The Siku Quanshu Zongmu Tiyao, or the Annotated Bibliography of the Four Treasuries,^[1] is an annotated catalog of the thousands of works that were considered for inclusion in the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries). Work for the 200-chapter catalog began in 1773 and was completed in 1798.^[2] The Annotated Bibliography of the Four Treasuries is the largest pre-modern Chinese book catalog.^[3] It contains bibliographic notices on all 3,461 works that were included in the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries, as well as shorter notes on 6,793 works that were not included in the imperial library but listed only by title (cunmu 存目).^[4] Thousands of books are omitted from the catalog, including the almost 3,000 works that were destroyed by the Qing because they were considered to be anti-Manchu.^[5] The notices themselves were written by many hands, but the final drafts were edited by chief editor Ji Yun.^[6] The content of the annotated catalog reflects the strength of Han learning in Qing scholarly circles.^[7]

Name

The Siku Quanshu Zongmu Tiyao (simplified Chinese: 四库总目总目提要; traditional Chinese: 四庫總目總目提要; pinyin: Sìkù Quánshū Zǒngmù Tíyào, literally "Annotated Bibliography of the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries") or simply the Siku Zongmu (simplified Chinese: 四库总目; traditional Chinese: 四庫總目; pinyin: Sìkù Zǒngmù, literally "Catalog of the Four Treasuries") in Chinese. It is also translated in English as the Annotated Bibliography of the Four Treasuries (or the Annotated Bibliography of the Four Treasures).^[8]