unknown Shanghai Municipal Government department. The Office of Shanghai Chronicles, as it is officially termed, is the records office for the city. After the Shanghai Municipal Government's official microblog created a cartoon history depicting 6,000 years of the city with statistics offered by the Office of Shanghai Chronicles and posted this on the government's official microblog last month, the piece became a minor Internet sensation. The simple graphic story showed concisely how the city grew from a fishing village split between Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces to becoming a fully fledged city in 1949.

Internet readers were enthusiastic offering comments like: "Now I have a clear idea about the city's history." "It's easy to understand - do more of this." "I never knew that Wuqiao existed 6,000 years ago and I'm from Wuqiao."

The cartoon was forwarded more than 7,000 times and attracted 1,580 comments on Sina Weibo, as well as being reposted on several other popular online forums.

The Office of Shanghai Chronicles has been a back-room operation for most of its life until recently, but now officials in the office are looking at new ways of explaining what they do to the public, working with other organizations and improving its website (http://www.shtong.gov.cn).

Some want to go even further. At this year's 12th CPPCC (Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference) Shanghai Committee in January, Liu Jian, the director of the Office of Shanghai Chronicles suggested that reading reports assembled by the office should be a part of official government training. "New officials should start by reading material which will help them know the place better."

Worthwhile lives

Although most people are unfamiliar with the office, those who work there find the job rewarding and enlightening. Retired archivists Yao Jinxiang and Wang Xiaojian told the Global Times that their work had made their lives worthwhile.

China has a great tradition of chronicling history - one of the classic works of reference is the Records of the Grand Historian, which recorded the history from the Yellow Emperor to the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220). Until 1976, China had more than 8,000 kinds of official records covering a huge variety of subjects including governments, geography and industry.

In 1986, the Shanghai Government established the Office of Shanghai Chronicles to compile records of the city's history and key industries. District-level offices in 16 districts and Chongming county were also established which all keep and compile their own records.

Today the office employs nearly 70 archivists - half are civil servants and half work as members of government affiliated institutions. Each district has a branch office that is supervised by the district government but works with the city office. The work load is also shared with some retired staff who volunteer. Over more than 30 years, Shanghai has published official collections of facts and statistics for the city, counties and districts and some 110 industry almanacs.

Guo Wenhan is an official with the records office and told the Global Times that the office was trying to persuade more people to use their books, almanacs and records.

When the office decides to publish a book, senior staff design the outline and list what will be needed. Others then collate the data from different government departments and offices. When all the data has been collected senior staff will write the final draft.

Yao Jinxiang has been working on archives for more than 30 years. The 68-year-old is still energetic at his work. A former official with the Fengxian County (now Fengxian District) People's Government, Yao volunteered to take part in compiling the district's Fengxian County Chronicles in 1981 - the city's first official history since the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Official displeasure

Though some around him thought his move was unwise, Yao went ahead anyway. "When I first said I wanted to move to the records office, one senior official told me to think twice. I understood clearly I might lose promotions but I was more interested in the work," Yao smiled.

After the extensive book, the 1-million-character Fengxian County Chronicles, was completed in 1987, Yao transferred to the records office where he worked until retirement in 2005.

Over that time his work involved reading older almanacs and histories, making notes and assessing new material, working with local offices and branches, and talking to people about historical events. His life was taken over by his work and he rarely took a weekend off.

"My wife never relied on me because work was always the priority. I was too distracted by my work to even be allowed to wash the plates after dinner." These long periods of reading small print may have left him with weakened eyesight and detached retina but he continued to work until recently.

As well as his work for the city government and Jiading and Fengxian districts he helped edit records for other cities throughout the country. His legacy is that he has assisted in compiling more than 30 official almanacs and trained more than 20,000 new compilers from around the country.

"The happiest moments I felt in life was when a book I compiled was published. It's exactly like giving birth to a baby." Now living with his son, he asked that a large bookcase be installed in the apartment so that he could keep his books on shelves there. "Every time I sit in front of the books, I am content. I haven't wasted my life."

Objectivity, determination and patience are the key qualities needed for archivists like Yao. They have to check and cross-check details from several different reports to ascertain the facts. While compiling one book, Yao found two different spellings of the name of a US pilot rescued by the New Fourth Army. He and colleagues spent a long time searching the archive office in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, where the army had been stationed and finally found the right spelling in local newspapers.

Changing standards

Yao also studied the theory of history and was interested in the way record-keeping developed. "The standards of what is important for record-keeping can change with time. For example, although at present information about corrupt officials and their crimes is not included, sometime in the future it might be."

He said that future record keepers would be more specialized rather than trying to cover everything as they do today. "New technology brings advantages and disadvantages. As the Internet links the world more closely, more material is accessible but it takes longer to verify and assess.

"At a recent seminar I attended, scholars from Macao presented their research on a Mazu temple (Mazu is the traditional goddess of the sea). This sort of intricate and minor but deep research will be a trend for the future."

After his years of painstaking labor Yao wants his work to be passed on to generation after generation. "In the past a lot of history was lost because the books were destroyed by war or physical decomposition. Today's books are published in large quantities and will survive. I would like more people to read history."

Wang Xiaojian has also devoted his entire life to writing and compiling records for the city. The 65-year-old former chief compiler said that as well as researching and assessing material, communicating with writers is the key to producing good records.

Wang spent from 1982 to 1992 compiling The Shanghai County Chronicles and the work took over his private life - he gave up all other pastimes and even postponed his wedding more than once. When he eventually completed the book he got married, aged 46.

Appointed chief compiler for The General Annals of Shanghai in 1996, Wang had to read all the draft reports from more than 100 bureaus, administrations and institutions and then collate them. But many of these reports were badly constructed or lacked key information.

Wang visited the report writers frequently, advising them how to prepare the information and how to research and assess material. Not all his visits were appreciated. "Some people didn't want to spend time revising their reports because it was time-consuming. Others were so self-assured they refused to make any changes." Wang and the others who worked on the final books had to attend more than 200 long official meetings and sift through the more than 40 million characters.

"I was very stressed. I believed Shanghai's first city-level published record should be a review of every aspect of the city's development. It should have its own characteristics and style and not just be a mixture of facts and figures."

Better than food

He gets emotional with his work. He has been known to break pens in frustration when he comes across work that is badly written or not researched. "But whenever I read a well-written report I feel more fulfilled than after a banquet."

For eight years Wang has left home at 5 am every day and worked till late at night. He has missed family events and parties and forsaken trips overseas. His briefcase is always stuffed with work.

Yao and Wang want the younger generation of archivists to do more. "Unlike the 1990s when many archivists quit because of the poor pay, today the conditions are a lot better."

In retirement, Wang continues his work, completing the official histories for Qibao town and Jiuxing village in Minhang district. Wang said histories honored ancestors, cultures and traditions. "A history book tells readers a lot - we learn where we came from and how we came here."

And after all these years Wang still finds himself affected by his research at times. "When I learn about famous old shops being shut down or moved, I feel sad. That's why I encourage people to read history. It helps people better understand Shanghai and the Shanghainese."