A Catalog of Books with Different Titles (Volumes 1 and 2)

Author: Du Xinfu, Wang Jian
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2000-01-01
Features: As one of our country's ancient classics, the Four-Part Classification Method was still in use before being modified. All scientific and cultural researchers, especially those engaged in ancient studies, should actively study it to prepare for the improvement of our national cultural heritage's catalog classification. The Four-Part Classification Method has been followed for a long time, and its customs are deeply ingrained, making it impossible to discard it in a single generation. It should be approached from the perspective of convenience in checking, and more supplementary reference books should be created, such as subject indexes. Ancient classics are often described as vast as the ocean, with mixed categories and confused names, making it difficult for those without a clear path to research to utilize the Four-Part Catalog. Among these, there are books with the same content but different names, books with names but no actual content, books where obtaining one can give an overview of the others, books where scattered references can be combined to form the full text, and books where the same source is divided into multiple names to distinguish them. These points are not detailed in catalogs and lack dedicated books for reference, often leaving scholars unable to find the books they seek by simply following the catalog. However, the book in question is the one they are looking for, or if it does not exist, it can be obtained through other sources. Yet, to this day, no single tool book has emerged to solve these difficulties, a matter of great regret for scholars. Du Xinfu, serving at the Nanjing Library, often encountered readers who became frustrated when searching for books by name. Driven by public demand and a sense of responsibility, he compiled a work titled Tongjian over four years, recording over 4,000 instances of books with the same content but different names. This work is a pioneering contribution to Chinese bibliography, undoubtedly serving as an excellent tool for scholars. However, it cannot be said that all books with the same content but different names have been included, and omissions are inevitable. As he encountered these cases, he recorded them, accumulating a wealth of information. He hopes that scholars worldwide will contribute to its improvement, making it more complete—a desire shared by all readers. Some may argue that the Ming Dynasty's Qi Chengmei's Danshengtang Shuciyue also discussed books with the same content but different names, but his examples were limited to a few, with the rest focusing on textual research and collation. Others may point to Du Lianzhe's Congshu Mubiaoxubian, which also listed books with the same content but different names, but this was specifically for compendia, and the compiler had already included them. This is why I regard this work as a groundbreaking achievement in the world of books and a distinctive contribution to bibliography. Others may argue that if the names are different, they cannot be considered the same book. This is not the case. As listed in this book, though there may be differences in compilation and volume, the content remains largely consistent—how can they be considered different books? The point that requires attention is not this, but rather books with the same name but different content or authors. For example, Song and Jin dynasties' Yin Ying and Luo Ye both wrote Zuoerguan Lutan, He Wenhuan and Wu Jingxu each compiled Lidai Shifahuai, and apart from the Qing Kangxi Emperor's imperial compilation, Qian Qianyi and Ji Zhenyi both compiled Quan Tang Shi. These can be distinguished by author names. The most easily confused cases are when one author writes two books with the same name. For instance, Qing Dynasty's Wang Zhong wrote Shuyuan, one of which describes historical educational systems, while the other is a collected works. Similarly, Qing Dynasty's Wang Zhichun wrote two books with different content but the same name, Guochao Rouyuanji (one of which is also known as Tongshang Shimowuji), which cannot be distinguished as main and supplementary volumes. If a scholar seeks Wang Zhong's Shuyuan on education and finds the collected works instead, or seeks Wang Zhichun's first Guochao Rouyuanji and finds the second one instead, they will miss the intended purpose. Such cases are rare and differ from books with the same content but different names, which are actually distinct. Scholars, aware of books with the same content but different names, should also recognize books with the same name but different content or by different authors. There are also cases where the same book is published in different versions due to varying compilation processes and multiple editions, such as the four-volume Ming Dynasty Yunlu Manchao from the Bie Xia Zongshu series differing greatly from the ten-volume version from the Biesha Zongshu series. Such examples are numerous and too numerous to list. These should be considered differences in versions, not books with the same name but different content. As for books with the same content but different names, such as Liji being the same as Xiaozaiji, Shiji being the same as Taishi Gong Shu, and Shishuo Xinyu being the same as Shishuo, these are matters of common knowledge for scholars and beyond the scope of this book.