Classified books are tools for compiling ancient Chinese literature, originating from the Cao and Wei dynasties and edited throughout history. After the founding of Vietnam in the 10th century, Chinese classics were widely adopted. Before the 18th century, there were no Vietnamese compiled encyclopedias. Li Guidun was a scholar of the revival of the Le Dynasty in Vietnam. He used Chinese knowledge of encyclopedias to compile Vietnam's first encyclopedic book, the "Saint Mo Xian Fan Lu," which achieved the transformation of Chinese knowledge into Vietnamese knowledge. The Book of Saint Mo Xian quotes numerous Chinese classics, showing the flow of Chinese classics to Vietnam in the early 18th century. Li Guidun pioneered the compilation of Vietnamese encyclopedias.

The Application of "The General History of Dai Viet" to Chinese Classified Books

Explored the application of Chinese encyclopedias by Li Guidun in his early work "General History of Dai Viet". The book includes the historical theories of 11 Chinese historians, reflecting Li Guidun's profound understanding of historiography. These historical theories mainly come from two books: "Memoirs of Famous Officials of Various Dynasties" and "Yuding Yuanjian Classified Letters", the latter of which was granted to Annam by Emperor Yongzheng in 1726. Li Guidun repeatedly quoted "Wen Zhongzi said" in the book, indicating that he may have read the preface of Ruan Yi's "Wen Zhongzi said" in the Song Dynasty. Although there are some reversals in the chronological order, Li Guidun still entered the book in the order of Volume 193 of the "Yuding Yuanjian Classified Letters", showing his reading and reference to the book. In the "Preface" and "Ordinary Examples" of the "General History of Dai Viet", Li Guidun demonstrates his mastery and application of ancient historiography, as well as his understanding of the origins of Chinese historiography, including biography and chronology.

2. Compilation of the "Saint Mo Xian Fan Lu" and Li Guidun's Classified Books

Explored the compilation work of Li Guidun's encyclopedic works and its relationship with the "Sheng Mo Xian Fan Lu". Li Guidun demonstrated a profound understanding of historiography in "The General History of Dai Viet", but the book was not completed and has not been circulated. Chinese encyclopedias had a profound impact on Li Guidun, inspiring him to compile Vietnamese encyclopedias. The "General History of Vietnam - Art and Culture" does not include Vietnamese encyclopedias, possibly because there were no compiled or lost encyclopedias in Vietnam before. When Li Guidun was sent to the Qing Dynasty as an envoy, he presented the "Record of the Exemplary Works of the Holy Mo" and received high praise from Chinese and Korean scholars, demonstrating the success of the book. The format of the "Sheng Mo Xian Fan Lu" is rigorous and has the characteristics of a classic book, but lacks examples and self preface, indicating that it is still in the experimental stage. The Han Nan Research Institute has two copies of the book, with the A.846 copy being relatively complete and containing prefaces by Chinese and Korean scholars, but without a self preface by Li Guidun. The "Record of the Standards of Saint Mo Xian" collects twelve classic texts, focusing on different chapters. Some of the content is closely related to the chapter names and may be the original collection. Li Guidun may have made additions after returning to China, but did not rearrange the structure of the text. The "Record of the Standards of Saint Mo Xian" may have been influenced by the "memorials of famous ministers throughout history", focusing on the affairs of ministers and the cultivation of saints and scholars, in contrast to the "memorials of famous ministers throughout history" which mainly discuss the governance of monarchs and ministers.

The sources of knowledge in the "Record of the Standards of Saint Mo Xian"

A detailed discussion was conducted on the Chinese classics cited by Li Guidun in compiling the "Record of Saint Mo Xian Fan". Zhu Peilian mentioned in the preface the influence of Chinese classics on Korea and Vietnam, pointing out that Li Guidun had extensively collected Chinese books before the opening of the Siku Quanshu. Li Guidun cited twelve classics including "Yi", "Shu", "Shi", as well as a wide range of knowledge sources such as "Zhu Zi", "Shi Zhuan", and "Xian Confucian Maxims". The "philosophers" he cited not only include those from the pre Qin period, but also encompass works from the Wei, Jin, and Tang dynasties, and even include Taoist classics. Through digital resources and the database of "Siku Quanshu" in Wenyuan Pavilion, researchers found that Li Guidun extensively cited books such as "Memoirs of Famous Officials of Various Dynasties" and "Yuding Yuan Jian Lei Han", as well as "Collection of Ancient and Modern Documents" and "Shuoyuan". He also cited Confucian classics such as "The Complete Book of Sexual Theory", "Miscellaneous Words on Saving Hearts", "The Case of Ming Confucianism", as well as collections such as "Tang Wencui". In addition, Li Guidun also cited various literary works including Wang Ji's "Lize Lu" and Song Lian's "Qianxi Shuyan", as well as proverbs such as "Introduction to the Day Curtain" and family mottos such as "Shilin Family Instructions". He also cited Taoist books such as "Tai Shang Gan Pian" and "Yun Ji Qi Zhan", as well as fables such as "Yu Ion". These references demonstrate the widespread circulation and influence of Chinese books in Vietnam during the 18th century.

4 Conclusion

This article explores the historical background of book exchange between China and Vietnam, pointing out that although the changes in times and wars have led to limited existing Chinese classics in Vietnam, Le Guidun's "Saint Mo Xian Fan Lu", as a result of the development of Confucianism and book exchange between China and Vietnam, demonstrates the prosperity of Chinese books flowing into Vietnam in the 18th century. The "Saint Mo Xian Fan Lu" is compiled based on the knowledge of Chinese books that have been passed down to Vietnam. It is divided into twelve sections and follows the style of the "Memoirs of Famous Ministers of All Dynasties". It was completed and praised during the Qing Dynasty's mission in 1765. The book cites a vast collection of books, including Confucian classics, the classics of various philosophers, Confucian monographs, and the works of great Confucian scholars in the Song Dynasty, indicating that private collections have flowed into Vietnam. Li Guidun pays special attention to proverbs, citing official admonishments and family training materials. The book covers a subset of classics and history, including Taoist classics, but no Buddhist scriptures, continuing the style of the Li Dynasty scholars who advocated Confucianism and Buddhism. There are various types of books cited by Li Guidun, including "memorials to famous ministers throughout history" and "imperial edicts", indicating that they were already utilized when writing the "General History of Dai Viet". After taking office, Li Guidun entered the National History Museum and utilized more literature resources, including Chinese classics collected during the Zhongxing Li Dynasty. The compilation and content of the "Saint Mo Xian Fan Lu" presents a historical picture of cultural closeness and mutual understanding between China and Vietnam, which is of great significance for studying how Chinese classics flowed into Vietnam.