JINAN, March 12 (Xinhua) -- China will publish the Analects of Confucius -- a collection of ideas and sayings from the Chinese philosopher -- in five languages for Belt and Road countries this year.

China Confucius Foundation and Qingdao Publishing Group in east China's Shandong Province, will jointly complete the translation and publication of the collection in the Arabic, Mongolian, Czech, Portuguese and Spanish languages.

The translations will be distributed to countries along the Belt and Road through the foundation and global Confucius institutes, said Wang Daqian, president of the China Confucius Foundation.

"The thoughts of Confucius constitute the root of Chinese traditional culture and have profoundly influenced Chinese society over the past 2,500 years," said Wang.

"Confucianism has contributed much to mankind's culture," he added.

Born near the present-day town of Qufu, Shandong, Confucius (551-479 BC) founded a school of thought that influenced later generations and became known as Confucianism. He is believed to be the first person to set up private schools in China and enroll students from all walks of life.

The Analects is a collection of his famous sayings, reflecting his political views, moral principles and educational ideas. "How happy we are to have friends from afar" and "Do not do to others what you don't want to be done to you" are among the classic sayings.

The Analects has already been translated into English, Japanese, Russian, Korean, French and German.

China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, aiming to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient Silk Road trade routes.