History section; second category in traditional Chinese bibliography
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
the History section; the second of the four traditional categories of Chinese bibliography (Classics, History, Philosophy, Collections), designated by the second Heavenly Stem 乙
formalTechnical term used in traditional Chinese bibliography and library science. In the 四部分类法 system, the four categories were traditionally referred to by the Heavenly Stems: 甲部 (经部, Classics), 乙部 (史部, History), 丙部 (子部, Masters), and 丁部 (集部, Collections). This terminology is now archaic but appears in classical catalogues.
The Book of Han holds an important position in the History section (Yi Bu) of the Han dynasty catalog.
Ancient book classifications used the Heavenly Stems Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding as ordinal markers; Yi Bu refers to the History section, collecting historical works of successive dynasties.
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The Sui dynasty 'Treatise on Classics and Books' established the four-category system of Classics, History, Masters, and Collections, in which the Yi Bu (History) section collected standard histories, ancient histories, and miscellaneous histories.