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| Imperial Library (Siku Quanshu) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Imperial Library (Siku Quanshu) |
| Native name | 四庫全書 |
| Country | Qing dynasty |
| Established | 1773 |
| Founder | Qianlong Emperor |
| Location | Forbidden City, Beijing |
Imperial Library (Siku Quanshu) was the largest collection of Chinese literature compiled in the 18th century under the direction of the Qianlong Emperor. Commissioned as a national bibliographic project, it involved court officials, scholars, and scribes and produced a categorically arranged compendium intended to supersede earlier encyclopedic and textual projects such as the Complete Tang Poems, Yongle Encyclopedia, and Siku Quanshu Zongmu Tiyao. The project intersected with figures and institutions across the Qing polity, including the Qianlong Emperor, Qing dynasty, Grand Council (Qing dynasty), and provincial literati networks.
The initiative began after consultations with advisers such as Ji Yun, Zhang Tingyu, and members of the Hanlin Academy, reflecting imperial concerns following campaigns like the Ten Great Campaigns (Qianlong Emperor). The decision to compile the collection drew on precedents set by the Yongle Encyclopedia commissioned by the Yongle Emperor and the bibliographic work of the Ming dynasty literati. Imperial edicts issued from the Forbidden City directed provincial magistrates, academies such as the Guozijian, and collectives of scholars in provinces like Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan, and Guangdong to submit texts. The project’s formal inauguration in 1773 coincided with Qianlong’s campaigns in Xinjiang and diplomatic exchanges involving the Kangxi Emperor’s earlier legacy. Patronage, court ritual, and the Qing bureaucratic apparatus shaped commissioning, while interactions with Han and Manchu elites, including members of the Eight Banners, influenced recruitment and oversight.
Editorial leadership combined imperial commissioners, Hanlin scholars, and provincial compilers such as Zhao Yi, Long Wen, and officials who liaised with the Ministry of Rites (Qing dynasty). The organizational model adapted classical bibliographic divisions from the Four Divisions (jing, shi, zi, ji), and relied on the administrative structures of the Grand Secretariat and the Censorate (China). Scribes worked in studios established inside the Wumen precincts and at branch centers in Hunan, Fujian, and Shandong. Review committees evaluated texts for authenticity, pedigree, and political acceptability, invoking precedents from the Hanlin Academy's editorial procedures. The compilation used methods influenced by earlier compendia like Taiping Yulan and bibliographies such as those by Dai Zhen and Ruan Yuan. Coordination with local academies including the Tongcheng School and collectors like Zhuang Tinglong ensured access to private libraries, while imperial librarians negotiated disputes adjudicated by officials from the Ministry of Personnel (Qing dynasty).
Arranged into the classical fourfold scheme, the final corpus encompassed histories, classics, prose, poetry, and miscellanea, drawing on works by authors including Sima Qian, Confucius, Zhu Xi, Ban Gu, and Li Bai. The cataloging produced the Siku Quanshu Zongmu and abridged commentarial notes paralleling earlier texts such as Shiji and Book of Han. Multiple manuscript and woodblock editions emerged: seven complete manuscript copies were produced for imperial repositories, and variant editions circulated in collections associated with the Palace Museum, Beijing and provincial archives like those in Nanjing and Hangzhou. The compendium incorporated canonical texts, commentary traditions exemplified by Zhu Xi, and specialized treatises from material culture and local history, intersecting with repositories like Wenyuange and bibliophilic families including the Zeng family.
Production employed woodblock carving and hand-copying techniques practiced in centers such as Yangzhou and Suzhou, with artisans overseen by officials from the Ministry of Works (Qing dynasty). Distribution placed copies in imperial libraries at the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan), the Summer Palace (Yiheyuan), and provincial depositories in Fuzhou and Chengdu. Preservation efforts involved cataloging by figures connected to the Bibliography of the Qing Imperial Library and emergency relocation after disasters including the Second Opium War and the looting connected to the Anglo-French expedition to China (1860). Surviving copies have been conserved in institutions such as the National Library of China and the Palace Museum.
The project functioned as both scholarly enterprise and instrument of control, producing a list of proscribed works and instances of textual expurgation acted upon under imperial directives. Manuscripts deemed subversive were cataloged for removal, implicating authors like Zeng Guofan and affecting private collections owned by families such as the Zha family of Huguang. Debates over editorial purges engaged scholars including Yongzheng Emperor-era precedents and critics from the Donglin movement. Controversies arose over imperial interventions that resembled censorship campaigns directed during events such as the White Lotus Rebellion and in the aftermath of factional struggles involving the Qianlong Emperor’s antigentry policies. Later political upheavals—Taiping Rebellion, foreign incursions, and Republican-era reforms—further complicated the transmission and integrity of the collection.
The project influenced Qing bibliographic practice and later national projects in the Republican and People’s Republic periods, informing efforts at textual collation by scholars like Cai Yuanpei, Hu Shi, and Gu Jiegang. Modern sinology and comparative bibliography have engaged the corpus through studies at institutions such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, Harvard University, British Museum, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Digital humanities projects and cataloging initiatives by the National Library of China and international collaborations have re-evaluated the Siku’s role vis-à-vis earlier compilations like the Yongle Encyclopedia and later bibliographic enterprises. The legacy persists in debates over cultural patrimony involving collections in Taiwan and Western repositories following the turmoil of the 19th and 20th centuries.