The four-part classification of Classics, History, Zi and Ji is the product of China traditional culture, which is suitable for traditional cultural classics. Today, it is still a key for us to be familiar with ancient books and then understand traditional culture. Since the May 4th Movement, China has used the western book classification for reference and classified books according to the modern subject system. Up to 20 13 and 10, libraries in China still generally adopt the China Library Classification revised in 1990s (referred to as Chinese Library Classification). However, because many ancient books are difficult to be included in the classification system of China Library Classification, the collection and retrieval of ancient books libraries (libraries) still adopt the traditional four-part classification.
China culture has a long history, and the classics produced in past dynasties are hard to count. According to incomplete statistics, there are still more than 80 thousand species that have survived to this day. The classification and arrangement of ancient books also began very early. The first large-scale collation of ancient books began in the Western Han Dynasty in 26 BC, presided over by Liu Xiang and Liu Xin, including retrieval, collation, classification and cataloging, and finally compiled the earliest catalogue of the National Library of China-Qilue. Seven Laws divides the ancient books collected at that time into six categories: six arts, philosophers, art of war, mathematics, folk arts and poetry, and adds an introduction to compilation, with the overall title of Seven Laws. The book has been lost for a long time, but its basic content has been preserved in the records of Bangu's Han Shu Yi Wen Zhi. Therefore, the records of Hanshu Yiwenzhi became the earliest classified catalogue of ancient books.
After the Han Dynasty, various ancient books compiled by the government and the people emerged continuously, and the classification methods were improved. In the Western Jin Dynasty, Xunxu's "Jinzhong Classic Book" was changed from six to four, namely, Part A recorded classic books (equivalent to six arts), Part B recorded volumes (including philosophers, military books, mathematics and folk arts), Part C recorded history books, and Part D recorded poetry and fu, which laid the foundation for four categories. According to the actual situation of ancient books at that time, the Bibliography of Jin Yuan Emperor compiled by Li Chong in the Eastern Jin Dynasty changed the history books into part B and the volumes into part C. Thus, four parts of classics, history, volumes and collections were formed.
The final establishment of the four-part system is embodied in the Annals of Sui Shu Classics, which was actually compiled by Kevin·Z, a famous official in the early Tang Dynasty, and officially marked the names of the four parts of the Classics, History and Discipline, and further subdivided into 40 categories. After the Sui Dynasty, the mainstream of book classification is to follow the four-part classification.
In addition to the above four-point method and six-point method, ancient books of all ages also have seven points, nine points or even twelve points, but they are not dominant. This shows that after the test of time, the quartering method can solve the complex classification problem of ancient books well, so it has been widely recognized. Of course, the various categories under the four parts have changed throughout the ages. The Catalogue of Si Ku Quan Shu compiled in Qing Dynasty is divided into four parts and 44 categories, which has great authority.