Classics: The Book of Changes, Books, Poems, Rites, Music, Spring and Autumn, Filial Piety, The Analects of Confucius, Shu Wei, Primary School;
History: official history, ancient history, miscellaneous history, hegemonic history, giant notes, past events, official positions, clerical notes, criminal law, miscellaneous biography, geography, pedigree, and book records;
Confucius: Confucianism, Taoism, law, name, ink, vertical and horizontal, miscellaneous, agriculture, novel, military, astronomy, calendar, five elements, medical prescription;
Collections: Chu Ci, other collections and general collections; (The above * * * four parts and forty categories) Taoist scriptures (attached): Jingjie, Bait, House and Zuo Fu; (None of them are listed in the bibliography)
Buddhist Scriptures (Attached): Mahayana Sutra, Hinayana Sutra, Miscellaneous Sutra, Mahayana Sutra, Miscellaneous Method, Mahayana Theory, Hinayana Theory, Miscellaneous Theory and Notes. (fifteen categories of Taoism and Buddhism)
By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the four-part classification had been further developed in Sikuquanshu.
"Jingbu" refers to Confucian classics. The Ministry of Economic Affairs has sub-categories. In the Qing Dynasty, Sikuquanshu was divided into ten categories: Yi, Shu, Poetry, Ritual, Spring and Autumn, Filial Piety, Five Classics, Four Books, Music and Primary School.
"History Department" is history, including all kinds of historical works. The history department of Sikuquanshu is divided into 15 categories: official history, chronology, chronological background, other history, miscellaneous history, imperial edict, biography, historical records, records, seasons, geography, official positions, political books, catalogues and historical reviews.
"Subdivision" includes books on politics, philosophy, science and technology, and art. Sikuquanshu is divided into Confucianism, military strategists, legalists, farmers, doctors, astronomical algorithms, technology, art, music records, miscellaneous books, novelists, Buddhists and Taoists.
"Collection Department" collects essays, parallel prose, poems, essays, literary criticism, opera works, etc. Sikuquanshu can be divided into five categories: Chuci, Bieji, Zongji, Poetry Review, Ci and Qu.
This four-part classification has been in existence for more than 1,300 years since the Tang Dynasty. As a traditional classification method, it has played a considerable role in the classification of ancient books in China.