The "Yongle Dadian," commissioned by Emperor Yongle in 1403, collected more than 7,000 kinds of ancient Chinese books and records, covering literature, art, history, geography, philosophy and religion from the pre-Qin period (pre-221 B.C.) to the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the
news agency recalls, adding that with a total of 11,095 volumes and about 370 million characters, the "Yongle Dadian" was lauded as the "largest encyclopedia in the world" by the "Encyclopedia Britannica."
Using advanced technology, China has stepped up efforts to bring classic literature back to daily life, Xinhua writes. According to the news agency, in 2022, Chinese central authorities issued a set of guidelines, promising greater efforts to digitize ancient books and encouraging libraries and archives to open their collections and digital resources to the public.
