In the thirty-seventh year of Qianlong (1772), in the first month, Emperor Qianlong ordered officials from all provinces in China to collect extensively the suicide notes of the previous generation and the works of the present dynasty. The imperial edict said:' There are books in the imperial palace today, but Cha Jia is not rich. However, since ancient times, thousands of people have fled to famous mountains and have not been published in the history of columns. It is appropriate to collect it in time and send it to Beijing to show the prosperity of the same language through the ages. It ordered the governor to communicate with the school administrative department and its subordinates to increase their intention to buy a visit. After the imperial edict was issued, Zhu Jun, an Anhui scholar, put forward four suggestions in 1 1 month to search for proofreading books: first, collect rare old blocks and manuscripts; Second, make full use of the royal collection, publish the Catalogue of the Collection of the Forbidden City, and organize personnel to collect the lost books from the residual edition of Yongle Dadian collected by the Forbidden City; Third, pay equal attention to description and arrangement; Fourth, we should also pay attention to the collection of epigraphy and atlas. Zhu Jun's suggestion caught the attention of Emperor Qianlong. After consulting with the Minister of Military Affairs, he decided to send an Hanlin official to open a library to edit the lost books compiled by Yongle Dadian and the books imported from various provinces. After the book was completed, it was named Siku Quanshu.
Sikuquanshu and Sikuquanshu were officially opened in February of the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong (1773), and the museum was located in imperial academy courtyard outside Dong 'anmen. Siku Quanshu Library has president, vice president, editor-in-chief, chief reader, chief school official, editor, supervisor and supervisor. In the nine years before and after, there were 360 editors appointed by the government, and a large number of copywriters and handymen were requisitioned. The most prestigious experts and scholars in the country gathered in the Siku Quanshu Museum, with a large number of talents. Among them, Ji Yun, Dai Zhen and others are the most famous.
Ji Yun, a native of Zhili County, is witty and knowledgeable. Since the opening of the museum, he has been the editor-in-chief and made the greatest contribution to the compilation of Sikuquanshu. The style and classification of this book and the order of various books are all decided by Ji Yun. He devoted all his life to the Summary of Sikuquanshu and the Catalogue, and "The gains and losses of the annotations of the Six Classics, the similarities and differences of history, the branches and factions of subsets, traced back to the source", which was compiled into 200 volumes of the General Catalogue of Sikuquanshu and became a summary work in the history of bibliography. Because of Ji Yun's great contribution and outstanding talent in compiling Sikuquanshu, he is called "a generation of literati".
As an editor, Dai Zhen is a prestigious master of Chinese studies and a leader of Anhui School. As a juror, he called the People's Library in Monterrey to compile and sort out the lost books and ancient books in Yongle Dadian. He has a deep knowledge base, and other people in the library often ask him for advice if they have any questions. Dai Zhen worked in the library for several years, compiled five long-lost Calculations, and revised and compiled a large number of ancient books, such as Water Mirror Annotation and Li Yi Ji Shi, which made outstanding contributions to the compilation of Siku Quanshu. Due to overwork, Dai Zhen died in Qianlong forty-two years (1777).
In order to compile Sikuquanshu, the Qing court carried out large-scale book collection activities. From thirty-seven to forty-three years of Qianlong (1772 to 1778), Emperor Qianlong sent letters for books many times, and the total number of books collected in various places reached 13000, many of which were rare treasures in the world. Most of these books come from Zhejiang, a region with a particularly developed culture. Some famous local book collectors, such as Ma Yu in Yangzhou and Fan Zhumao in Ningbo, put forward more than 600 kinds of books. Such an unprecedented collection of books provides rich basic materials for the compilation of Sikuquanshu.
In a large number of books collected, including some words that are not conducive to the rulers of the Qing Dynasty, especially some poems by unofficial history in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there are many words of "disobedience to obstacles and disobedience". Emperor Qianlong collected books and compiled Sikuquanshu in order to consolidate his rule. Of course, these books that are not conducive to his rule will not be taken lightly. Therefore, in August of the thirty-ninth year of Qianlong (1774), he ordered the Siku Library and provincial officials to take this opportunity to vigorously ban all books that violated his rule and destroy them. At that time, the literary inquisition was in full swing, and the local officials dared not neglect the order of banning books, so they confiscated the banned books at the same time. After more than ten years, more than 3,000 kinds of banned books were seized, with more than 1.5 million copies. Moreover, the scope of banning books includes not only unofficial history, an official in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, but also many literati's collections, notes, recitation and opera creation. In the process of compiling Sikuquanshu, according to the instructions of Emperor Qianlong, some offensive chapters, paragraphs and words in many ancient books were deleted and tampered with, which made some precious ancient books unrecognizable.
After nearly ten years' efforts, the first Sikuquanshu was officially compiled in December of the forty-sixth year of Qianlong (178 1). This huge series contains more than 3,500 kinds of ancient and modern books and more than 79,000 volumes, covering all aspects. The book is divided into four parts: classics, history, poetry, and collection. It is divided into 44 categories, of which 15 categories are divided into 65 genera. Its basic classification is the general meaning of Confucian Classics, Book of Changes, Poetry, Rites, Spring and Autumn, Filial Piety, Five Classics, Four Books, Music and Primary School, and there are ten categories. History department, official history, chronicle, other history, miscellaneous history, imperial edict, biography, historical records, records, seasons, geography, official positions, political books, catalogues and historical reviews, fifteen categories; Subdivision, Confucianism, militarists, legalists, farmers, doctors, astronomical algorithms, mathematical technology, art, music records, miscellaneous books, novelists, Buddhists, Taoists, and * * 14 categories; Collection, Chu Ci, Bie Ji, Zong Ji, Poetry Review, Ci and Qu, * * * five categories. The collection of books includes general works, some series, masterpieces and reference books, such as Yuan Gui and Pei Yunwen Fu. Sikuquanshu is a collection of thousands of suicide notes and the simplest volume, which is not only neat and easy to save, but also complete in content and easy to find. Those who rely on the wealth of our ancestors will also be able to serve. "
In the process of compilation, the editors of Sikuquanshu wrote abstracts for more than 10200 books collected and preserved. Each abstract lists the title of the book, the number of volumes, the source of the collection, the author's name and experience, introduces the nature and content of the book, comments on its advantages and disadvantages, and explains its spread and influence. These abstracts were compiled by Ji Yun and edited into a book according to the category order of Sikuquanshu, namely the so-called Sikuquanshu Catalogue. Because the abstracts of all books are written by profound scholars, the summaries are clear and often unique, coupled with the rigorous and exquisite classification framework of Sikuquanshu, the catalogue of Sikuquanshu has become the highest achievement of bibliography in China and has a great influence on later academic circles. The 200-volume catalogue of Sikuquanshu was first published by the imperial court in the 60th year of Qianlong (1795), and then reprinted by the people according to the temple edition, which was widely circulated throughout the country.
Sikuquanshu is voluminous and has no printed version. After compilation, only seven books have been copied so far, and each book is bound into more than 36,000 volumes. They are located in Wen Yuan Pavilion in Beijing, Wen Yuan Pavilion in Yuanmingyuan, Jinwen Pavilion in chengde mountain resort, Wenshui Pavilion in Shenyang Forbidden City, Wen Hui Pavilion in Yangzhou, Wenzong Pavilion in Zhenjiang and Wen Lan Pavilion in Hangzhou. After copying, recalibrate and recalibrate many times. Later, due to the war, Wen Yuan Pavilion, Wen Hui Pavilion and Wenzong Pavilion all disappeared. Wen Lan Pavilion was completely copied after being destroyed by half, and now it is collected with Wenyuan Pavilion, Jinwen Pavilion Stack and Wenshui Pavilion in Hangzhou, Taiwan, Beijing and Lanzhou, Gansu respectively.