Tang Yijie, former chief compiler of the program, holds a sample of Ruzang. [Photo/Xinhua]

An international project to compile the classics of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius is expected to publish a select edition by the end of 2018.

Ruzang, or Confucian classics, is China's biggest international academic and cultural cooperation project in the humanities and social sciences. The project began in 2003 and involves scholars from four countries.

Some 500 scholars from 30 universities and institutions from China, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan and Vietnam are involved in the program. All are countries where Confucian doctrine has been deeply influential. The select edition includes 339 volumes and 230 million characters.

"So far, China has finished compiling 200 volumes and published 100 of them and is expected to finish compiling the select edition in the first half of 2017," said Yang Shaorong, deputy head of the Ruzang compiling center based at Peking University.

Vietnam has finished two volumes and Japan and the ROK will deliver their contributions in the first half of next year, said Yang.

The select edition is expected to be finished in 2017 or 2018. The full edition, which covers more than 3,000 categories of Confucian classics, is scheduled to be finished in 2025, said Yang.

"Human society has all kinds of complicated conflicts, and Confucian philosophy can provide insight to solve those problems," said Tang Yijie, former chief compiler of the program, who passed away in September 2014.

Confucius (551-479 BC), an educator and philosopher, founded Confucianism, a school of thought that influenced later generations.

For thousands of years, Confucius has been regarded as a symbol of China's traditional culture and intellectuals.