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China publishes recently for the first time photocopies of the world's earliest and greatest encyclopedia -- the Great Encyclopedia of Yongle (Yongle Dadian).

The Yongle Dadian was compiled between A.D. 1403 and A.D. 1407 in the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644), containing 22,877 volumes in 11,095 books. It was 12 times that of the famous encyclopedia compiled by the French author Diderot in the 18th century.

Much of the Yongle Dadian was destroyed during foreign invasions. It is estimated only about 400 books remain in the world, being kept in eight countries and regions.

Owing to its large size, the Yongle Dadian was never printed and only manuscripts remained.

"It is the first time in the world to have photocopies of the encyclopedia in its original size, color and style," Guo Youling, director with Beijing Library Press, which is responsible for the photocopying. "We are making every effort to make it resemble the originals so as to give readers an idea of the Yongle Dadian."

The press plans to publish photocopies of 163 books housed in the Chinese mainland within one year and a half. Later publications will extend to some 200 books overseas.

"The Yongle Dadian is a treasure of the world. Even a small part of it will be important for scholarship and any effort to publish it is remarkable," said Soren Edgren, professor with the Princeton University.

An Pingqiu, professor with the Beijing University, said, "What we have now of the encyclopedia is only three to four percent of its original volume. Publication of the photocopies will help scholarship and make more people know the world's cultural heritage."