Divination and the State

Abstract

Aiming at diversification and expansion of classification research, this in-depth study examines one of the six main classes in a two-thousand-year-old Chinese library catalog, the Seven Epitomes (Qilue 七略). The target class, the Epitome of Divination and Numbers, represents a group of divination manuals that are further divided into six subcategories. Through a contextualized analysis of the Epitome itself and other related texts, the study identifies a number of classificatory principles at work. The scope of the Epitome was evidently determined by government functions rather than objective observations of similarities and differences between topics represented in the library collection. In other words, the Epitome included technical manuals, as opposed to philosophical writings, collected by the offices in charge of divination in the imperial government. The study also examines the order between divisions and between individual texts within the Epitome. Further, the nature of the Epitome and its association with two modern-day concepts, science and religion, are clarified in the appropriate cultural and historical context. The final section discusses the significance of the current study and offers suggestions for future classification research.