BEIJING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- A special edition of the "Twenty-Four Histories," an authoritative ancient book collection recounting the country's 4,000-plus-year history, has been launched to celebrate the 70th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

A ceremony was held Thursday during which two copies of the special edition were donated to the collection of the National Library of China.

Consisting of 241 books, the special edition launched by prestigious Chinese publisher Zhonghua Book Company is based on an earlier version of the grand collection whose punctuation and collation were completed over 20 years by 200 experts and scholars after the founding of the PRC.

The version marks a milestone in the collation of ancient Chinese books and records since the founding of the PRC.

The "Twenty-Four Histories" contains 24 historiographies, each of which recounts a different time period of the country's history up to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). With over 3,200 volumes and about 40 million words, the whole set covers literature, art, science, military, economy, ethnography and many other fields.

The special edition also includes an illustrated book containing documents and photos that represent the publication process of the collated version.