The Chinese Library Classification (CLC; Chinese: 中国图书馆分类法), also known as Classification for Chinese Libraries (CCL), is effectively the national library classification scheme in China. It is used in almost all primary and secondary schools, universities, academic institutions, as well as public libraries. It is also used by publishers to classify all books published in China.
The Book Classification of Chinese Libraries (BCCL) was first published in 1975, under the auspices of China's Administrative Bureau of Cultural Affairs. Its fourth edition (1999) was renamed CLC. In September 2010, the fifth edition was published by National Library of China Publishing House. CLC has twenty-two top-level categories, and inherits a Marxist orientation from its earlier editions. (For instance, category A is Marxism, Leninism, Maoism & Deng Xiaoping Theory.) It contains a total of 43600 categories, many of which are recent additions, meeting the needs of a rapidly changing nation.
The 22 top categories and selected sub-categories of CLC (5th Edition) are as follows:
A1 The Works of Karl Marx and Friedrich EngelsA2 The Works of Vladimir LeninA3 The Works of Joseph StalinA4 The Works of Mao ZedongA49 The works of Deng XiaopingA5 The Symposium/Collection of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Deng XiaopingA7 The biobibliography and biography of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Deng XiaopingA8 Study and Research of Marxism, Leninism, Maoism & Deng Xiaoping TheoryB. Philosophy and Religions
B-4 Education and dissemination of philosophyB-49 Learners' book und popular literature of philosophyB0 theory of philosophyB0-0 Marxist philosophyB01 Basic problems of philosophyB014 Object, purpose and method of philosophyB015 Materialism and idealismB016 OntologyB016.8 CosmologyB016.9 Time-space-theoryB017 EpistemologyB017.8 Determinism and IndeterminismB017.9 Self TheoryB018 AxiologyB019.1 MaterialismB019.11 Naive materialismB019.12 Metaphysical materialismB019.13 Dialectical materialismB019.2 IdealismB02 Dialectical materialismB024 Materialist dialecticsB025 Categories of materialist dialecticsB026 MethodologyB027 Application of dialectical materialismB028 Natural philosophyB029 Dialectics of natureB03 Historical materialismB031 Social material requirements of lifeB032 Basic social conflictB032.1 Productive forces und relations of productionB032.2 Base and superstructureB033 Class TheoryB034 Theory of RevolutionB035 Theory of countryB036 Social being and social consciousnessB037 Contradictions among the PeopleB038 Role of the people in historical developmentB08 Philosophical schools and researchB081 IdealismB081.1 MetaphysicsB081.2 Epistemology of idealism, apriorismB082 Positivism, MachismB083 Voluntarism and philosophy of lifeB084 Neo-Kantianism and NeohegelianismB085 Neorealism, logical positivism (new positivism, logical empiricism)B086 Existentialism (survivalism)B087 PragmatismB088 Neo-Thomism (new scholasticism)B089 Other philosophical schoolsB089.1 Western MarxismB089.2 Philosophical hermeneuticsB089.3 Philosophical anthropologyB1 Philosophy (Worldwide)B2 Philosophy in ChinaB22 Pre-Qin Dynasty Philosophy (~before 220 BC)B222 The Confucian SchoolB222.2 Confucius (Kǒng Qiū, 551-479 BC)B3 Philosophy in AsiaB4 Philosophy in AfricaB5 Philosophy in EuropeB6 Philosophy in AustralasiaB7 Philosophy in AmericaB8 Cognitive scienceB9 ReligionsB91 Sociology of Religion, Religion and ScienceB92 Philosophy and History of ReligionB93 Mythology and Primitive religionB94 BuddhismB95 TaoismB96 IslamB97 ChristianityB971 BibleB971.1 Old TestamentB971.2 New TestamentB972 Doctrine, TheologyB975 Evangelism, SermonB976 Christian DenominationB976.1 Roman Catholic ChurchB976.2 Orthodox Christianity (Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy)B976.3 Protestantism (Protestant Reformation)B977 Ecclesiastical polityB978 Research on ChristianityB979 History of ChristianityB979.9 BiographyB98 Other ReligionsB99 Augury, SuperstitionC0 Social Scientific Theory and MethodologyC1 Present and Future of Social SciencesC2 Organisations, Groups, ConferencesC3 Method of Research in Social SciencesC4 Education and Popularization of Social SciencesC5 Serials, Anthologies, Periodicals in Social SciencesC6 Reference Materials in Social SciencesC7 (no longer used)C8 Statistics in Social SciencesC9 SociologyD. Politics and Law
D0 Political theoryD1 International Campaign of CommunismD2 Communist Party of ChinaD3 Communist Parties of other CountriesD4 Labor, Peasant, Youth, Female Organizations and MovementsD5 Politics (worldwide)D6 Politics in ChinaD7 Politics in individual CountriesD8 Diplomacy, International relationsD9 LawE0 Military TheoryE1 Military (worldwide)E2 Military in ChinaE3 Military in AsiaE4 Military in AfricaE5 Military in EuropeE6 Military in AustralasiaE7 Military in AmericaE8 Strategies, Tactics, and BattlesE9 Military TechnologyF0 EconomicsF1 Economics, Economic history and Economic geography of individual countriesF2 Economic Planning and ManagementF3 Agricultural EconomicsF4 Industrial EconomicsF5 Economics of TransportF6 Economics of Postal and Cable ServicesF7 Economics of CommerceF8 Finance, BankingG. Culture, Science, Education and Sports
G0 Philosophy of CultureG1 CultureG2 Knowledge transmissionG3 Science, Scientific ResearchG4 EducationG5 Education in individual CountriesG6 Education (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary)G7 Education (specialized)G8 SportsH. Languages and Linguistics
H0 LinguisticsH01 PhoneticsH109 Method of Recitation, Oratory of SpeechH02 GrammatologyH03 Semantics, Lexicology and Meaning of wordsH033 IdiomH034 AdageH04 SyntaxH05 Study of writing, RhetoricH059 Study of translationH06 LexicographyH061 DictionaryH1 Chinese languageH10H102 Regulation, Standardisation of Chinese language, Promotion of PutonghuaH109H109.2 Ancient Chinese languageH109.4 Modern Chinese languageH11 Phone (Historical Chinese phonology)H12 GrammatologyH2 Languages of China's ethnic minoritiesH3 Commonly Used Foreign LanguagesH31 English languageH32 French languageH33 German languageH34 Spanish languageH35 Russian languageH36 Japanese languageH37 Arabic languageH4 Family of Sino-Tibetan languages (China, Tibet and Burma)H5 Family of Altaic languages (Turkic, Mongolian and Tungusic)H6 Language families in other areas of the WorldH61 Austroasiatic languages and Tai languages (Mainland Southeast Asia))H62 Dravidian languages (South India)H63 Austronesian languages (Malayo-Polynesian)H64 Paleosiberian languages (Siberia)H65 Ibero-Caucasian languages (Caucasus Mountains)H66 Uralic languagesH67 Afroasiatic languages (Southwest Asia, Arabian Peninsula, North Africa)H7 Indo-European languagesH8 Language families on other ContinentsH81 African languagesH83 American languagesH84 Papuan languagesH9 International Auxiliary Languages (Interlingua, Ido, Esperanto, etc.)I0 Literary TheoryI1 Literature (worldwide)I2 Literature in ChinaI3 Literature in AsiaI4 Literature in AfricaI5 Literature in EuropeI6 Literature in AustralasiaI7 Literature in AmericaJ0 Theory of Fine ArtJ1 Fine Art of the WorldJ2 PaintingJ3 SculptureJ4 PhotographyJ5 Applied artsJ6 MusicJ7 DanceJ8 DramaJ9 Cinematography, TelevisionK. History and Geography
K0 Historical TheoryK1 History of the WorldK2 History of ChinaK3 History of AsiaK4 History of AfricaK5 History of EuropeK6 History of AustralasiaK7 History of AmericaK8 Biography, ArchaeologyK9 GeographyN0 Theory and MethodologyN1 Present stateN2 Organisations, Groups, ConferencesN3 Research MethodologyN4 Education and PopularizationN5 Serials, Anthologies, PeriodicalsN6 Reference MaterialsN8 Field SurveysN9 Minor SciencesO. Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry
O1 MathematicsO2 Applied MathematicsO3 MechanicsO4 PhysicsO6 ChemistryO7 CrystallographyP. Astronomy and Geoscience
P1 AstronomyP2 GeodesyP3 GeophysicsP4 MeteorologyP5 GeologyP6 MineralogyP7 OceanographyP9 PhysiographyQ1 General BiologyQ2 CytologyQ3 GeneticsQ4 PhysiologyQ5 BiochemistryQ6 BiophysicsQ7 Molecular BiologyQ8 BioengineeringQ9 Zoology and BotanyR. Medicine and Health Sciences
R1 Preventive Medicine, Public healthR2 Traditional Chinese MedicineR3 Human anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Microbiology, ParasitologyR4 Clinical MedicineR5 Internal medicineR6 SurgeryR7 Medical SpecialtiesR71 Obstetrics, GynecologyR72 PediatricsR73 OncologyR74 Neurology, PsychiatryR75 Dermatology, VenereologyR76 OtolaryngologyR77 OphthalmologyR78 DentistryR79 Non-Chinese Traditional MedicineR8 Radiology, Sport medicine, Diving medicine, Aerospace medicineR9 Pharmacology, PharmacyS1 Fundamental Agricultural ScienceS2 Agricultural EngineeringS3 AgronomyS4 PhytopathologyS5 Individual CropsS6 HorticultureS7 ForestryS8 Animal Husbandry, Veterinary medicine, Hunting, Sericulture, ApicultureS9 Aquaculture, FisheryTB General Industrial TechnologyTD Mining EngineeringTE Petroleum, Natural GasTF Extractive metallurgy, SmeltingTG Metallurgy, MetalworkingTH Machinery, InstrumentationTJ Military TechnologyTK Power PlantTL Nuclear technologyTM Electrical EngineeringTN Electronic Engineering, Telecommunication EngineeringTP Automation, Computer EngineeringTQ Chemical EngineeringTS Light Industry, HandicraftTU Construction EngineeringTV Water Resources, Hydraulic EngineeringU1 General TransportU2 Railway TransportU4 Highway TransportU6 Marine TransportV. Aviation and Aerospace
V1 Research and Exploration of Aviation and Aerospace TechnologyV2 AviationV4 Aerospace (Spaceflight)X1 Fundamental Environmental ScienceX2 Environmental ResearchX3 Environmental Protection and ManagementX4 Disaster ProtectionX5 Pollution ControlX7 Waste Management and RecyclingX8 Environmental Quality MonitoringX9 Occupational safety and healthZ1 Collectanea/Generalia (Book series)Z12 Collectanea of ChinaZ121 General CollectaneaZ121.2 Song DynastyZ121.3 Yuan DynastyZ121.4 Ming DynastyZ121.5 Qing DynastyZ121.6 Republic periodZ121.7 ModernZ122 Collectanea of a particular localityZ123 Collectanea by members of a particular familyZ124 Collectanea by individual writersZ125 Collectanea of lost booksZ126 Collectanea of Chinese ClassicsZ126.1 Collection of Confucian ClassicsZ126.2 Collection of treatisesZ126.21 General CollectionZ126.22 Remake of lost booksZ126.23 Collection of a particular themeZ126.24 Chronological tables, tablets, illustrated worksZ126.25 Works on phonetics, semantics and authenticityZ126.27 Research, critics and provesZ13 Collectanea and Book series of AsiaZ14 Book series of AfricaZ15 Book series of EuropeZ16 Book series of OceaniaZ17 Book series of AmericaZ2 Encyclopedia and Chinese Encyclopedia (Leishu)Z22 Chinese EncyclopediaZ221 Tang DynastyZ222 Song DynastyZ223 Yuan DynastyZ224 Ming DynastyZ225 Qing DynastyZ226 RepublicZ227 ModernZ228 General popular LiteratureZ228.1 Children's bookZ228.2 Popular Youth BookZ228.3 Elders' bookZ228.4 Women's readerZ228.5 Men's readerZ23 Encyclopedia of AsiaZ24 Encyclopedia of AfricaZ25 Encyclopedia of EuropeZ26 Encyclopedia of OceaniaZ27 Encyclopedia of AmericaZ28 Encyclopedia of a particular fieldZ3 DictionaryZ4 Symposium, Anthologies, Selected Works, EssayZ5 AlmanacZ6 Serial, PeriodicalsZ8 Catalogue, Abstract, IndexThe other library classifications in China are:
Library Classification of the People’s University of China (LCPUC)Library Classification of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (LCCAS)Library Classification for Medium and Small Libraries (MSL)Library Classification of Wuhan University (LCWU)The other library classifications for Chinese materials outside mainland China are:
Cambridge University Library Chinese Classification System, Classification Scheme for Chinese Books devised by Profs. Haloun and P. van der Loon for Cambridge University, UK.University of Leeds Classification of Books in Chinese, UK (36 pages of Catalog in PDF)Harvard-Yenching Classification SystemNew Classification Scheme for Chinese Libraries (commonly used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau)