Essence of the Siku Quanshu (Vol. 1-6)

Author: Guo Chao
Publisher: China Literature Publishing House
Publish Date: 2002-10-01
Features: Siku Quanshu – the world's largest and most complete official large-scale compendium. Siku Quanshu Essence – the cream of the crop, selected from the best of the best.
Emperor Qianlong, known as Hongli (reigned 1736–1795), was the Qing Emperor Gaozong and a prominent figure in the "Kang-Qian Prosperity" era of Chinese feudal history. Renowned for his literary and martial achievements, he was called the "Ten-Peak Emperor." To suppress literature deemed harmful to his regime, Qianlong implemented a cultural authoritarian policy of "suppressing through collection." He ordered provincial authorities to seek out lost books and classic texts. Later, based on Zhang Yun's recommendation, the Siku Quanshu Academy was established in 1772, with an imperial decree stating, "In marketplaces, make every effort to assess the value of classics. If privately owned, the court will arrange for printing, and copies may be made without the original being returned."
In the 38th year of Qianlong's reign, Ji Yun (Xiaolan), Lu Xizhong, and Sun Shiyi were appointed as chief compilers. A team of 360 first-class scholars, including Dai Zhen (a master of Han Studies) and Shao Jinhán (a master of Historiography), were recruited, with nearly 4,000 scribes participating. This assembly of brilliant minds was unprecedented, and the project lasted 10 years, concluding in 1782. The entire work was finally completed in 1793.
It 3,503 (approximately), 79,039 volumes, with bibliographic records of 6,793 titles and 93,551 volumes. The collection was bound into over 36,000 volumes, comprising nearly 1 billion characters. It essentially included all important Chinese classics before the Qing Dynasty under Qianlong, with even more complete coverage of texts before the Yuan Dynasty, hence the name "Quanshu" (Complete Collection). Additionally, as the book was divided into the four classic categories of Confucian classics, history, philosophy, and literature, it was titled Siku Quanshu.