JINAN -- Books based on 62 volumes of archives of the Confucius Family Mansion in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) have been published, shedding the light on the life in China about 500 years ago.

The archives dated back from 1543 to 1644, according to Kong Deping, curator of the Confucius Museum in Qufu city of eastern China's Shandong province.

The archives recorded a wide range of events related to the Confucius family, including the revision of the Confucius family tree during the reign of Emperor Chenghua and Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty and a lunar eclipse in 1631 during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, according to Cheng Jichun, dean of the School of History and Culture of Qufu Normal University.

The archives are classified into nine categories, including natural phenomenon, achievements of family members, records of family revenue and tax. They are important for researching the history of relations between the Confucius family and society in the Ming Dynasty, Cheng added.

The newly-published books are printed in color to show the original appearance of the archives, said Zhang Zhiqing, deputy director of the National Ancient Books Protection Center of China.

The archives that record the activities of the direct descendants of Confucius from 1534 to 1948 are believed to be the most comprehensive, content-rich and well-preserved existing private documents in China with 9,021 volumes.