The corpus

Bibliographical categories in the Chi-Know-Po library are modeled after theSuishu: Jingjizhi隋書經籍志 (Treatise on Classics and Collected Writings of the Book of Sui).Jing經 correspond to the realm of the confucian classics, along with other foundational writings, i.e. classics, apocrypha andxiaoxue小學 (introductory writings). This last category corresponds to lexicons and dictionaries throughout history. It echoes theLiu yi六藝 (Six Classics) in theHanshu: Yiwenzhi藝文志 (Treatise on Classics and Texts of the Book of Han).

Collections, also known in English as Collectanea,congshu叢書 first appeared during the Song 宋 Dynasty (960-1276). These works are the result of compilations. Individual and State enterprises aimed at collecting transmitted books because they were linked to a specific topic, because they were rare and object of pride within a library, or to ensure transmission through history. Many of the books present in the Chi-Know-Po library were extracted from such Collections. This space is meant to allow access to the books with collections as a starting point.

Bibliographical categories in the Chi-Know-Po library are modeled after theSuishu: Jingjizhi隋書經籍志 (Treatise on Classics and Collected Writings of the Book of Sui).Shi史 correspond to the realm of historical writings (official history as well as other kinds of historical writings), along with writings on propriety, punishments and law, geography and the like. It partly overlaps with theShu Shu術數 (Techniques and Numbers) in theHanshu: Yiwenzhi藝文志 (Treatise on Classics and Texts of the Book of Han). At this stage, the project does not include texts that belong to this bibliographical category.

Bibliographical categories in the Chi-Know-Po library are modeled after theSuishu: Jingjizhi隋書經籍志 (Treatise on Classics and Collected Writings of the Book of Sui).Ji集 correspond to the realm of theChuci楚辭 (Lyrics of Chu) along with personal collections and anthologies. It is hence a larger category than theShi Fu詩賦 (Poems and Rhapsodies) in theHanshu: Yiwenzhi藝文志 (Treatise on Classics and Texts of the Book of Han).

Bibliographical categories in the Chi-Know-Po library are modeled after theSuishu: Jingjizhi隋書經籍志 (Treatise on Classics and Collected Writings of the Book of Sui).Zi子 corresponds to the realm of thinkers (specilaists of confucian thought, taoist thought, legalism, moism, etc.). It encompassesxiaoshuo小說 (small talks) on events as well as writings onnong農 (agriculture) andyifang醫方 (curing and medecines). It brings together theHanshu: Yiwenzhi藝文志 (Treatise on Classics and Texts of the Book of Han) categories ofzhuzi諸子 (thinkers),bingshu兵書 (books on war) andfangji方技 (techniques and recipes). In later periods,leishu類書 (encyclopedias) were to be found in this bibliographical category (see for instance theSongshi宋史 (History of the Song).