Bibliographic Treatise of Sui Shu
Updated 2026-08-22
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The Bibliographic Treatise of the Book of Sui was compiled in the seventh century by a team under Wei Zheng and records the titles known in the Sui dynasty, noting for each whether it survived and where. Its core claim is that a systematic register of what exists is itself historical evidence, since the pattern of survival and loss maps the transmission of knowledge. It is also the earliest extant catalogue to organize all learning into the four divisions of classics, history, philosophy, and belles-lettres. The qualification is that its attributions and dates reflect Tang editorial judgement and should be checked against other sources.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Survival audit: check what a field once contained by comparing old registers with current holdings. - Classification template: adopt a four-part division to organize a large body of material. - Source criticism: use a catalogue's gaps and attributions to reconstruct how knowledge was transmitted.
Anchor fast decisions
A catalogue records what was known to exist at a point in time, so comparing it with a later list reveals what was lost, what was added, and where a tradition broke. Because classification assigns each work to a place, the scheme also shows what the compilers considered important and how they related fields. The register therefore functions as a dated snapshot of the knowledge system rather than as a simple inventory.
MINIMUM ACTION
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9A%8B%E4%B9%A6verified
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