Two Chinese media firms have signed an agreement with the Chinese Confucius Foundation to make a cartoon series on the ancient philosopher's life and teachings.

Shandong Radio and Television General Station, based in the eastern Shandong Province, and Shenzhen Phoenix Star, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-listed Phoenix Satellite TV, will jointly produce the cartoon on the philosopher's life and lectures.

"The cartoon aims to make Confucius and his philosophy well known and better understood in a form with popular appeal," said a spokesman of the Chinese Confucius Foundation.

Confucius, born in 551 B.C., founded Confucianism, a philosophy featuring harmony and peace.

The screenplay, characters' images three-dimensional backgrounds were expected to be finalized by September next year and the series should be aired in 2009, the 2,560th anniversary of Confucius' birth, the spokesman said.

At a cost of 40 million yuan (US$5.3 million), the series is planned to comprise 100 episodes, each lasting 13 minutes.