BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The first five volumes of "Ma Zang," or the "Treasure of Marxism," a Peking University-led major fundamental academic and cultural project on the formation and development of Marxism, have been published in Beijing.
Totaling 3.7 million Chinese characters, the five volumes are a result of joint compiling efforts by scholars from more than 20 higher education institutions in China. They focus on the spread and development of Marxism in China and feature a collection of works and translations published between 1894 and 1903, according to a book launch ceremony held at Peking University.
Yu Hongjun, head of the School of Marxism, Peking University, said recent years saw no systematic compiling of works on the history of Marxism development or the history of the adaption of Marxism to China's conditions, especially the early dissemination of Marxism and socialism in China.
The publication of the five volumes "will not only present a number of undiscovered and rare documents but also provide new perspectives for related studies and new paradigms and methods for research on the history of Marxism dissemination and the adaption of Marxism to China's conditions," Yu said.
The Ma Zang project, initiated in 2015, aims to bring about a relatively complete collection of Marxist research literature worldwide in the next 20 years by compiling works that systematically and comprehensively reflect the formation and development of Marxism.
The China section of the project, mainly consisting of literature after the introduction of Marxism in China in the latter half of the 19th century, is planned to be completed around 2024, while the international section of the project, which compiles relevant literature and research results across the world, is set to be completed around 2035.
