BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland publisher on Monday launched the biography and journals of "shipping king" Tung Chaoyung, father of the first chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Tung Chee-hwa.

The books include diaries, letters, speeches and pictures from 1948 to 1982, media reports and recollections from more than 80 friends and colleagues of the shipping tycoon, said his daughter Alice King.

The books, in simplified Chinese characters, were published by SDX Joint Publishing Company.

Born in 1912 in east China's Zhejiang Province, Tung founded the Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL).

He began his shipping career at 16 and built his empire virtually from scratch. At the peak of his career, he owned a fleet of more than 150 ships, with a cargo capacity exceeding 11 million tons.

Tung was often called the Onassis of the Orient. He died in 1982.

The Hong Kong versions of the books were published in original Chinese characters in 2004.

Tung Chee-hwa is vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.