Project preserves Confucian classics

The Confucian Canon Project has recently completed a compilation of influential and representative Confucian classics in China, according to Peking University.

Confucianism is in the genes of Chinese traditional culture and has a far-reaching influence on the world, having spread to ancient Korea, Japan, Vietnam and other places, and its impact is profound.

The Confucian Canon Project has been the most substantial project to systematically organize Confucian classics in China and abroad since 1949.

In 2014, the Editorial and Research Center of Confucian Canon of Peking University was established to implement the compilation of the Confucian Canon Project.

The project functions in two steps: The early works of the "Essence" contain the most influential and representative Confucian literature in Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese history.

A total of 510 Chinese Confucian works have been compiled into 282 volumes after nearly two decades of effort. Another 160 Confucian works written in Chinese in ancient Japan, Korea and Vietnam will be compiled.

In the second phase, using modern technical means, the project aims to compile the Confucian classics into an independent documentary system, covering more than 3,000 domestic and overseas writings.

"The purpose of compiling the project is to systematically sort out and summarize the context and essence of Confucianism to collect, preserve and utilize it, promote the rejuvenation of Chinese national culture, and help Chinese ideology and culture go global," said Sun Qinshan, chief editor of the project and a professor at Peking University.

Experts believe the extensive and in-depth application of digital technology in antique book compilations will bring great convenience to compiling the entire project.

At present, the digital platform of the "Essence" of the project is in trial operation.

Executive chief editor of the Confucian Canon Project and professor at Peking University Li Zhonghua said they hope the project can provide a database of Confucian literature resources with reliable texts, fine collation, and convenient retrieval for scholars and readers from all over the world who study and love Confucianism.

Xinhua