The Chinese classification system has evolved over centuries from the oldest known bibliography in the world, the Seven Epitomes from the 1st century BC, to the current Chinese Library Classification system. The sevenfold classification was used until the 4th century AD when the fourfold classification of Classics, History, Philosophy, and Literature was established. This fourfold system was then used for official bibliographies for over 1,000 years. In the late 19th century the Dewey Decimal system was introduced and in the 1960s development began on the Chinese Library Classification, with the 5th edition published in 2010, organizing over 43,000 Chinese works into 5 major groups.

1. Chinese Cataloging Through HistoryVictoria LudasDr. PattuelliLIS 653-02 Knowledge OrganizationSpring 2011Image source: http://ed101.bu.edu/StudentDoc/current/ED101fa09/lbryfo/quizhome.html

2. The sevenfold classification scheme: 1st century BC to 1st century AD: Seven Epitomes, by Liu Hsiang and his son Liu Hsin.

3. Oldest known bibliography in the world.

4. 7 main classes and 38 subdivisions, ordered in terms of ideological importance:

5. General Summary (more of an introduction than full class)

6. Classics

7. Philosophy

8. Poetry